Butter is delicious. It’s also good for your heart and a better choice than processed margarine products, especially if you’re getting butter from grass fed cows.  We started using a grass fed butter which unfortunately we have to buy in the US, because for some reason it seems nearly impossible to find grass fed butter on the shelves in Ontario.The difference between grass fed butter and regular butter is easy to see just by looking at it.  It has a deeper yellow colour, stays softer in the fridge, and has a richer flavour.  It’s also full of of CLA, Vitamins, and has an equal ratio of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

Butter by itself is a great way to add some healthy delicious fat to your meals, but turning it into a compound butter steps it up with the addition of even more flavour.

Compound butters are a mixture of butter and other ingredients. Making them is as simple as taking some room temperature butter and whipping some additional flavours into it. Then you form the compound butter into a log in plastic wrap or wax paper and chill.

Sounds simple right?  That’s because it is!  Give it a try, and keep this in the freezer and you’ll have a quick method of adding flavour to almost any kind of food.

I like to put a little pat of it on top of a steak or pork chops, and it’s also good on top of some steamed vegetables or seafood on the grill when it’s almost finished.  Using compound butter to fry up some eggs is also an easy way to add some extra flavour to your breakfast.

Once made, compound butter should be used within a week if stored in the fridge, or a month if stored in the freezer.

I just picked up some marrow bones, so I’ll be trying out a bone marrow butter next. Roasted bone marrow is often called meat butter, so how can you go wrong with meat butter and butter mixed together?

Here’s a recipe for a roasted garlic compound butter:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 head garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 sticks room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Peel the outer layer of the garlic skin, leaving the skin on the individual cloves of garlic.  Cut the top off the head of garlic, exposing all of the cloves.
3. Put the garlic in a square of tin foil, then pour the olive oil over top of it and sprinkle a pinch of salt over the top.
4. Wrap the garlic tightly in the foil.
5. Cook the garlic in the oven for 30 minutes.  You’re looking for the garlic to feel soft when you squeeze them.
   
6. Let the garlic cool until you can handle it, then squeeze out the softened garlic into a bowl.
7. Add the chopped parsley and butter.
8. Incorporate the ingredients – I used an immersion blender, but a food processor, mixer, or even just a bowl and a spoon will work.
9. Taste the compound butter and add salt to season.
10. Scoop out the compound butter and lay it out on a sheet of plastic wrap or waxed paper.
    
11. Roll the butter into a cylinder shape, then twist up the ends
    
12. Put into the freezer to solidify.
13. You now have a roasted garlic compound butter!