Flavored butters are an interesting method for adding pointed flavor to dishes. Used during the cooking process, a flavored butter will sharpen the taste of meats, poultry and vegetables.
This flavor combination, garlic and shallot and onion, is recommended by Bobby Flay in his very descriptive new book Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries & Shakes. I have adopted Flay’s recipe here by doubling the shallot and cilantro. The resulting butter has a beautiful mixed yellow-green color with the cilantro streaking through the butter after a tour in the food processor.
I used this butter on double duty to cook a burger. I melted some of the butter in a cast iron skillet to cook the burger, and, while cooking, I topped each side of the burger with a dab so that the cold butter could melt and penetrate the meat. One taste of the burger and I immediately sensed the wonderful flavor added by the butter.
Flavored butters are easily made and have enormous flavor impact. Give this combination a try or feel free to improvise with your own ideas. Herbs, chili powders, seeds, and onion varieties can all be part of your experiment.
Garlic Shallot Cilantro Butter
Yield: ¾ cup; yield will vary proportionally with lemon sizeIngredients:
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
4 cloves garlic
1 shallot, skinned and chopped
6 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Preparation:
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. The butter will start to clump into a ball.
Scrape the butter from the processor bowl into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Allow the flavors to mesh for an hour before using. Refrigerated, the butter will keep for a day.
Source: Brian O’Rourke adapted from Garlic Butter in Bobby Flay’s Burgers, Fries & Shakes