I mean, really, why have plain butter when you can make it flavorful and amazing? Whenever you can add another layer of flavor, like a compound butter like this one, you should! Use it on meat, use it on veggies, shoot, you could even use it on rice or pasta! Cowboy Butter is part of a trend of seasoned butters that everyone is hoping onto. And for good reason! It’s packed with garlic, mustard, and plenty of bold and delicious spices like smoked paprika and red pepper.
Why Our Recipe
- Barely any effort to make but packs BIG flavors.
- Boring veggies and cheaper cuts of steak that kinda suck are instantly better.
- Keep it in your fridge or freezer for easy access to flavor.
Chef Cayt is our resident flavor expert and boy does she know how to bring it! This is her tried, tested, and true Cowboy butter that’ll have you falling in love with butter all over again. The ingredients are simple but need to be used in just the right amount. We’ve tested this cowboy butter recipe in several different ways to nail down the perfect flavor.
Ingredient Notes
- Salted Butter: use the good stuff and make sure it’s softened. Don’t sub for margarine. This is a butter recipe, baby. Embrace it!
- Garlic: you could use dried garlic, but freshly minced is the best.
- Stone Ground Mustard: has more bite and better texture than Dijon or yellow mustard.
- Worcestershire: flavor baby. Flavor.
- Paprika: smoked paprika brings a whole new level of depth, really giving it that cowboy kick.
- Red Pepper Flakes: If you can’t handle the heat, stay in the kitchen anyway and just leave it out.
Ways to Use Cowboy Butter
This is not something that you want to smear on bread, like regular homemade butter. This is something that goes into a “resting butter” category. Here are a few of our favorite suggestions for what to do with cowboy compound butter.
- Meats: add a generous slice or dollop to warm steaks, pork chops, or chicken breasts. You can even toss some with chicken wings!
- Pasta: melt over a simple plate of noodles. Or use it to add some Tex-Mex excitement to classic Italian dishes like garlic shrimp linguine, angel hair pasta, or creamy fettuccine Alfredo.
- Veggies: use in place of regular butter on baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or corn on the cob. It also add great flavor to basic cooked vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and green beans. You can either add slices to the veggies or melt and drizzle on top.
- Melt: make a sauce with the butter and use it for dipping breadsticks, lobster or crab legs, or even a slice of pizza.
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container and keep at room temperature for up to one week.
Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 1 month.
Freeze wrapped tightly in plastic wrap plus a layer of aluminum foil. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.