Chipotle and Orange Compound Butter

Earlier this month, I went to an event sponsored by Sprouts (they're a supermarket, if you don't know) and the Colorado Beef Council and hosted at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association office. It was an office, people. Not a cattle ranch.

The food was amazing (prime rib!) and we had a chance to play around in their kitchen.

I was in the group that made a compound butter and also I also rubbed the beef roasts before it was put into pans to get browned before roasting.

Other groups did other things, like making a pan sauce. and rubbing other beef roasts with different rubs. There were several different beef roast preparations demonstrated, with different rubs, and different sides. One group plated one of the meals, while the rest of it was served on platters for easier serving.

We got to sample all of it, and there were also wine pairings discussed. I had quite a long way to drive, so I didn't indulge in any wine, but I like that they explained which ones paired best with different dinners.

So back to the compound butter. (Sorry, but I got distracted by all that beef!)

We made a bunch of rather large batches of the compound butter in our group, but the recipe they sent along was for a much more reasonable amount - it uses just one stick of butter, so it's probably enough for most home uses. And of course, you can double, triple, or make four pounds of it, if that's what you really want to do.

It's a good idea to start with softened butter, to make the mixing easier. In their kitchens, the people doing the mixing tried using spoons or spatulas, but some of them dug right in and used their properly-gloved hands to mix the butter.

At home, I'd just chuck it all into a food processor or use my stand mixer. That's why I own those things - to be my worker bees.

So what can you do with compound butter? Pretty much anything you do with regular butter. Except you need to be mindful of what you added. A cinnamon and honey compound butter would be great on pancakes. A chipotle compound butter would not be so great on pancakes.

Well, maybe it would be. You try first. I'll be waiting here.

This particular compound butter (recipe below) could be melted on top of some meat or vegetables. I happened to get a sample of it to take home, and I used it when I cooked some itty bitty potatoes in my sous vide machine. You could also boil potatoes and put the butter on afterwards. Or use it to cook vegetables for fajitas. Or put it on some cornbread to go with your chili.

Speaking of beef, the one thing that really surprised me was that the chef brined the beef before cooking. I'd never heard of brining beef before. I've brined chicken, turkey, and pork plenty of times. Never beef.

The brine recipe that they gave us was pretty simple - 2 gallons of water, 2 cups of kosher salt, and one cup of sugar. Let the beef sit in that overnight, and then roast it as usual. They used a rub on the beef, but the interesting thing to me was the brine. I think I'm going to have to try that one of these days.

Chipotle and Orange Compound Butter
Adapted from a recipe courtesy of the Colorado Beef Council and the National Cattlemen's Association

1 stick unsalted* butter, at room temperature; not melted
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon or the zest of one orange
Salt, to taste

Mix it all together using your hands (wear food-safe gloves) or mix in a food processor or with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

You can mix just to blend the ingredients, or keep beating it until it's lighter in color and fluffy. That whipped butter will be easier to scoop and spread.

Form into a log, wrap in parchment or plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Once you have a log and it's chilled, it's easy to lop off pieces to use. For longer storage, you can freeze it.

Or, if you don't want a log, you could put the butter into little ice cube trays or silicone candy molds or use a little disher to make little balls. Use them at refrigerator temperature or freeze, remove from the molds, then toss them into a zip-top bag and tuck them back into the freezer. Over time, they might start to stick together, but for short term storage, they'll stay reasonably separate.

Or, you could put the butter into a container and chill it that way. It just depends on how you're going to be using it, and what's most convenient for serving.

*Restaurants would normally use unsalted butter then add salt to taste. You can use salted butter, if you like. You probably won't need to add more salt, but taste it when it's done and see what you think.

Thanks to Sprouts and the Colorado Beef Council and the National Cattleman's Association for the fun event and the swag bag that came home with me.

Two "almosts" and a "maybe"

You probably realize that food bloggers get a lot of free products to try out And I'm always willing to sample new things and write about them if I like them or if I can fit them into a recipe.

Sometimes I get things that don't quite make the cut. Not that they're bad products, but sometimes it's just something that doesn't fit my favorite flavor profile.

Melty, melty

First on that list is Melt Organic Spread. I use a lot of butter, but I was willing to give this a try. It's got healthy fats and it's a spreadable consistency. I thought it might be an interesting alternative for spreading on toast.

Because toast happens a lot around here. Bet you couldn't guess that.

Unfortunately, one of the healthy fats in Melt is coconut oil. I don't like coconut. But, hey, there are products with coconut oil that don't taste like coconut, so I was willing to give it a try. And ... no go. I could taste the coconut.

My husband couldn't taste the coconut, and he liked the flavor of the spread, so he'll be eating the rest of it. So, yeah, it's a fine product, just not in my shopping basket.

Yo!

Next on the "I almost loved it" list was YoCrunch yogurt with Trail Mix M&Ms. Sigh. Trail mix. Apparently there are raisins on the trail, and raisins are the second food that I've disliked since childhood. Right there with the coconut.

The itty-bitty M&Ms were cute and the bits of peanut added a nice bit of crunch, but I picked out all of the raisins before I added the toppings to the yogurt, and that's just silly. There's no way you'd believe I was wild about this product if you've read this blog for a while and you know how I feel about raisins. So there was no sense writing a big long post about this product.

If you like raisins, M&Ms and peanuts, you'll probably like this product. Again, it's just personal taste, but it's also a matter of honesty. I'm not going to tell you I love a product if I'm picking bits out of it before I eat it.

YoCrunch has a LOT of flavors, and I've tried a few others, and they were perfectly fine. Just not this time.

Catsup, Ketchup ... this ain't it

I read about a sun-dried tomato ketchup and couldn't find it in any local stores, so I sent a sample request to the company.

Not long after, I had two lovely bottles of the ketchup to try. And it was interesting. Thick, with a deep, rich, roasty flavor. It was good, but I couldn't really pass it off as table-ketchup after years of being conditioned to think of ketchup as a different sort of thing.

This is a ketchup that would be good on a gourmet burger but maybe not on a basic backyard burger where you'd be looking for the familiar flavor. It would be a great start for a barbecue sauce. It would work well in a marinade or sauce or ... a whole lot of things.

But, honestly, this isn't going to totally replace my mass-market familiar ketchup. It's just not.

I am, however, thinking about a few recipes where it would be stunning, and would be so much better than using ketchup or tomato sauce or tomato paste. That sun-dried tomato flavor is really interesting, and it deserves a better platform than meatloaf.

So there ya go. Three products that I didn't totally love, but maybe you will. Which one of these sounds interesting to you?

Compound Butter - it's not complex

Compound butter is so simple to make, but it's also sort of magical to have on hand. On those days when you don't want to think too hard, you can use the butter to add flavor where you need it. You can cook with it, you can spread it on, or you can let it gently melt.

From left to right, Italian, Greek, Chili-Lime, and Bourbon Maple compound butters.

The combinations are endless, but here are four to get you started. Two are savory, one is savory and spicy, and one is sweet.

I started with half-sticks of butter, but of course you can make more - a full stick or a full pound, depending on how much you need. If you're making a lot, you can do the mixing in a food processor, but for a small amount, a fork works just fine.

The butter should be softened enough so you can mix it easily, but you don't want it melted. Leave it at room temperature until you can mash it with a fork.

Italian Compound Butter
If you can't find tomato powder locally, you can order it online. I get mine from Savory Spice Shop. You could also use tomato paste, if you like.

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon tomato powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

Combine all the ingredients until well blended. Chill until needed. You can roll it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap if you like, but I just store it in small resealable containers.

How to use it: Add this butter to pasta, or cook chicken or pork in this butter and a bit of olive oil. Spread it on French bread, then add cheese and toast it.

Greek Compound Butter
Pink peppercorns aren't "real" peppers, but they have a spicy peppery flavor and add pretty pink flecks to the butter. If you don't have them, you can use regular ground pepper.

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon lemon powder (I used Real Lemon)
Several grinds pink peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients until well blended. Chill until needed. You can roll it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap if you like, but I just store it in small resealable containers.

How to use it: Nice with rice, or for cooking fish, chicken, or lamb. Melt a small dollop on top of a finished steak. Spread it on the bread when you make a chicken sandwich.

Chili Lime Compound Butter
You could use chili powder (which is a blend of pepper and spices) or chile powder (which would be one type of pepper, ground). Or, if you want something really spicy, you could use cayenne. Or, you could also use hot paprika.

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon lime powder (I used Real Lime)
1/8 teaspoon chili powder or chile powder.

Combine all the ingredients until well blended. Chill until needed. You can roll it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap if you like, but I just store it in small resealable containers.

How to use it: Add a bit to grilled fruit or spread it on corn on the cob. Great on cornbread. Use it, with a little olive oil, if you like, to cook fish, chicken, shrimp, or pork.

Maple Bourbon Compound Butter
Grade B maple syrup is darker and has stronger flavor than Grade A. I prefer it for most recipes.

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1 teaspoon maple syrup (Grade B preferred)
1/4 teaspoon bourbon

Combine all the ingredients until well blended. Chill until needed. You can roll it into a log and wrap in plastic wrap if you like, but I just store it in small resealable containers.

How to use it: Use it to top your pancakes or French toast. Spread on cornbread or muffins. Rub it on chicken or pork before roasting. Spread a little on bread for a turkey or ham sandwich.

Want some actual recipes? I'm working on it!