Compound butter facts for kids

A New York strip steak topped with Beurre Maitre d'Hotel, served with potatoes and creamed spinach

Kronfleisch (skirt steak), a traditional Bavarian dish. Served with onion rings, rye bread, compound butter (with herbs and garlic – beurre à la bourguignonne), and horseradish

Compound butters (French: beurre composé, pl. beurres composés) are mixtures of butter and supplementary ingredients. Primarily, they are used to enhance flavor in various dishes, in a fashion similar to a sauce.

Compound butters can be made at home or purchased commercially. A compound butter can be made by whipping additional elements, such as herbs, spices or aromatic liquids, into butter. The butter is then reformed, usually in plastic wrap or parchment paper, and chilled until it is firm enough to be sliced. These butters can be melted on top of meats and vegetables, used as a spread or used to finish various sauces.

Beurres composés include:

• Beurre à la bourguignonne – garlic and parsley butter
• Beurre Maitre d'Hotel, butter with parsley and lemon juice
• Café de Paris butter
• Garlic butter
• Beurre au citron – lemon butter