Gourmet Herb Butter For Steak

This time of year I begin to make herb flavoured butters to store in the freezer.  They are so simple to make, freeze beautifully and are a wonderful way to enjoy some summer freshness in the middle of a cold, Canadian winter.

One of my favourites is a recipe copied from a local bistro that puts a little pat of herb butter on each steak as it is served. ~

To make your own, you will need -

     1/2 cup unsalted butter
     1 TBSP finely chopped parsley
     1/8 TSP freshly ground black pepper
     1 TSP salt  (I used Himalayan sea salt)
     1 TBSP lemon juice

Mix the butter, parsley, salt and pepper together until well blended.

You can do this by hand or be as lazy as I am and mix it all up in a little chopper. ~

Add the lemon juice slowly to the mixture.  I put it in in thirds and gave it a spin with each addition.

Let the butter sit for around 30 minutes to absorb the flavours.  Let the herb butter firm up in the fridge if you are serving now or freeze it for later use.

Sometimes, I will roll the butter in a plastic wrap tube for the freezer but today I've used a small, ceramic condiment dish for freezing.  ~

Once it was frozen, I set the dish in warm water to release the cake of butter, sliced it into individual pats and put them in a freezer bag for long term storage.

Now I can remove just as many pats as I need at a time. ~

While you are at it, you may as well do some chive herb butter and you are all set for a baked potato.

The thought of winter doesn't seem all that bad any more!