The Best Cowboy Butter Recipe
Cowboy butter is a mouthwatering garlicky, butter sauce enhanced with spices, fresh herbs, and a burst of lemon juice. Make cowboy butter for grilled steak, sandwiches, seafood, and more!
While you are here, check out this decadent Lobster Mac and Cheese and these Delicious Steakhouse Mashed Potatoes.
Steak butter is actually a thing! If you have yet to experience the buttery goodness that is cowboy butter, allow me to introduce you to the best sauce for steak!
Why You Will Love This Steak Butter Recipe:
Quick & Easy! This recipe is incredibly simple to make. Prepare this delicious sauce in just 10 minutes on the stovetop.
Versatile! Although I love to pair cowboy butter with hot steaks, this sauce complements a variety of foods. Use it is an instant upgrade to a variety of meals!
Customizable! Make it spicy, swap the herbs, use it as a dipping sauce, or drizzle it over your favorite dishes. For this recipe, I used it as a sauce but I also included instructions for cowboy compound butter so you can slather softened butter on bread or remelt it for later use.
What is Cowboy Butter?
Cowboy butter is a butter infused with fresh garlic, herbs, and spices. You can serve it melted as a dip or softened as a compound butter and used as a spread.
Although it is primarily used as a steak sauce, cowboy butter works with a variety of foods including vegetables and seafood.
Cowboy Butter Recipe Ingredients
To make cowboy butter sauce, you will need the following simple ingredients:
- Stick of Butter: Use unsalted butter since we are adding our own seasoning.
- Garlic cloves: Use fresh garlic and mince it for the best flavor. Garlic powder will work in a pinch but fresh tastes better.
- Dijon mustard: This adds a spicy, pungent flavor that gives the sauce more dimension.
- Lemon: Fresh lemon juice adds a vibrant pop of citrus flavor.
- Fresh Herbs: Use chopped fresh parsley and thyme.
- Seasoning: I like a mix of sweet peppery, spicy flavors so I use paprika, crushed red pepper flakes (optional but recommended), cayenne pepper (optional but recommended), and a dash of salt and black pepper to taste.
How to Make Cowboy Butter Sauce Recipe
Warm up a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Then add a stick of butter directly into the skillet and allow it to melt.
Once the butter is melted, add minced garlic, dijon mustard, and lemon juice. Then add your fresh herbs including the chopped parsley, chopped thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt and pepper into the skillet.
Then use a wooden spoon to mix everything together until it is well combined. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes so that everything can marry together nicely.
Serve right away as a dipping sauce or topping for your favorite steak or other protein.
To Make a Compound Butter:
Once all of the ingredients are mixed together in the saucepan, remove the hot pan from the heat and allow it to cool down completely.
After it has cooled, transfer it to a layer of plastic wrap or wax paper and form the butter into the shape of a log. Wrap the plastic around the butter and twist the ends up to tighten it to close.
Refrigerate the butter until it is hardened. Then use it as needed for breads, sauteing vegetables, or to eat with your favorite proteins.
Tips and variations for Cowboy Butter
- Feel free to customize the butter mixture by swapping or adding ingredients like fresh chives, hot sauce, a minced small shallot, Worcestershire sauce, lemon zest, or even dried herbs. Use kosher salt for added texture.
- Since this recipe is butter-centric, use high-quality unsalted butter for the best results.
- The sauce should be thicker than regular melted butter. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Reheat it over low heat on the stove or in the microwave in 10-second increments. For longer storage, freeze it for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
More delicious side dishes you’ll love
- Creamy Lemon Aioli
- Carrot Fries Made in the Air Fryer
- Super Creamy Red Cabbage Slaw
- Oven Roasted Cabbage Steaks
- Fluffy and Moist Sweet Potato Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 stick Butter unsalted
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ½ Lemon juiced
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
- 1 teaspoon Thyme chopped
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Red pepper flakes optional but recommended
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper (optional but recommended)
- Dash of salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add your stick of butter directly into the skillet and allow it to melt.
- Once the butter is melted, add your minced garlic, dijon mustard, lemon juice, chopped parsley, chopped thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt and pepper into the skillet.
- Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together well. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes so that everything can marry together nicely.
- Serve right away as a dipping sauce or topping for your favorite steak or other protein.
To Make a Compound Butter:
- Once all of the ingredients are mixed together in the saucepan, remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool down completely.
- After it has cooled, transfer it to a layer of plastic wrap and form the butter into a shape of a log. Wrap the plastic around the butter and twist the ends up to tighten it to close.
- Refrigerate the butter until it is hardened, then use it as needed for breads, sauteeing vegetables, or to eat with your favorite proteins.
