Cowboy butter: a great, memorable name for the simple combination of spices, herbs, garlic and butter. Like any good cowboy, a butter that lives up to this name will be a true workhorse for your grilling recipes — and deliver a kick along the way.
Anytime I’ve made a cowboy butter recipe, it’s really taken the dish to next level. We all want that, right? So, here are all the tools you need to make this absolute umami flavor bomb. I also incorporated my favorite cowboy butter flavors into my Cowboy Butter Seasoning, so you can boost the flavor of your grilled meats and seafood twice over by adding this rub before grilling.
To create a solid balance for any dish, we went with butter, garlic, herbs, mustard, smoked paprika, vinegar and a hint of cayenne for this jar of granular goodness. You’ll be adding it over everything, I promise.
Why You’ll Love Cowboy Butter
Since cowboy butter is really just a catch-all term for a spicy garlic and herb butter, you can bet it’s got versatility on its side. Depending on what dish you’re making, you can riff on the flavors in your cowboy butter to either complement or heighten the flavors of your overall recipe. Talk about the perfect topping!
You can also serve this delicious compound butter melted, as softened butter or as classic cold butter. I love to make a big batch of cowboy butter with softened butter, then form it into the shape of a log, wrap it in a large sheet of plastic wrap and then freeze it for whenever my cowboy butter recipe craving hits (which, let’s be honest, is often). Just picture slicing off a round of cold butter and using it to top your hot steaks to elevate any backyard meal. So simple and so freakin’ delicious.
Looking for more compound butter recipes? Check out Garlic Butter Burger, Surf and Turf Butter Burger or just The Best Butter Recipes.
What You’ll Need for Your Cowboy Butter
Let’s talk about the basic ingredients you’ll want for any good cowboy butter recipe. If you’ve tried other combinations that worked for you, let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear about your favorite flavorful butter concoctions.
- Butter: Yes, I know, obviously. Start with unsalted butter so you can adjust the salt levels, depending on your taste buds and the remaining ingredients in your cowboy butter.
- Herbs: Again, fresh herbs are the way to go here. You can tailor your herbs to your recipe, such as using cilantro for Mexican or Asian dishes and other savory herbs like fresh chives, fresh parsley and fresh thyme for Italian or French recipes.
- Garlic: For the best garlic butter, use fresh cloves please! You can also use garlic powder in a pinch, but I prefer the bite that comes with fresh garlic.
- Spices: I like either red pepper flakes or cayenne powder here. You can also use black pepper, which will be a little more floral and less spicy.
- Acid: Adding lemon juice, lemon zest or Dijon mustard will give you depth of flavor for a perfect cowboy butter.
If you love Cowboy Butter, make sure to check out its companion seasoning: Cowboy Candy! Another delicious, spicy sweet combo that goes great in any recipe! For a list of all my favorite recipes with these two spices, check out my Cowboy Recipes round up.
How to Make Clarified Butter
Some of my cowboy butter recipes call for clarified butter, which is super easy to make. Melt four sticks of butter slowly over low heat in a small saucepan. You want the butter to melt gradually and completely, but not boil it. As the butter melts, you’ll notice the milk solids start to separate. Next, pour the melted butter into a clear glass container and let cool for two minutes. As it cools, the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the jar. Then, pour the top portion of the butter into a new jar. That golden, pure yellow portion? That’s your clarified butter. Try to keep any of the white, milk solids from getting poured into the new jar.
Bring the Flavor Home
My Favorite Cowboy Butter Recipes
Now that your mouth is watering at the prospect of cowboy butter and a specialized Cowboy Butter Seasoning to amp up the flavor, let’s get grilling.
Grilled Salmon Fillets with Cowboy Butter
Cowboy Butter Arayes
Steak and Eggs with Cowboy Butter
Cowboy Butter Steak and Shrimp
Steak Pinwheels with Cowboy Butter
Cowboy Butter Burgers
Cowboy Butter Steak Tacos
Cowboy Butter Sliders
What to Serve with Cowboy Butter
What to NOT serve with cowboy butter is the real question. Put it on your favorite steak (this grilled ribeye steak recipe is one for the books) for a perfect pairing, or on tacos, seafood and more. A cowboy butter recipe is even great with sides, like cornbread or this jalapeño popper bread, or as a dipping sauce. Here’s a handy guide:
- Room temperature/softened: Best for spreading on bread, cornbread, or as a compound butter to easily scoop onto foods. Let it sit out for 30-60 minutes before serving.
- Melted/warm: Ideal as a dipping sauce for seafood, drizzling over grilled meats, or tossing with vegetables. Just heat gently on the stovetop.
- Cold/chilled: Perfect for slicing into rounds to place on hot steaks right off the grill. The cold butter will melt into the meat for a freakin’ delicious sauce.
Leftovers and Reheating
You can store your cowboy butter recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. A mason jar works great for this. To reheat, heat it low on the stovetop until it melts again. You can also freeze it for up to three months. To do this, mix your ingredients into softened butter (not melted), then roll into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
For More Butter
FAQs
Definitely! The flavor won’t be quite as vibrant, but you’ll still have a tasty cowboy butter sauce.
Yes! Since you can store cowboy butter in the fridge for a week or in the freezer for up to three months, it’s easy to make ahead of time. For great flavor, you could make it 1-2 days before you want to eat it. That gives the garlic and herbs time to infuse into the butter, creating a more developed flavor.
Depends on the size of your proteins. For two steaks, let’s say, I like to use anywhere between 2 tablespoons and 1/4 cup. Try it out and see what works best for you.
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All the major tastes—salty, sour, sweet, bitter, and umami—are explored in depth, along with an investigation of other components you should consider when it comes to flavor, such as aroma, heat, and texture.
