Butter is the ultimate fat. It adds structure and richness to baked goods; it begins and finishes most sauces. Strip it of its milk solids and it becomes an excellent cooking fat; brown those milk solids and it takes on an entirely new spectrum of flavor. Add salt and treat it like spreadable cheese; add sugar and make the best imaginable cake topping. Butter really can do it all. Butter leans in.
Although it's been a staple of many food cultures for millennia, butter's throne has not always been safe. In the 1950s, Americans began consuming more margarine than butter, a trend that continued, amazingly, until 2005. Butter is, in oversimplified terms, the very-whipped form of milk, which is the second-most important beverage in the world. Margarine is essentially whipped vegetable oil and some chemicals. What were we thinking?
Imagine, for a moment, a world of food without butter—and rejoice that we don't live in it. And now that we trust cows more than chemists once again, let's celebrate what the poet Seamus Heaney called "coagulated sunlight" and revisit all the things it can do in the following recipes.
Black Pepper Butter Crackers
MAKES 4 DOZEN
At first, homemade crackers sound like more trouble than they're worth. But once you look at the ingredient list on a box of commercial crackers (or the price tag on a package of "artisanal" ones), you might change your mind. No? What if the crackers you made were better than both, and took about 15 minutes of effort to pull together? What if you could tweak the recipe a thousand ways (by adding good cheese or other kinds of flours or spices)? What if you could use leftover crackers as breading for chicken or fish? What if we told you just to trust us on this one?
10 tablespoons (1? sticks/140 g) unsalted butter, divided
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (125 g) whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
? teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
? to ? cup (120 to 165 ml) ice-cold water
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Cut 8 tablespoons (1 stick/115 g) of the butter into small pieces, place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill. In a food processor, combine both flours, baking powder, sugar and salt; pulse to mix well. Grind a few turns from a pepper mill into the processor; pulse once to mix. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until well combined. With the machine running, slowly add the water just until a dough begins to form (you may not use it all). Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Place racks on top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 400oF (205°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. On a lightly floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough to about inch (2 mm; as thin as you can get it). Cut shapes with a cookie or biscuit cutter, or use a knife or pizza wheel to cut squares or other shapes. Transfer the crackers to the baking sheets. (You will have some extra dough.) Hold the pepper grinder high over the baking sheets and grind enough pepper over the crackers to give them a light dusting. Prick each cracker 3 or 4 times with a fork.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crackers are light golden brown and firm, rotating the pans between top and bottom racks halfway through baking (if any crackers brown before the others, remove them with a spatula as you go). Place the pans on wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the crackers to racks to cool completely. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Very lightly brush the crackers with butter and sprinkle with a little bit of coarse salt.
Repeat with the remaining dough scraps to make another batch of crackers. Serve the crackers right away, or store in an airtight container at room temperature. These are best the day they're made or the following day, but they'll keep for up to 4 days.
Butter-Poached Scallops with Grapefruit-Butter Sauce
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Not all seafood is at its best when seared in a hot pan. Poaching in butter is an excellent way to cook delicate seafood—such as scallops, shrimp or lobster—because it's such a mild cooking method. There are different schools of thought on this technique, but we took the absolute gentlest approach: keeping the butter close to 120°F (50°C) (which is also the optimum internal temperature for cooked scallops) ensures that the scallops won't overcook. An instant-read thermometer is crucial to nailing this recipe.
1 large grapefruit (about 1 pound/455 g)
12 large (U15) dry-packed sea scallops (about 1 pound/455 g)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1? cups (3 sticks/340 g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Cut off just enough of the top and bottom of the grapefruit to reveal the flesh. Stand the grapefruit on a cutting board and follow the contour of the fruit with a knife to cut away the rind and white pith. Trim away any white membrane with a paring knife. Holding the grapefruit over a bowl to catch the juice, cut sections from between the membranes and place in the bowl. Discard the white membrane and set the bowl of sections and juice aside.
Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel and season lightly with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, melt the butter over low heat until it reaches 120°F (50°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Add the scallops to the pan in a single layer and let the butter return to 120°F (50°C) to 125°F (52°C) (it's fine if the butter doesn't cover the scallops completely). Cook the scallops, flipping them once halfway through, for 20 minutes, or until they're opaque in the center and firm to the touch. You may have to adjust the heat or remove the skillet from the heat to maintain a steady temperature.
Place the scallops on a warm serving plate. Pour all but about ? cup (60 ml) of the butter out of the skillet and set aside (the extra scallop butter is great stirred into seafood-based soups and sauces). Add the grapefruit sections and juice to the skillet. Cook the grapefruit gently over low heat for 3 minutes; you want to just warm them through. Spoon the grapefruit butter over the scallops, sprinkle generously with the flaky salt and serve immediately.
Nori Butter-Braised Radishes
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
For a couple of decades now, French chefs have incorporated Japanese ingredients into their food and, lately, some of the best chefs in Paris are Japanese. This recipe speaks to the affinity between the two cultures. To add another dimension to the classic French dish of braised radishes, we infuse the butter first with nori (a sheet of toasted seaweed).
If you've never braised radishes in butter before, now's the time: The technique, which also works well with baby turnips, transforms the snappy, peppery vegetable into something succulent and mellow.
1 sheet toasted nori (about 8 inches square)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt
1 large bunch red radishes with greens (about 12 radishes)
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Cut the nori in half crosswise.
In a deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add 1 piece of the nori, turn off the heat and let stand for 15 minutes, until the butter is infused with the flavor. Using tongs, remove the nori, squeezing out as much butter as possible. Discard the nori and season the butter with salt.
Meanwhile, use tongs to hold the other piece of nori over a medium flame and toast until it's crisp and fragrant, 5 to 10 seconds. (If you have an electric stovetop, you can toast the nori briefly in a hot, dry skillet). Snip or slice the nori into small strips and reserve for garnish.
Separate the radishes from the greens. If the greens look healthy, wash them well and roughly chop; otherwise, discard them. Scrub the radishes and, if they're large, cut into halves or quarters.
Reheat the nori-infused butter over medium heat. Add the radishes and stir to coat. Add 2 tablespoons of water, cover and cook, stirring a few times, until the radishes are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 7 minutes.
Stir in the radish greens, if using, and cover and cook over medium heat until wilted, about 1 minute. Uncover and cook until the greens are tender, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Stir in the vinegar and season with more salt, if desired. Transfer the radishes to a bowl and let cool slightly. Garnish with the nori strips and sesame seeds and serve.
Butter Lettuce Salad with Brown Butter Vinaigrette, Crispy Mushrooms & Roasted Hazelnuts
MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS
This salad is an ode to ingredients that have butter-envy: butter lettuce is so named for its tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture; toasted hazelnuts smell like browned butter (and vice versa); and maitake mushrooms take on a deep, buttery flavored when roasted. Don't be surprised if the brown butter vinaigrette used here becomes a dressing you return to again and again. It's luscious and bright enough for any salad but with a big flavor that can stand up to the full spectrum of proteins, from fish to red meat.
? pound (225 g) fresh maitake mushrooms, brushed clean
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
? cup (70 g) hazelnuts, with skin
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Juice of half a lemon
1 large head of butter lettuce
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Trim the bottom end of each mushroom and separate each cap from the cluster. Arrange the mushrooms in a single layer in a large oven-safe skillet. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss; add the additional tablespoon if needed to coat the mushrooms well. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the hazelnuts in a small oven-safe skillet and transfer both skillets to the oven. Roast the hazelnuts until golden brown and fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and transfer to a bowl to let cool. Once the nuts are cool, rub the skins off by placing them in a kitchen towel or paper towels and rubbing them together. Continue roasting the mushrooms until dark brown and crisp, about 45 minutes total. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Cut the butter into pieces and place them in a skillet. Cook the butter over medium heat until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the balsamic vinegar (stand back; the vinegar will bubble and release a strong aroma). Stir in the lemon juice and transfer the mixture to a measuring cup. Let cool slightly, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Trim the stem of the lettuce head and separate the leaves. Arrange the leaves in a bowl and add the hazelnuts. Drizzle with vinaigrette to taste and toss gently. Top with the roasted mushrooms and serve.
Butter-Roasted Lamb
MAKES 8 SERVINGS
There aren't many contexts in which we'd be excited about the term "fat blanket," but this is an exception. Here, an herb-flecked butter acts as both marinade and shield for a lamb shoulder, slowly melting into the crevices of the meat as it roasts. The effect of this butter-soaked slow roast is almost like a confit, yielding extra-tender meat. The mixture of fennel seeds, red pepper, rosemary and anchovies gives it a Tuscan edge, but the technique can be used with any combination of spices.
1 5- to 6-pound (2.3- to 2.7-kg) bone-in lamb shoulder
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves
? cup (20 g) fresh rosemary needles
4 anchovies
? teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
? cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Trim the lamb shoulder, cutting off any excess fat or membranes to leave just a thin layer of fat across the surface. With a paring knife, make shallow ?-inch incisions all over the shoulder.
In a small skillet, toast the fennel seeds and red pepper flakes over high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the toasted fennel and pepper flakes with the garlic, rosemary, anchovies, salt and sugar into a paste. Place in a mixing bowl with the butter and mash together with a fork until fully incorporated.
Spread the butter all over the lamb shoulder, creating a thick coating. Use all of the butter, and make sure to push butter into the incisions. Set the shoulder in a baking dish, cover in foil and refrigerate overnight (or up to 2 days).
Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). Remove the lamb from the refrigerator 1 hour before cooking so it can come to room temperature.
Place the lamb in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 325°F (165°C). Cook for 3? to 4 hours, until the lamb pulls apart easily and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the shoulder registers between 170°F (70°C) and 180°F (82°C). Let the lamb rest for 30 minutes before carving and serving.
Asparagus with Miso Beurre Blanc
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Practically every sauce benefits from a tablespoon or two of butter stirred in at the end, from wine reductions and gravies to heartier pasta sauces. Butter adds extra richness in both flavor and texture. Beurre blanc begins where these sauces end: a mostly butter emulsification that can be served by itself or augmented with myriad ingredients. Although they come from wildly different culinary traditions, miso and butter are incredible when paired. Here, miso's salty, umami-heavy flavor wakes up the silky sauce. We paired this beurre blanc with asparagus, but keep this recipe handy when you're cooking other green vegetables, chicken, fish (especially salmon) or shellfish.
As with most emulsions, this sauce is somewhat unstable. Be careful not to overcook the sauce or it can break, and be ready to serve it right away. If your sauce does break, don't panic: Either whisk in a small ice cube or little bit of cold cream (this is why many beurre blanc recipes contain cream), or throw the sauce in a blender and use the power of electricity to re-emulsify it.
1 pound (455 g) asparagus, ends trimmed
? cup plus 2 tablespoons (90 ml) sake or dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white miso paste (see Note)
? cup (1 stick/115 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
If the asparagus stems are thicker than ? inch, peel the bottom third of the stalks with a vegetable peeler. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup (240 ml) of water to a rapid simmer over medium-high and add the asparagus. Cover and steam the asparagus until the thickest parts of the stalks are just tender and bright green, about 3 minutes. Drain the water from the pan, return the asparagus to the pot and cover to keep warm.
In a small heavy saucepan, combine the white wine or sake, lemon juice and miso and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking to dissolve the miso. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, whisking occasionally, until reduced by three quarters, about 5 minutes. There should be about 2 tablespoons of liquid left in the pan and the sauce should have a butterscotch-like color. If you don't let the liquid reduce enough, the sauce will be too thin.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, one piece at a time, whisking slowly and constantly until the sauce is creamy and pale and all the butter is incorporated. You can add the next piece before the previous one has completely melted. If you need a bit more heat to soften the butter, set the pan briefly over very low heat. Do not let the sauce sit over the heat for long or it may separate.
Arrange the asparagus on a serving plate and pour the beurre blanc over the top. Serve immediately.
NOTE Some brands of miso are very smooth, while others are a bit chunky. If you want a very smooth sauce, buy a visibly smooth Japanese miso. If you use miso that's not as smooth as you desire, you can strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve at the end of cooking.
Kentucky Butter Cake with Walnut Frosting
MAKES 10 SERVINGS
Kentucky butter cake is a staple of church picnics and cakewalks across the Bluegrass State. Our upgraded version—created by native daughter Sarah Baird (Vol. 15: Summer Squash)—gets an over-the-top butter frosting and adds the nuttiness of walnuts for a deeper dimension. This is the cake you want when you think about Bundt cake: It's a sturdy, sweet, contact-high dessert.
FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
1? teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda
? teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks/225 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 cups (440 g) packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon walnut extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (240 ml) half-and-half
1 cup (120 g) chopped walnuts
FOR THE FROSTING:
1 cup (2 sticks/225 g) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups (375 g) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons walnut extract
1 teaspoon aged rum
? cup (40 g) chopped walnuts; plus more walnut halves to decorate the cake
Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and grease a 10-inch Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and a handheld electric mixer), combine the butter, sugar and walnut extract. Beat at medium-low speed until combined, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add a third of the flour mixture, followed by a third of the half-and-half, mixing for about 30 seconds for each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and half-and-half, alternating until completely incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chopped walnuts.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn over onto a wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.
Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl and a handheld electric mixer), beat the butter at medium-low speed until creamy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, ? cup (65 g) at a time, until all the sugar is incorporated. Add the walnut extract and rum, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue beating until the frosting is thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
With an offset spatula or thin rubber spatula, completely cover the cake with the frosting. Garnish the top of the cake with walnut halves and let set at room temperature for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. The cake can be covered in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
The Best, Flakiest Pastry Dough
MAKES ONE 9-INCH CRUST
There are a million pastry dough recipes out there—and the never-ending debate about the best fat for the task: lard, shortening, butter or some combination thereof. But if a flaky piecrust is your goal, this recipe will allow you to achieve it. The biggest secret behind pastry dough is temperature: The butter needs to stay cold in order to form the many tiny layers that yield a flaky crust. Although we like the romance of making pastry dough by hand, using a food processor makes quick work of the process, ensuring your butter doesn't melt into the flour. We also add a bit of acid to slow down the formation of gluten, which prevents the dough from getting tough. If you have a big food processor, you can double this recipe, but in a smaller machine, producing successive batches makes it easier to keep the butter cold and ends up being faster in the long run.
2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
14 tablespoons (1? sticks/200 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
Ice water
In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and continue pulsing until the largest pieces of butter are the size of marbles and peas.
Combine the lemon juice or vinegar with enough ice water to make ? cup (60 ml), then pour it in through the feed tube while pulsing the machine. Continue pulsing until the dough starts to clump together. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and work into a rough mass with your hands, but do it quickly so as not to soften the butter. Gather the dough into a disk and place on a sheet of plastic wrap. Fold the edges in and press down lightly to make a tight package. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for a month or two.
When you're ready to use the dough, remove it from the refrigerator and let soften slightly, 15 to 30 minutes. Generously dust the work surface, the rolling pin and the surface of the dough with some flour. Whack the dough a few times with the rolling pin soften it up. Starting from the center, roll the dough outward, rotating it a quarter turn as you roll. Carefully flip the dough over from time to time by rolling it onto the pin to pick it up, then laying it down on the opposite side. Keep both sides lightly floured to prevent sticking. Aim for an even thickness throughout. Roll the dough out into a round of the desired size and thickness.
Brush off any loose flour using a dry pastry brush, and loosely roll the crust around the rolling pin.
Transfer to a 9-inch pie plate by unrolling the dough over the top. Trim the edges with scissors to leave a 1?-inch overhang. If you're making a single-crust pie, crimp, chill and proceed with the rest of the pie recipe. If you're making a double-crust pie, make two batches of dough and repeat the rolling procedure with the second dough. Top the filled pie with the second piece of dough. Seal the two pieces using a little cold water to adhere the edges. Trim the overhang to 1? inches, roll it underneath itself and crimp the edges as desired.
Cultured Butter with Bonus Buttermilk
MAKES 1 POUND (455 G) BUTTER PLUS 2 CUPS (480 ML) BUTTERMILK
There are many reasons to make your own butter. Here are three: 1. For the experience: Making butter always feels a little bit like magic, no matter how often we do it. 2. Because you've gotten your hands on some amazing cream—from a farm you just visited, the local farmers' market, your illegal raw milk delivery service, wherever. Because you're washing the butter and extracting a lot of liquid, the butterfat content will be higher than commercial butter, meaning there will be more butterfat in your cookies, in your pan sauces, in your everything. 3. It leaves you with a gift of bonus buttermilk, which can be used to make Frozen Greek Yogurt (this page), Skillet Apple-Oat Cake (this page) or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (this page). For even more ideas, pick up our Buttermilk Short Stack (Vol. 4), written by Angie Mosier.
4? cups (1 L) of the absolute best heavy cream you can find
? cup (120 ml) crème fra?che
2 to 2? cups (480 to 600 ml) filtered ice water
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream and crème fra?che. Cover with a clean towel and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 and up to 48 hours.
Remove the towel and refrigerate the mixture for 45 minutes, then pour it into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (you can also use a handheld mixer or a food processor). Whip the mixture at medium-high speed until the fat separates from the liquid, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and continue to beat (use a splash guard, aluminum foil or towel to loosely cover the top of the bowl, as the mixture tends to slosh around) until the butter rides up the whisk, about 45 seconds longer. Turn off the mixer.
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl and transfer the butter and buttermilk to the sieve. Lightly knead and fold the butter to create a semisolid mass (don't knead it so hard that it starts to go through the strainer). When the butter is solid enough to remove, line the strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth and place the butter on top. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth and gently squeeze more buttermilk out of the butter. Transfer the buttermilk to a container and refrigerate; it will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Place the butter in a medium bowl. Pour about ? cup (120 ml) of ice water over the butter and knead it to extract more liquid. Discard the liquid and use paper towels to pat the butter dry. Repeat until the liquid coming out from the butter is clear, 3 to 4 more times, discarding the liquid pooling in the bowl and patting the butter dry after each addition of water. Using a rubber spatula, fold the salt into the butter.
Divide the butter in half and set each piece on a large sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Shape the butter into a log, wrap and refrigerate up to 3 weeks (or freeze for up to 3 months).
Better the Butter
There are countless ways to flavor your just-made butter by adding an ingredient or two. Some of our favorite mix-ins are smoked salt, harissa, anchovies, Meyer lemons and blue cheese.
