Roasted Garlic Compound Butter

Compound butter is magic without any real trickery involved. Adding buttery roasted garlic is a quick way to introduce flavor nuance to your average stick of butter.

While you can easily stop there and have some amazing Roasted Garlic Compound Butter, you could also be extra (like me!) and add bacon and chipotle to the mix. Just picture biting into a piece of toast slathered with Roasted Garlic Butter that has been punched up with smoky bacon bits and subtly spicy chipotle. MMMM.

What is Compound Butter?

Compound butter is a mixture of butter and other ingredients. At a minimum, you can just combine fresh or dried herbs with a stick of butter, and voila! Compound butter. Then refrigerate or freeze until needed. Compound butter is one of those super-easy, time-saving cooking hacks that I’ve somehow been able to completely overlook. Until now.

And it’s stupidly easy to just reach for a pat when you want to liven up your toast, scrambled eggs, baked potato, (insert other delicious foods improved by butter here).  

How to Make Roasted Garlic Compound Butter with Bacon and Chipotle

My version requires a *scosh* more work than simply mixing in herbs, but this bold and smoky flavor bomb is worth the effort. Plus, have you ever roasted a head of garlic in the oven while also baking a pan of bacon? It’s money. BEST. SMELLS. EVER. You’ll want to throw away all your air fresheners and just toss in some bacon and garlic whenever you expect company.

Once the hard part is done (the waiting for the garlic to roast and bacon to cook, of course), and your other ingredients are assembled, this Roasted Garlic Compound Butter comes together real quick. All you need to do is add all the ingredients to a food processor and mix until combined! 

To make Roasted Garlic Compound Butter you will need a food processor, 2 sticks of garlic, and 1 head of roasted garlic. If you want to make it *extra* you'll want to bring in some bacon and chipotle en adobo peppers.

EQUIPMENT

• Food processor

INGREDIENTS  

• 1 head roasted garlic
• 1 7-ounce can chipotle en adobo peppers
• 2 sticks salted sweet cream butter, room temperature
• 4 slices cooked bacon
• ½ tbsp bacon grease
• ½ tbsp lime juice

INSTRUCTIONS 

1. Add butter, roasted garlic, the entire can of chipotle en adobo peppers, lime juice, and bacon grease to a food processor. Process until smooth; this may take a few minutes and will require several stops and to scrape down the sides.
2. Chop the bacon into small pieces and add to the processor Process until just mixed, around 15 seconds.
3. Pour compound butter onto parchment paper. Spread it into an even, long log.
4. Roll your compound butter up. Check out the provided link below for a handy way to easily achieve a neat roll with a sheet pan.
5. Twist the ends of the parchment paper up near each end of the compound butter roll.
6. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the butter firms up.
7. Use straight from the fridge, or take it out for a few minutes before use to soften - this improves spreadability.

The chipotle en adobo peppers add a bold smokiness with a pleasantly spicy punch. The sweet roasted garlic helps temper the heat and rounds out the flavor. And bacon, with its savory saltiness, is a welcome addition to this flavor party. Who am I kidding? Bacon is always a welcome addition (sorry vegetarians!).

That’s really all you need here, but I like to add citrus in the form of lime juice to help tame the richness and brighten up the flavor.

NOTES

Adapted from Tasting Table’s Chipotle and Roasted Garlic Compound Butter.

Use this handy method to neatly roll your compound butter up. Scroll halfway down the linked page to see how you can achieve a neat, even roll with a sheet pan.

What does Roasted Garlic Compound Butter go with?

I can confirm that this Roasted Garlic Compound Butter (with or without bacon and chipotle) is delicious:

• Slathered on bread and toast
• Melted over grilled chicken
• Cooked with a fried egg
• Tossed into a creamy sauce that needs some zip
• Atop a grilled steak

I have a sneaking suspicion this compound butter will make an appearance on my next turkey sandwich, pan of tender-roasted fingerling potatoes, and jar of homemade alfredo sauce.

Compound Butter Storage

• Refrigerator - store in a sealed container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. For best results, use within 5 days (especially if you added bacon to the mix).
• Freezer - store wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, then in a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag. For best results, use within 3-4 months.

If you like this you might also like:

• Easy Seasoned Refried Beans
• Crunchy Porchetta Seasoned Pepitas
• Spicy Pico de Gallo
• Salsa Ranch Pinwheels
• Roasted Garlic Guacamole

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