Cowboy Butter
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Cowboy butter is just a really cool name given to a compound butter where you mix herbs, spices, condiments, and other tasty ingredients into softened butter, and then it can be used on steaks, fish, seafood, chicken, vegetables, whatever you like.
There are many versions of this, and I'd say each individual cowboy butter recipe says a lot about its creator and the flavors they enjoy.
For me, cowboy butter is mostly about steak. I use it on lots of other things, but when people taste this stuff on steak, their faces light up, and you can see the happiness in action.
Try this cowboy butter recipe as it is first, then feel free to tweak the ingredients to your own liking and make it your own.
Helpful Information
- Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
What You'll Need
- Softened Butter – Set the butter out on the counter several hours before you want to make the cowboy butter. I like to leave it overnight to make sure it's perfectly soft. Also, use a good-quality grass-fed butter for optimum results.
- Worcestershire sauce – Lea and Perrins, or whatever brand you like.
- Green onions – I just use the green part, but feel free to chop the entire onion into the mix if you like.
- Garlic – Fresh is best, but the jarred variety is okay if that's what you have.
- Jeff's Texas style rub – You can make this yourself using the formula or purchase it already in a bottle.
- Jeff's Original rub – You can make this yourself using the formula or purchase it already in a bottle.
- Lemon Peel – I just use my citrus zest tool but a grating tool will also work just fine.
- Crushed Red Pepper – This adds a lot of zing and you can definitely add extra if you tend to like things a little more on the spicy side.
- Rosemary – I used freeze dried rosemary in the pictures for this recipe and it turned out really good, but fresh is always better if you have it.
How to Make Jeff's Cowboy Butter Recipe
Step 1: Prep the Ingredients
Lay the grass-fed butter on the cabinet for several hours before you're ready to use it so it can soften perfectly for this cowboy butter recipe.
When I'm ready, I like to get a paper plate where all of my chopped and minced ingredients are placed before I add them to the main mixing bowl.
Start by mincing 5-6 garlic cloves or you can use a tablespoon of jarred minced garlic if that's what you prefer. The fresh is so much better if you have the time!
Zest a tablespoon of lemon peel using a citrus zesting tool or a grater.
Finely chop enough fresh rosemary to make a teaspoon or about 3 sprigs.
Chop enough green onions to make 1 ½ tablespoons of chopped green onion or about four onion tops.
You can use freeze-dried varieties of the onion and rosemary if you prefer.
Step 2: Mix it Up
Unwrap the butter and place it in a small mixing bowl.
Add all of your herbs, lemon zest, and garlic along with 1 ½ TBS of Worcestershire sauce, 1 TBS of Jeff's Original rub, and 1 TBS of Jeff's Texas-style rub, and finally, a teaspoon of crushed red pepper into the mixing bowl.
Use a small mixing bowl to combine all of these ingredients really well.
Step 3: Form the Cowboy Butter
You can put the cowboy butter into a storage container and it would be just fine, but it works and looks a lot better if you form it into a roll or a block.
Plastic wrap is best, but I apparently ran out. I can’t find that stuff anywhere. So, I used foil, and it worked fine.
I moved the cowboy butter to the center of a large piece of foil and then rolled it up and sealed the ends to form it into a roll.
A few hours in the fridge and it will be sliceable.
Step 4: How to Use Cowboy Butter
My main use for this stuff is on steaks, but it's delicious on almost anything savory, such as chicken, fish, vegetables, even popcorn. Be generous with it!
For a steak, I'll butter it up when I first place it in the smoker.
I add more just before serving.
How to Store Cowboy Butter
Because of the fresh herbs, the compound butter is good for about 5 days in the fridge. If you need to keep it longer than that, place it in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Cowboy Butter
Ingredients
- ½ lb Butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ TBS Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ TBS Green onions (chopped)
- 1 TBS Garlic (minced)
- 1 TBS Texas style rub
- 1 TBS Original rub
- 1 TBS Lemon peel (grated)
- 1 tsp Red pepper (crushed)
- 1 tsp Rosemary (chopped)
Instructions
- Lay the butter on the cabinet a few hours before you're ready to begin.While, you're waiting, you can chop all of your herbs, mince the garlic, zest the lemon and measure out all of your other ingredients.
- Add everything to a small or medium sized mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
- Place the butter mixture on a large piece of plastic or foil and roll it up. Seal the ends and place it in the fridge for a couple of hours to harden.
- The butter is good for about 5 days in the fridge or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Use generously on steaks, chicken, fish, vegetables, popcorn, etc.
