Bacon Blue Cheese Compound Butter inspired by the classic flavors of oysters Rockefeller with salty crumbled bacon, rich blue cheese, garlic, red peppers and spinach.
A savory compound butter recipe that’s perfect for topping steak, fish, vegetables and more!
How to use compound butter
Compound butters are flavorful make ahead solid butter sauces made from simply butter and other additions. That make it easy to quickly add flavor to meals when camping, picnicking, barbecuing or whenever you’re in the need of quick flavor fast. Sweet compound butters, like salted honey butter, are perfect for slathering on warm bread, cornbread, and muffins. Use savory compound butter for a steak topping, sauté with clams, dollop on fish, steam with vegetables, like corn, and use as a quick pasta sauce or baked potato topping. Compound butter can also be slathered on turkey or chicken or used as a topping for seafood.
It makes it so simple to head to the park for a picnic, the forest for a wood-fired feast or to the beach for a delicious seafood bbq with friends. Adding big flavor to all your summer entertaining occasions without big effort!
Ingredients
- Bacon– peppered bacon adds an extra flavor punch but feel free to substitute any bacon with a pinch of black pepper added to the final butter.
- Butter – unsalted
- Blue cheese– bacon and blue cheese is such a great flavor pairing but feel free to substitute parmesan cheese, feta cheese or cheese of your choice.
- Spinach- fresh sautéed spinach or substitute a 10 ounce box of frozen chopped spinach that has been defrosted, drained and squeezed dry. 1 pound of fresh spinach cooks down to roughly ¾ cup of sautéed spinach.
- Garlic- cloves, chopped.
- Lemon juice– from one small lemon.
- Tabasco – or hot sauce of your choice.
- Scallions – or substitute finely chopped shallots or red onion.
- Salt and pepper – to taste
- Fresh herbs – add rosemary, thyme, parsley or other fresh or dried herbs of your choice, optional.
Step by step instructions
- Cook bacon slices in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat until crispy. Then remove and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium and pour out all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings. Save bacon grease for another use or to be added to the butter later. Then sauté the fresh spinach in the warm bacon grease with garlic, scallion and red pepper flakes until substantially reduced in size. The 2 pounds of fresh spinach should cook down to roughly 1 ½ cups of sautéed spinach. Or substitute frozen spinach that has been defrosted, drained and squeezed dry and toss to coat in the bacon grease, garlic, red pepper mix.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl, discarding any extra liquid in the pan.
- Chop bacon slices and add to spinach mixture.
- Stir in lemon juice and hot sauce. Cover and chill.
- Once cool add spinach mixture to butter in a large bowl or stand mixture and whip until smooth.
- Gently stir in blue cheese.
- Divide in half and spoon onto two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper.
- Roll into compact logs twisting ends to seal.
- Place Bacon Blue Cheese Butter logs in the refrigerator to firm. Then slice and make Grilled Oysters Rockefeller, use as a steak topping or as a topping for salmon.
- Enjoy!
How to store
Wrap compound butter tightly with plastic wrap or place in a covered container or mason jar. Store refrigerated for up to a month or freeze for up to three months.
Yield
This recipe yields 2 large 1 pound logs of compound butter.
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter 1 pound
- 4 slices peppered bacon
- ½ cup blue cheese crumbled
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium scallion whites and greens chopped
- 2 pounds fresh spinach or substitute a 10 ounce box of frozen spinach, thawed, drained, and pressed to remove all the liquid
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice from 1 small lemon
- 2 dashes hot sauce or to taste
Instructions
- Cook bacon slices in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat until crispy. Remove and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and pour out all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.
- Add garlic and scallion to skillet. When the garlic is fragrant, after about 30 seconds add red pepper flakes and fresh spinach in handfuls.
- Cook until all the spinach is sauteed, substantially decreased in size and coated with garlic bacon grease. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Discarding any additional liquid.
- Chop bacon slices and add to spinach in bowl with lemon juice and hot sauce. Cover and chill until cool, at least 30 minutes.
- Whip cooled bacon spinach mixture with room temperature butter until combined. Then gently stir in blue cheese.
- Divide in half and spoon onto two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper then roll into two compact logs. Twist the ends to seal and place in the fridge to firm up before using.
Notes
Nutrition
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