Parsley garlic butter. It’s easy to make, always worth having on hand, and is packed with flavor. This one, though, has a nifty twist: Minced shallots are added to the parsley, garlic, and butter for an extra kick.
In the words of one of our testers, this simple compound butter “makes everything exponentially better.” All it takes is a handful of ingredients you may already have on hand and barely any effort. Then stash it in the fridge and revel in just how simple it can be to bling up almost anything. Rest assured, though, this is no ordinary garlic butter. Parsley, shallots, and lemon come together to give just the right blend of sweet, sharp, and smooth.–Renee Schettler
HOW TO USE THIS BUTTER
Slather the butter on anything that just came off the grill —fish, chicken, steak, pork shellfish (halved lobsters are particularly impressive), even tofu. Or toss some clams or oysters on the grill, let them steam in their own juices and open on their own, and top with the butter. You can even hit grilled asparagus or zucchini with the butter as you pull them off the grill.
Steam a pot of mussels or clams and dollop the shellfish with delicate blobs of butter just before serving.
Garlic bread. Simply smother the cut sides of a baguette or loaf of ciabatta that you’ve sliced with parsley garlic butter. If you’d like, add a layer of grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and toast in a 375°F [190°C] oven until warm, 10 to 15 minutes or grill slices of bread and spread with generous amounts of the garlic butter.
☞ Contents
Parsley Garlic Butter
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1 small shallot minced
- A small handful fresh Italian parsley leaves finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Zest of 1 lemon finely grated
Directions
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, shallot, parsley, salt, and lemon zest, mashing everything together with a fork or potato masher until combined. Then use a wooden spoon to really beat the butter until it’s nice and smooth and everything is evenly incorporated.
- Use the butter immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to a week or wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for up to 3 weeks. [Editor’s Note: For ideas on how to use the butter, see the note above the recipe. For a pretty presentation that makes for a lovely hostess gift, spread the butter on a sheet of wax or parchment paper, roll it snugly into a cylinder, and then twist the ends to seal, tying them if necessary with kitchen twine.]
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This recipe is a superbly savory combination, especially for fish and bread. I followed the broiler method for shrimp in this recipe. I especially liked the little bits of shallot for extra texture. Compound butters are quick, easy, and you can tap what’s on hand to make everything exponentially better.
Some of the flavors slid off the shrimp, so I recommend using the compound butter after the shrimp comes out of the oven or off the grill.
This is the perfect compound butter for “Broiled Anything”. It made 4 tablespoons and was the right amount for 1 tablespoon per broiled meat serving. I broiled thin sole fillets and they only took 4 minutes. This was an all purpose butter and could easily be doubled with different mix ins. I used it on the sole, grilled rib eyes, and added herbes de Provence for melting over asparagus. Delicious and I’ll make this again and keep in the freezer.
Not a bite left. Everyone cleaned their plates. Even my picky son who usually needs coaxing to eat fish. The garlic, shallots, parsley and lemon paired perfectly. This was so simple and so good. 15 minutes from start to having supper on the table. The fish cooked quickly under the broiler and was moist and flaky and delicious. Definitely, worth making extra so when they ask for seconds you can say, yes, of course.
A delicious way to treat fish that even swayed a not-so-enthusiastic fish eater. The butter melted into the fish and created an interplay of flavors without any one ingredient dominating the others. I chose salmon steaks for this dish, which worked beautifully. Each steak was about an inch thick and took about 11 minutes to cook to the point where it was just done and still extremely moist. The shallots and parsley were well-charred and flavorful. This is definitely a recipe I would use for a variety of things, including fish, poultry, and for something like garlic bread or any number of vegetables. The possibilities seem endless.
This compound butter is a fun way to jazz up weeknight fish and bread. I tried the butter on both broiled cod and salmon and preferred the use of a thinner cut of fish because that yielded evenly cooked and more flavorful fish. I especially enjoyed the compound butter on oven baked bread.
This parsley garlic butter would more accurately be called garlic, parsley, shallot, and lemon butter. It’s those two additional ingredients, the shallot and the lemon, that elevate this to special.
I started with an excellent quality butter. I used enough parsley leaves that my garlic butter was on the green side. (I’m a big fan of parsley, both for its green color and its fresh taste.)
I made garlic bread that had a crisp crust, soft insides, and both had a wonderful lemony parsley aroma and flavor that made this garlic bread more special than the ordinary butter and garlic variety.
Originally published September 29, 2018
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If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Scored some frozen limpets and was so excited to grill them, Azorean style. While my daughter and I are huge fans, my husband is not so much. Since I didn’t want to make two dishes and my husband loves escargot, I went on the prowl for a garlic butter that would work for both. As limpets love lemon, this recipe seemed like the perfect choice for both my proteins. All I added was some dried piri-piri flakes and some extra parsley. Wow! Such simple ingredient combination with such a fantastic impact!
Nicely done, Gorm3sa & SousChef! It looks like a perfect meal.