Why should one learn how to make Garlic Butter? To many people, butter has been a source of happiness, and why shouldn’t it be? It’s tied so intricately to our childhoods and has been known for its taste, qualities, and health benefits for centuries.
It is undeniable that butter brings happiness and enhances the taste and nutrition calories of the food that we eat, but there’s something that can make butter even more enticing. Garlic.
Not only does garlic taste absolutely phenomenal with every meal and add an extra layer of flavor to your dishes, but as recognized by the famous Greek physician Hippocrates, can be used to treat a varied number of medical health conditions. Modern medicine has also commended the health benefits of adding garlic to your diet.
The following recipe not only sheds light on how to make garlic butter, but includes how you can use the garlic butter that you’ve put your mind and soul into, and also tells you how you can safely store it for later use.
Read more about the benefits of garlic here.
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Photo by Karolina Grabowska/ Pexels
So, if you love adding the taste of fresh garlic to your meals, but hate how time-consuming peeling and mincing every single clove of garlic is, garlic butter is here to save your day. This easy recipe will tell you how to make garlic butter, which comes to your rescue every single time you’re in need.
Garlic butter is easy to make, and easy to store and a stash of garlic butter in your freezer will not only last for up to three months but will save your hectic weeknights with an easy garlicky meal.
1.0 How to Make Garlic Butter in 15 Minutes?
1.2 Ingredients Required
To make garlic butter at home you will need the following ingredients, but you can be creative in your pursuit of making the perfect homemade garlic butter.
- Unsalted butter/ Salted butter
- Cloves of fresh garlic
- finely chopped fresh parsley or chives
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt (Optional)
- Finely ground black pepper (Optional)
- Chilli Flakes(You can add any finely chopped herbs and spices to your liking, you can use dried parsley as well)
1.2 The Process-
The garlic butter is a great recipe that’s quickly becoming the standard in the fridge, and why shouldn’t it? It’s soft, it’s flavourful, it’s easy to store garlic butter, and it will be a game-changer during the holiday season.
Making homemade garlic butter is very easy. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make garlic butter that fits your needs perfectly:
Step 1: Start by whisking your butter in a bowl. To make this process easier and smooth make sure that your butter is placed at room temperature at least for an hour, and is not rigid due to refrigeration. Softened butter will be easier to whisk and will make it easier to blend all the ingredients, and will generally speed things up.
However, if you are facing time constraints it will also work perfectly well if you grate the butter before adding in the rest of the ingredients.
Step 2: Take a whole head of garlic (the fresher the better), and separate it into cloves, to make the peeling process easier. You can flatten the cloves with the side of your knife and then take the peel off.
Step 3: Set aside 2 tbsp of your softened butter.
Step 4: Mince or grate 1-2 cloves of garlic and add it to your small bowl of softened butter.
Step 5: Finely chop the remaining cloves of garlic and set them aside.
Step 6: Take the 2 tbsp butter we set aside earlier, add it to a non-stick skillet or pan, and melt by placing it over medium-low heat.
Step 7: Add the minced garlic after the butter has melted. Cook the garlic, regularly turning, until it just begins to turn golden. This happens quickly, so pay attention to the stove.
Step 8: Transfer it into a smaller bowl, and wait for it to cool down, or to speed things up a notch, you can put this mixture in the refrigerator.
Step 9: To the bowl of butter, add the toasted garlic that has cooled. A fork can be used to combine them and crush and blend the flavors together perfectly. You can add a pinch of ground black pepper or chile flakes, a teaspoon of finely chopped herbs, or both.
Step 10: Make sure all the ingredients are blended really well and viola, you now know how to make garlic butter! Use it to save weekends and weekdays alike, store it in plastic wrap, put it on bread, or eat a spoonful like a child, the possibilities are endless.
2.0 How Can You Use Your Homemade Garlic Butter?
The speciality of this simple homemade garlic butter is that it can be added to almost anything, it’s as versatile as you want it to be. The first thing you need to know after learning how to make garlic butter is how you can use it.
Here are a few tips on how you can use the garlic butter that you’ve made:
2.1 Bread:
A loaf of French or ciabatta should be cut in half and spread with garlic butter, then the two pieces should be sandwiched together and wrapped in foil before being heated in the oven or grilled until toasty and melty. Add some minced parsley, basil, nutritional yeast, and Pecorino cheese on top. Or, for something even simpler, simply toast a slice of bread or a bagel, spread it with butter, and you have instant garlic bread.
2.2 Meat and Pasta:
For meat like barbecued pork, chicken, or steak, as soon as the meat comes off the grill, spoon some garlic butter on top and spread it evenly while it melts, and enjoy the lingering taste it leaves.
You can also toss your pasta or noodles with garlic butter after boiling which would add a delicious taste to the dish!
2.3 Shrimp:
Shrimp should be quickly seared in olive oil before the heat is turned off and a chunk of garlic butter is added. Add a generous squeeze of lemon juice to finish. Garlic butter on top of the grilled shrimp would be delicious.
2.4 Potatoes
Garlic butter can be used to enhance both cooked and mashed potatoes. For improved mashed potatoes, substitute garlic butter for butter and the next time you roast a potato, immediately after cutting it open, add garlic butter and a few grinds of black pepper.
2.5 Use It as A Dip:
Use your garlic butter sauce as a dip with breadsticks or fries.
3.0 Some tips on Storage
Now that you know exactly how to make garlic butter, here is how you can save it for later:
Compound butter is essentially what garlic butter is, so while learning how to make garlic butter, you have also indirectly learned how to make compound butter!
Therefore, like most types of compound butter, your garlic butter will stay fresh for up to three months if you roll it into a log using a piece of parchment paper, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer.
Most of the sophisticated compound butter is fashioned like a log, which works well for restaurants that need it rapidly. However, as a home cook, portioning your garlic butter before freezing would give you much more gratification and make it easier to use. Using a tiny ice cream scoop, separate the butter into tablespoon portions onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
So now you know how to make garlic butter for weekend getaways, and store it for when you’re feeling lazy but your tastebuds are tickling. Use this wisdom to make the world a better buttery place!
