Herb Butters

Almost any herb can be chopped and worked with butter to form a compound butter. The method works especially well with such herbs as basil, thyme, and tarragon, which quickly turn black once chopped. Certain classic green butters, such as Chivry Butter and Montpellier Butter, make use of several herbs that are first blanched in boiling salted water before being chopped or crushed in a mortar and worked with the butter. Traditionally, herb butters were prepared by first crushing the herbs with a mortar and pestle before combining them with the butter and straining through a drum sieve. Nowadays most chefs chop the herbs, combine them with the butter in a food processor, and omit the last step of straining. Whichever method is used, it is best to let herb butters sit for an hour or two before they are used to allow the herb flavors to permeate the butter.