Compound Butter For Turkey Thanksgiving Turkey Butter

Compound butter, in the simplest terms, is butter that has been flavored with additional ingredients. Mixing room-temperature butter with flavoring agents like fresh herbs, ground spices, and garlic makes it easy to flavor and helps spread it all over the turkey meat. This is exactly what we use in our Roasted Turkey Breast with Gravy. Coating a turkey with butter, both underneath and on top of the skin is the best way to add extra flavor. This simple step ensures your turkey is both delicious and beautifully roasted. Not to mention, it produces the most delicious drippings to make turkey gravy. While we love this compound butter for Thanksgiving turkey, you can also consider it an everyday enhancement to roasted whole chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and much more.

Ingredients You Will Need

The key ingredients in this turkey compound butter recipe provide a balance of herbal, citrus, and garlicky flavors, all of which are available in any grocery store. We will need the following:

Unsalted butter: We like to use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt. With that said, you can use salted butter and reduce the salt to ¾ teaspoon. Fresh herbs (or dried herbs): Fresh herbs will provide the best flavor. We love hearty herbs like fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and fresh sage, but you can also incorporate soft herbs like fresh parsley or chives. If dried herbs are more convenient for you, reduce the quantity for each herb to 1 teaspoon. I would recommend mincing the dried rosemary as the long stems will have too much crunch if left whole. Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves give us that punchy bite in this flavored butter recipe. However, Roasted Garlic or Air Fryer Garlic is another excellent option for a sweet, caramelized garlic flavor, like our Roasted Garlic Butter. If you find raw garlic too strong, swap it out for ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Lemon zest: Lemon zest adds a bright, citrus flavor to the turkey butter seasoning. Orange zest is also a nice addition. Seasonings: A simple seasoning of Kosher salt and black pepper allows all those herb and garlic flavors to shine.

How to Make Compound Butter for Turkey?

This recipe for compound butter for turkey can be made in less than 5 minutes. The key is to use room temperature or softened butter, making mixing the ingredients easier. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

How to Put Butter Under Turkey Skin?

Seasoning under turkey skin can be intimidating if this is your first time placing herb butter under turkey skin. Here’s how I like to season turkey with butter:

Make Ahead and Storage: Prepare the garlic herb butter for the turkey as directed. Follow the instructions to shape it into a log and wrap it tightly. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for five days. (Note: We like to do a double wrap, i.e. plastic wrap and an airtight container, to prevent the butter from absorbing odors in the fridge.) Freeze: Follow the same storage instructions as above. Store it in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw: Take the butter out of the freezer for at least one hour before using it.

Other Uses

Just because we are featuring this compound butter for turkey does not mean it cannot be used in other ways. It is truly the perfect finishing touch to many different meals. Here are a few suggestions to get you started on your compound butter journey:

Use softened butter: I usually remove it from the fridge a few hours beforehand to ensure it is very soft and spreadable. Rinse and dry your herbs: If using fresh herbs, wash and dry them thoroughly before mincing. I like to place the washed herbs between two pieces of paper towels to absorb excess moisture. You can also use a salad spinner to dry them off. Dried herbs: If using dried herbs, reduce the quantity of each dried herb to 1 teaspoon. Mince finely: Chop the herbs finely so they distribute evenly throughout the butter. Can be multiplied: This recipe is ideal for a turkey up to 12 pounds. You can halve the recipe if you only make a turkey breast or double the recipe for a large bird. Fresh garlic vs garlic powder: If using fresh garlic, keep in mind that a foodborne illness called botulism can occur if garlic sits for too long in an oxygen-free environment. I would recommend using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic if you plan to make this herb butter well in advance to prevent the build up of bacteria.

Grilled or Roasted Meat Recipes: It’s hard to find a steakhouse that doesn’t serve a slice of compound butter over their hot, juicy steaks. Make a restaurant-quality meal at home by serving rounds of herb butter on top of Grilled Steak, Beef Tenderloin, or Roasted Chicken Breast. Seafood: Don’t you love a warm, garlicky butter with seafood? Use this herbed compound butter recipe to elevate Grilled Salmon or Grilled Shrimp. Roasted or Grilled Vegetables: You can truly elevate the flavor of roasted vegetables with butter and this garlic and herb butter hits the spot. Serve it as the butter topping for Grilled Corn or finish Roasted Butternut Squash with a few pats of this flavored butter. Bread: Butter and bread are classic combinations, and it’s no surprise that this garlic herb compound butter will enhance any slice of bread. Slather it on warm slices of Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread or use it as the butter component when making Air Fryer Garlic Bread.

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