Maitre d’Hotel Butter. Chances are you’ve had it, whether you realized it or not.
Maitre d’Hotel Butter is a simple compound butter recipe that elevates food with basic flavors: lemon, parsley and mustard. Use it as a finishing butter on meats and vegetables for added pizzazz.
The history is even more impressive than its wide range of uses, Maitre d’Hotel Butter is literally translated from French as “master of the hotel.” In hotels, this usually meant the head waiter, would whip up his special blend of compound butter to be used as a finishing lather on dishes.
Most are made of a good quality butter, salt, parsley and lemon, but I once saw a chef also add a dab of Dijon mustard and sprinkle of smoked paprika to add even more pizzazz and a little bit of color.
Maitre d’Hotel Butter can be used to saute mushrooms or onions, really any vegetable, but it also perfect for the last sheen on an omelet or smothering a steak hot off the grill, a technique used by many high end steak houses.
If you wait for it to hit room temperature, you can even use a pastry bag and frosting tip to pipe out small amounts onto a piece of wax paper or use a small scoop
for butter balls.
Easy compound butters are perfect for taking an ordinary meal to amazing.
If you like this Maitre d’Hotel Butter, check out these other compound butter recipes:
Maitre d'Hotel Butter is a simple compound butter recipe that elevates food with basic flavors: lemon, parsley and mustard. Use it as a finishing butter on meats and vegetables for added pizzazz. Makes 1/2 cup.
- 1/2 cup good quality unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 grates fresh lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley finely minced
- 1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Dash smoked paprika
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Mash together all ingredients with a fork or spatula.
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Transfer to a piece of wax paper, forming into a log. Roll up like a piece of candy, twisting both ends.
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Refrigerate until hard, allowing flavors to infuse, a minimum of 1 hour. Makes 1/2 cup.
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Use on steaks, vegetables or even bread. Enjoy!
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If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
