Cowboy Butter is a simple flavoured butter that goes phenomenally well with steak. This is the suggested sauce for the Tomahawk Steak recipe I also shared today, but it will go with any meat, seafood and even vegetables!
Cowboy butter
Cowboy Butter is essentially garlic butter dressed up with extra flavours – smoky paprika, mustard, and a solid kick of chilli flakes. I am not exactly sure where the name came from, presumably because someone decided it conjured up images of cowboys cooking meat over open campfires then dipping it in Cowboy Butter??
Whatever the reason, I’m on board! It goes exceptionally well with steak, though honestly, leftovers have been used for everything from toast to chicken, toss with steamed baby potatoes and melting through hot steamed white rice.
Ingredients in Cowboy Butter
Here’s what you need to make Cowboy Butter.
This recipe is loosely based on this one from Chilli Pepper Madness and various iterations found on Reddit and YouTube, though to be honest, we dialled back the number of ingredients considerably because we didn’t think it made it any better.
To be honest, we preferred our simpler version of Cowboy Butter with steak. Steak is already great! The sauce needn’t have wild flavours.
(PS When I say “our”, I credit JB for this one because he is the one who tried various versions to arrive at this final one. This was another recipe spawned from my mind, turned into reality by JB!)
How to make Cowboy Butter
It’s almost as simple as just mixing everything in a bowl! I know most recipes will just call for raw garlic to be mixed in but I like to do a mini sauté in a little butter as I think it makes the garlic flavour so much nicer.
Then let the melted butter cool a bit before adding into the bowl with everything else and give it a good mix until combined.
How to use Cowboy Butter
Softened (my preference) – I specifically designed this recipe so it’s a softened butter to be dolloped on steak (like the very impressive Tomahawk Steak I also shared today!). I find this melts more evenly and coats the steak more thickly than the alternatives of using it melted or making it into compound butter in log-form
Dipping sauce – However, I know many people are a fan of melting it to use as a dipping sauce for bites of steak! Just melt gently in a microwave or in a little saucepan then serve it in a bowl to spoon over steak or dip pieces in.
To make a log form ie compound butter, just roll the butter up in cling wrap to form a log and refrigerate until firm. Then cut slices on an as-need basis and place it on hot steak to melt.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
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Cowboy Butter – for steak, and so much more!
Ingredients
- 100g / 7 tbsp unsalted butter , softened, divided
- 1 large garlic clove , finely minced (1 tsp) – knife best (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (sub regular paprika)
- 1 tsp chilli flakes / red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
Instructions
- Sauté garlic – In a small frying pan, melt 1 tbsp (15g) of butter over medium heat until it starts foaming then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds while stirring until it becomes very, very light golden. Remove from the stove and let it cool for 3 minutes (the garlic will go more golden).
- Mix – Put the rest of the butter and remaining ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour the garlic butter over. Mix until combined.
- Serve with steak! It's also excellent with other cooked meats, seafood and even vegetables.
How to use Cowboy Butter:
- I like to use it softened as it melts thicker over hot steak. You can also melt gently then dip bites of steak in, or roll it into a log using cling wrap, refrigerate then cut slices off on an as-need basis (you can place the coins on the steak to let it melt).
Holy cow was this delish. Now i see it going in EVERYTHING 😝
Scratch my prior comment as I just went to look at another recipe, the Empanadas, & not everything has its name by the item on there too, so I guess it’s just something I’ve been too nit picky on, Sorry! 🙃
Hey Nagi, this looks fantastic & I’m glad it will go with chicken, I don’t eat a lot of red meat
Just one thing on the picture where you show the included ingredients for this, there is no ‘name tag’ for the garlic & the poor wee things sitting there feeling like the odd ingredient out!
Cowboy butter sounds epic—perfect for my next steak night!
Would like to try this recipe soon. Nagi and JB – how about cooking a Thor’s Hammer?
This is surprisingly delicious for so few ingredients! It;s going on a couple of sirloin steaks tonight (can’t justify the cost of a tomahawk!!).
Hi Mary, sometimes the simplest combos are the most delicious! Sirloin steaks with that sauce sound like a perfect. Enjoy every bite!
May I just say ‘I want to taste now’ and race into the kitchen . . . methinks I can think of a dozen ways to use it 🙂 !
I love that energy Eha! Can’t wait to hear what delicious twists you come up with, there’s definitely no shortage of ways to enjoy it!