Garlic Scape Butter

4.75 from 8 votes

Compound butters are a breezy party trick. Place a slice of garlic scape butter atop a perfectly cooked steak or fish fillet and watch as it melts into a silky, flavorful sauce before your eyes.

Prep Time10

Additional Time4

Total Time4 10

Course: Sauces and Condiments

Cuisine: American

Keyword: garlic scape butter

Servings:

Calories: 108kcal

Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (112 grams) butter, at room temperature
5 garlic scapes thinly sliced
Zest of 1 lemon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Place room-temperature butter and garlic scapes into a mixing bowl.
Grate the lemon zest overtop and sprinkle in the salt.
Mix well.
Scoop butter mixture onto a piece of parchment or plastic wrap.
Roll into a log (refer to video to see this in action) and twist the ends to seal.
Chill until solid, then slice and use as desired.

Notes

It's very important to start with room-temperature butter for ease of mixing. Take it out the night before if you remember, or at least a couple of hours in advance. (If you forget, you can put it in a zip-top bag and beat the bejeezus out of it with a rolling pin until softened.)
Use a really good-quality butter if you can. Here and virtually everywhere, I start with a cultured, salted butter from grass-fed cows. This sounds fancy but doesn't have to be. Kerrygold, for example, is sold in most supermarkets at a reasonable price. You can use salted or unsalted butter and adjust the amount of salt that you add to suit your taste.
Scapes vary in length, and the exact amount doesn't matter too much here. Five scapes equals about ⅓ to ½ cup sliced, but you can adjust to your preference.
Scapes have a stem and a tightly closed bud at the top that tapers to a thin wisp. You can choose whether to include or discard the bud. I like to use it, but note that it can taste even stronger than the stem.
Compound butter will keep in the fridge for a month and in the freezer for up to a year. Wrap it tightly in something airtight for best results with long-term storage.

Nutrition