Compound Butters. There is a reason steakhouses use them. 

Lean beef and butter are a better match than fatty beef without butter

Grass-fed beef runs leaner, which is a cooking constraint most of the time — less margin, less insurance, more attention required. But at the end, on the plate, it's an opportunity: there's room for fat, and the beef flavor underneath is strong enough not to get buried by it.

A compound butter is the easiest possible way to take that opportunity. It's butter with things mixed into it, rolled into a log, chilled, and sliced into coins. Ten minutes of work, three months in the freezer, and one coin turns a plain steak into a finished dish.

It’s worth keeping two or three in the freezer at all times. It's one the highest ratio of result to effort in the kitchen.

The method, which is the same for all four

1. Soften a stick of butter — 8 tbsp, 4 oz — to room temperature. Soft, not melted. Melted butter won't hold the additions in suspension and you'll get a separated log with the good bits at one end.
2. Mix everything in with a fork or a spatula until evenly distributed. A stand mixer with the paddle works for larger batches and makes the butter lighter.
3. Scrape it onto a sheet of parchment in a rough line along one edge.
4. Roll it into a log about 1½ inches across, using the parchment to compress it — fold the paper over, then push a ruler or the back of a knife against the base of the roll to tighten it. Twist the ends like a sweet wrapper.
5. Chill at least 2 hours, or freeze.
6. Slice into ¼-inch coins with a hot knife. One coin per steak.

Unsalted butter for all of these, so the salt is yours to control. And use decent butter — a European-style butter at 82–84% fat makes a firmer, less watery log.

Whipped Tallow - whipping beef tallow is also a great option. There is a recipe for that at the very end.

When to put it on

During the rest, not after. Lay the coin on the steak the moment it comes off the heat and leave it alone for five minutes.

A hot steak melts the butter into itself and the melted butter mixes with the resting juices, which is exactly what you want. A steak that's been sitting for five minutes is too cool to melt it properly, and the butter sits on top like a lid.

1. Herb butter — perfect for the ribeye

The classic — this is maître d'hôtel butter with a few more voices in it. It's the one to make first and the one you'll make most.

Why the ribeye: the ribeye is the fattiest cut we sell, and adding more fat without adding brightness makes it heavy. The lemon and the herbs cut through it. This is a butter that's doing a balancing job rather than an enriching one.

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chives, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp tarragon or thyme, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, grated on a microplane
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp coarse black pepper

Also good on: EVERYTHING. Start with corn, roast chicken, a baked potato, bread.

2. Mustard butter — for the top sirloin and the steak tips

Sharp, savory, and a little sweet. This is the butter for lean, mineral cuts that need a partner with some edge to it.

Why the sirloin: a top sirloin is the leanest of the four steaks apart from the filet, and its flavor is direct and beefy rather than rich. Mustard and tarragon meet it head-on instead of trying to soften it. It's also the best of the four on a burger.

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• 1 tbsp tarragon, chopped
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp coarse black pepper

Note: the mustard adds liquid, so this log is softer than the others. Freeze it rather than refrigerating if you want clean coins.

Also good on: pork chops, roast potatoes, green beans, just about any meat sandwich.

3. Roquefort butter — for the New York strip

The loudest of the four, and the one people remember.

Why the strip: the strip has a rendered fat cap and a dense, firm grain. It can take a strong partner in a way that a filet can't — put Roquefort on a tenderloin and you've eaten blue cheese, not steak. On a strip, like a good marriage the two meet as equals.

Roquefort specifically because it's sharper and saltier than a milder blue; Stilton is the next best thing, Gorgonzola dolce is too gentle for this.

• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3 oz Roquefort, crumbled and at room temperature
• 1 tbsp brandy or port
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• ¾ tsp coarse black pepper
• Salt only if needed — taste first; the cheese brings plenty

Optional: 2 tbsp toasted walnuts, finely chopped and lightly toasted, but not browned. Good, but it makes the log crumbly.

Leave some texture. Mix it until it's streaky, not homogenous — you want to find pockets of cheese.

Also good on: a pub burger, roast beef, a steak sandwich, and for some strange reason, celery.

4. Provençal olive oil butter — for the filet mignon

The most unusual of the four, and the one I'd point a filet buyer to first.

It's butter cut with good mid to late season olive oil, which lowers the melting point — so instead of a slowly-softening coin, it collapses into a fluid pool the moment it touches a hot steak. Then the olives, anchovy and garlic bring a savory depth that a herb butter doesn't have.

Why the filet: the tenderloin is the leanest, mildest cut on the animal and it needs two things — fat and flavor. Most compound butters bring the first. This one brings both, and the fluidity means it behaves more like a sauce than a topping, which is what a filet wants. 

• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil
• 8 kalamata or niçoise olives, pitted and finely chopped
• 2 anchovy fillets, mashed to a paste — or 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Zest of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped
• ½ tsp coarse black pepper
• Salt to taste — the olives, anchovy and capers are all salty, so taste before adding any

On the anchovy: it does not taste like fish in this. It tastes like the steak got better. If you have someone at the table who objects on principle, leave it out and add a teaspoon of white miso or a splash of fish sauce instead.

This log stays soft because of the oil. Freeze it, and slice it straight from the freezer.

Also good on: Top sirloin, lamb, roasted vegetables, warm bread, fish.

Whipped herb tallow 

The Dairy Free Option

Beef tallow behaves a lot like butter at room temperature and it is, of course, very much at home on a steak. Whipped with herbs and garlic it makes a compound "butter" that slices, keeps and melts the same way — and it has the advantage of tasting like the animal it came from.

• 8 tbsp (4 oz) beef tallow, softened to room temperature — not melted
• 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chives, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp thyme or rosemary, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
• 1 small shallot, very finely minced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp coarse black pepper

Whip it first. Tallow is firmer and waxier than butter, so beat it alone for a minute with a fork or in a stand mixer until it lightens and loosens — then fold the rest in. Skip that and you'll be fighting it.

Roll, chill and slice exactly as above. It's firmer than a butter log, so slice it a little thinner, and it wants an extra minute on a hot steak to melt all the way.

Good tallow matters here. Rendered beef fat with a clean, mild flavor. It should not taste like bleach or chemicals.

Dairy Free Options Broken Down

Storage

• Refrigerator: 2 weeks, wrapped tightly.
• Freezer: 3 months. Wrap the parchment log in foil or a freezer bag.
• Slice before freezing slice coins before freezing on a parchment-lined tray Once solid place in bag.
• Label them: Four unlabeled butter logs in a freezer look identical and you will guess wrong.

Quick answers

What is compound butter? Softened butter with herbs, aromatics, cheese or other flavorings mixed in, rolled into a log and chilled. Sliced into coins and melted over hot food.

When do you put butter on a steak? The moment it comes off the heat, at the start of the rest. A hot steak melts it in; a rested one doesn't.

How long does compound butter keep? Two weeks refrigerated, three months frozen.

Is there a dairy-free compound butter? Yes — whipped beef tallow with herbs, garlic and lemon works the same way and slices the same way. The mustard and Provençal butters convert cleanly to olive-oil versions. Blue cheese butter has no honest substitute; use a red onion chutney instead.

What butter goes with which steak? Herb butter with ribeye, mustard butter with top sirloin and steak tips, Roquefort butter with New York strip, Provençal olive oil butter with filet mignon. The principle: the fattier the cut, the more the butter should bring acid and brightness; the leaner the cut, the more it should bring fat and savoriness.