Give Compound Butter A Cheesy Twist For The Ultimate Grill Topping

Cheese and butter? Get ready to bring a taste of decadent luxury into your next barbecue. Whether you're getting ready to fire up the grill or are slicing a freshly baked loaf to set on the table, compound butter with cheese can take your most trusted dishes to new heights.

This French style of serving butter takes the creamy ingredient and combines it with other ingredients like herbs and spices to form a flavorful buttery spread. With a simple swipe, dishes can be made richer, and meats can become more refined without much effort. Adding cheese to compound butter can push flavors even further, inviting the earthy, mature subtleties of cheese to even the most simple dishes. 

"What I'll usually do is use Garlic Herb cheese and the Alpine, maybe even the Horseradish, and you just shred that up, mix that into softened butter, roll it up like a tube, and wrap it," Cabot Creamery's Jimmy Kennedy advises The Takeout. With cheese-infused butter assembled and ready to go, home chefs can easily reach into the fridge and grab the flavored ingredient to layer onto proteins and spoon over vegetables ready for the grill.

Chilled rolls of cheesy compound butter can be easily sliced and layered onto serving plates and charcuterie boards to elevate the appearance of a platter, and the simple ingredient can bring a touch of sophistication to a typical summer barbecue spread: Think burgers and chicken breasts topped with flavored butter of your choosing, or add slices of cheese-enhanced butter to potatoes and corn roasting on the grill.

When selecting cheese to make your own compound butter at home, opt for more pungent, stronger varieties. Parmesan, gorgonzola, and Brie can hold their own when matched with decadent butter, and cheddar and bleu cheeses can be crumbled and shredded into pieces to easily blend. Continue to build layers of textured flavor with spices like paprika or dried herbs like rosemary and basil. 

Once you've become familiar with making your own compound butter at home, the options are endless when it comes to creating new flavors, and you can store a collection of compound butter in your kitchen to have flavor options for your next backyard cookout.