Turn Steak Night Into An Unforgettable Feast With This Rich Butter Trick

With beef prices surging, it's imperative to make the most of your steak night. In addition to choosing the right cut and your preferred method of preparation and level of doneness, flavor plays a key role. Though the TikTok butter board trend has been around for some time, using it to make a special serving of steak will instantly elevate your meal and open up new possibilities for culinary creativity.

Keeping with the charcuterie-inspired wave of grazing boards, snack boards, and just about any other food board you can imagine, the humble butter board began as a stylish means of serving bread. Starting with a food-grade board and softened butter, the condiment is then spread along the board and dressed with a variety of complementary ingredients such as salt, seasonings, or sauces, and served with an ideal dipper. Similarly, you can use this setup to serve steak with mouthwatering compound butters such as cowboy butter, garlic and herb butter, bone marrow butter, and more.

The use of a butter board is also a great way to enhance more affordable cuts of steak with extra flavor and fat content, provided you've taken care to tenderize the beef first. Slicing your cooked steak into smaller bite-sized pieces or strips can also make this a pleasing appetizer or communal meal with friends. Try a few different compound butter recipes on one board to make your serving a fun shared tasting experience.

First and foremost, it's important to select a steak that you can cook to your desired doneness and slice easily for pairing with your butter board. Knowing that the butter will provide a fair amount of extra flavor, you'll want to keep your steak seasonings simple and low-key to let the natural tastes of the meat and the butter from your board shine through. As far as compound butters, cowboy butter will seriously elevate your steak game and is fairly simple to prepare. It's also worth noting that you'll want to prepare your infused butter ahead of time to allow the ingredients to fully permeate.

For an irresistible cowboy butter, mix unsalted butter with minced garlic, chopped chives, parsley, fresh thyme, Dijon mustard, paprika, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and crushed chili flakes. You can also add some more tang and zest with Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice. You can change up these ingredients to suit your personal taste preferences, so long as everything gets properly combined. Shape it and let it set in the fridge for adding to your butter board later.

Maintain the proper temperature for both your cooked steak and butter to keep the taste and textures pleasing without making a mess. It's vital to let your steak rest after cooking and before slicing just as much as it is to let your butter soften without melting prior to applying it to the board. Remember to savor every luxurious bite!