Once You Make Cauliflower Cowboy-Style, You'll Want It Again And Again

If you've never uttered the words cowboy and cauliflower in the same breath, you're not alone. When joined together, those two c-words sound enchanting, but it's hard to imagine how they meet in a plate of food. Fortunately, plenty of folks vouch for making what's called cowboy-style cauliflower, and once you do, we're betting you'll want it again and again. 

The most common (and delicious) form of cowboy-style cauliflower is one made with cowboy butter. How this type of butter earned the cowboy moniker isn't entirely clear, but it's essentially a compound butter — meaning ordinary softened but not melted butter mixed with seasonings. In the case of cowboy butter, it's rich and savory with a tangy acidic kick, punched up by combinations of garlic, lemon juice, dijon mustard, parsley, thyme, chives, paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.

This bold, buttery vegetable dish comes together by roasting raw cauliflower until it's browned, tender, slightly sweet, and a little nutty. After it's half roasted, melt the punchy cowboy butter and pour it over the veggies and pop them back into the oven to finish crisping up. Alternatively, you can just pour it over at the end to work like a fragrant finishing sauce, infusing the cauliflower with flavor.

After nailing down the basic cowboy-style process, it's easy to push the boundaries. For starters, you can play with shape, slicing the cauli rather than going with the usual florets, which allows for more browning. For a saltier browned finish, add grated Parmesan to the cauliflower during the final few minutes of roasting. If you like your heat sweet, stir honey into the spiced cowboy butter. Try using smoked paprika for campfire-style flavor, or add a splash of hot sauce for extra tang and spice. True turophiles, aka lovers of cheese, can sprinkle melty-style shredded cheese on top, and pop the cowboy cauliflower under the broiler — like nachos without the chips. 

It's easy to create fuller meals using cowboy cauliflower as a springboard. Spoon it over steamed rice, tuck into tacos, pile onto a baked potato, or serve it with grilled chicken, steak, or fish. It also adds flavor-power to vegetarian dishes such as beans, lentil curry, vegetarian chili, or warm hummus wraps. Add the cowboy cauliflower just before serving to avoid prolonged heat turning it mushy.

Some recipes call for an extra topping of cowboy butter in a soft spreadable form instead of melted. In that case, add it atop the finished cauliflower dish, producing a more saucy texture. It's also common to find softened cowboy butter spread across warm bread or perched atop a cooked steak. Alternatively, serve melted cowboy butter as a sidekick dipping sauce. This is also a method to seriously elevate your steak game.

Since cowboy butter is essentially a version of compound butter, here's a time-saving simple method for making compound butter using a food processor. And do read these 11 mistakes when making compound butter before you start, too.