Bacon-Bourbon Butter

[buttoni]

Love those compound butters! This one came out particularly good last night. Hubby liked it A LOT! Bet it'll be even better on grilled chops, or perhaps grilled shrimp or grilled fish! I think this would even be good on steamed carrots!


I dare you to try and say the name of this recipe 10 times in a row real fast without getting tongue-tied! Ha, ha. I sure can’t do it. I just love, love, LOVE compound butters! They’re so easy to make, store so they’re handy, and dress up an ordinary meat or seafood taking it to a new flavor level. The one I made last night to use on pork or seafood came out particularly tasty. Not too sweet; not too overpowering. I recommend this butter for pork, whether butter-seared like the pounded pork loin shown above, or on charcoal grilled pork chops. I can’t wait to try this butter on our next grilled fish or shrimp. This recipe is not suitable for Atkins Induction due to the bourbon in it. This would not be suitable for strict Paleo-Primal for the same reason.

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 slice low-sodium bacon, chopped very fine
Dash coarse black pepper
Dash onion powder
2 tsp. bourbon
1 T. sugar-free maple syrup

DIRECTIONS: Soften butter on a plate. Brown the bacon in a skillet and drain, saving the grease for other uses. Add the cooked bacon to the butter and mix in all remaining ingredients with a fork until well blended. Cut off about an 6-8″ piece of plastic wrap and lay on your counter. Fork up all the butter into a longish band and using the plastic wrap to help you roll it into a log. I like to shape mine into the same shape and length of a regular stick of butter so I can cut off exactly 1T. (1/8 or the log) by just eye-balling it when I’m ready to use the butter in a recipe. Close the ends of the plastic wrap and set on the shelf of your refrigerator freezer until it is hard. Label it with a permanent marker and place your butter in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer if you are not going to use it right away. I encourage you to make compound butters a day ahead of planned use to allow the flavors to intermingle and mellow a bit, but that isn’t absolutely necessary.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes eight 1T. servings, each contains:

20.5 calories
1.9 g fat
.5 g carbs, .3 g fiber, .2 g NET CARBS
.34 g protein
15 mg sodium
5.88 mg potassium

[rosethorns]

I love compound butters. This sounds good.

[buttoni]

I'm spending the next week or so trying out some new ideas for seasoned butters.

[MSS726]

I often make seasoned butters, especially in the summer with all of my fresh herbs. They are great for so many things. This recipe sounds very good! I bet it would be good on some roasted brussels sprouts too!

[buttoni]

Yep, I suspect it would.

[Mistizoom]

Would this be too salty with salted butter? Otherwise I will be buying some unsalted butter to try this. Will try it on porkchops AND brussels spouts!

[buttoni]

Probably not, Misti. Just use what you have. I'm just very sodium-sensitive personally and only buy the unsalted. That way when it goes into recipes that have high sodium ingredients, like bacon, cheese and cream cheese, I don't get any surprises. I've been burned a time or two that way.

[Mistizoom]

Originally Posted by buttoni

Probably not, Misti. Just use what you have. I'm just very sodium-sensitive personally and only buy the unsalted. That way when it goes into recipes that have high sodium ingredients, like bacon, cheese and cream cheese, I don't get any surprises. I've been burned a time or two that way.

Thanks, we can handle a lot of salt, so I'll try it with the butter I have.