A Composed Citrus Butter for Fish and Shellfish

by DDL

Composed butters are always a handy thing to have in the fridge, because they’re easy to make, keep well, and can be used on just about anything that benefits from having butter melted on it (which, if you think about it, is pretty much everything).

What I am presenting today is a master recipe which allows you the greatest flexibility in terms of using what’s on hand and what looks good at the grocery. At its heart, this composed butter consists of a stick of butter, an aromatic such as garlic, onion, or shallot, a citrus element, and wine.

Composed Citrus Butter for Fish and Shellfish

For the base:

1 stick of unsalted butter, diced

For the aromatic:

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
or
1/4 or 1/8 of a small onion, chopped fine
or
1 or 2 shallots, say it with me, chopped fine

For the citrus:

Zest and juice of one lemon, or one orange

And all the rest:
About 1/4 cup of white wine

A couple of tablespoons of finely chopped italian flat leaf parsley

Directions

1. Take the diced butter and place it into a heat-proof bowl or glass storage container.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the aromatic elements, the citrus elements (the zest and the juice), and the wine, and bring to a simmer. Keep this going until it’s reduced by half, stirring it every so often, and then pour the hot mess over the butter.

3. Using a fork or a small whisk, mix and stir the butter until it softens and incorporates everything. It shouldn’t melt completely if you keep at it, but it should soften enough for you to work the other ingredients into it uniformly. Add the chopped parsley towards the end and work that in as well.

Cover the butter and refrigerate until ready to use. You could even freeze it for longer storage.

Ready to use? Melt a small pat of citrus butter over grilled or sauteed fish, or use (in conjunction with olive oil) as your base fat when you saute shrimp, scallops, or even vegetables. Stir some into hot rice, or pasta.

Did I mention that composed butters are very flexible?

You could probably use limes for your citrus element and substitute cilantro for the parsley, but that would steer you more towards southwestern and Caribbean dishes and lower the flexibility somewhat. If you go this route, I would recommend garlic as your aromatic and maybe even punch it up with some hot sauce or canned chipotle chiles.