Name: Basic Mushroom Compound Butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 oz dried mushrooms (such as black trumpet or porcini ); 1.5 cup boiling water; 1/4 cup dry sherry; 1 lb unsalted butter (cut into ~1x1 inch cubes, at room temperature); 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or butter; 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 large shallots (diced 1/4 inch to yield about ½ cup or 4 oz); 2 Tablespoons dried crumbled ramp leaves or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (optional)

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A chef secret for steaks, vegetables, pasta and more, mushroom compound butter is one of the most versatile ingredients I know of. Everyone should know how to make a good one.

mushroom butter rolled in parchment — A finished log of mushroom butter wrapped in parchment.

What it is

Mushroom butter is butter that has been mixed with cooked mushrooms. It's one, of the best ways to use dried mushrooms.

a piece of meat with mushroom butter melting on it over spinach — Melted mushroom on a steak is a classic.

Using Dried Mushrooms

Dried mushrooms, especially wild ones are at their best here. When mushrooms are dried, it concentrates their flavor. When the mushrooms are rehydrated in liquid, it becomes a concentrated nectar that can be reduced down and whipped into butter, giving more flavor than if you used fresh mushrooms.

dried morel mushrooms in a jar — Dried morels make one of the finest butters.

Using Fresh Mushrooms

You can make a compound butter with fresh mushrooms and they're good. My favorite is Fresh Porcini Butter.

mushroom butter in a crock next to a porcini mushroom — Fresh porcini make a good butter.

Shiitakes make a great too. But, dried mushroom butters are stronger tasting and more flavorful as a rule because they include the concentrated liquid from rehydrating.

Basic Process

making a mushroom puree — Make a puree of cooked dried mushrooms.

mixing mushroom butter with a whisk in a bowl — Blend the puree into soft butter.

spreading out mushroom butter on parchment — Spread the butter on parchment.

rolling mushroom butter in parchment — Roll the butter into a log.

cutting a slice of mushroom butter — Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until needed.

How to use it

Compound butter is extremely versatile. It's often melted on steaks, but can also be used anywhere you would use butter or a spread. It's hard to even count the ways I use this. Here's a few ways I've served it over the years.

Tossed into a pan of pasta to make a quick, delicious sauce. Think mixed vegetables, fettucine and mushroom butter sauce.
Melt the butter on grilled or pan seared steak.
It's great with almost every meat: broiled or grilled fish, venison steaks, pork chops, poultry and more.
Tossed with vegetables for simple side dishes.
Warmed up as a dip for artichokes, preferably with a little garlic grated in.
Whisked into pan sauces for fish and chicken at the last minute.
Tossed with cooked fresh peas and thin slices of prosciutto.
Stirred into soups and sauces.
Tossed with sauteed mushrooms at the end of cooking.

pasta with mushroom butter sauce and spinach — Pasta with garlic butter mushrooms and a touch of lemon juice.

Know your mushroom types

Some mushrooms make great compound butter and some don't. Ideally you want a variety that has a lot of flavor when dried, but is also soft enough to be pureed in a food processor.

Varieties to avoid

Some varieties become hard after drying and will be too chunky. Dried shiitakes, chicken of the woods, hen of the woods, and hedgehog mushrooms are good examples to avoid.

Best Varieties

The best of the best. Each of the species below either dried or fresh will give excellent results. Cultivated mushrooms like baby bellas and portobellos don't have much flavor compared to these.

Black Trumpets
Porcini
Candy Cap
Morels

spreading out mushroom butter on a board — Black trumpet mushroom butter.

Dried black trumpet mushroom and ramp leaf butter recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Basic Mushroom Compound Butter

Yield: about 1.5 lbs of butter, enough to garnish 10 entrees, or flavor 6-8 entrees of pasta

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Ramp Leaves

Servings:

Author: Alan Bergo

Equipment

1 Food processor

Ingredients

1 oz dried mushrooms such as black trumpet or porcini
1.5 cup boiling water
¼ cup dry sherry
1 lb unsalted butter cut into ~1x1 inch cubes, at room temperature
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or butter
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
2 large shallots diced ¼ inch to yield about ½ cup or 4 oz
2 Tablespoons dried crumbled ramp leaves or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme optional

Instructions

Re-hydrate the black trumpet mushrooms in the water until softened, about 20 minutes. Agitate the mushrooms in the water to remove any grit, then remove, strain the liquid, then coarsely chop the mushrooms. Reserve the liquid and mushrooms separately.
Add the garlic, shallot and two tablespoons of butter or oil to a 10 inch frying pan. Cook on medium high heat until the shallot is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the mushrooms and continue cooking until the edges of the pan show some color and the shallots have lost some volume and are just starting to brown.
Deglaze the pan with the sherry.
Add the strained mushroom liquid along with the thyme and bring the mixture to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pan is nearly dry.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or use a handblender to process to a smooth-ish paste.
Season the puree with the salt, mix to combine, and cool to room temperature to avoid breaking the emulsion of the butter.
When the puree is cool, whisk it in a bowl with the room temperature butter or whip in a stand mixer with the whisk until light and fluffy.
It's important to really whip thoroughly. If I want to make fluffy butter to spread on bread, I may add an ice cube or two while it's in the stand mixer, which adds extra volume.
Double check the seasoning for salt and pepper and adjust until it tastes good to you. Transfer the butter with a spatula to parchment or wax paper and roll tightly into a log, then tie the ends closed with string or plastic wrap. Label, date, and freeze in a Ziploc bag until needed.
The butter can be kept in the fridge, and will keep for a week. If you're not going to use the butter in a few days, keep it in the freezer, then you can pull out the log(s), allow to thaw for 10 minutes before cutting. Cut off pieces as needed, returning the butter to the freezer.

Black Trumpet Mushrooms