This is sure to become your go-to baste. Lather over potatoes, braai chops or toast, or use as your pasta sauce flavour base. Refrigerate and use within a week, or freeze for up to one month. 

Makes ½ cup 

Ingredients  

For the cowboy butter: 

2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 Tbsp finely chopped chives
1 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
¾ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ cup butter, at room temperature
Salt and milled pepper 

For serving: 

2 sirloin steaks, cooked to preference 

Method  

1. Mix everything (except for the salt and pepper) well in a bowl, then season to taste.
2. Lay 3 same-sized pieces of clingwrap on top of each other on a work surface.
3. Spoon butter into a log shape on one long edge of the clingwrap, a few centimetres from the edge.
4. Roll clingwrap over butter to encase, then roll until you reach the opposite edge.
5. Twist the short edges on either side of the log tightly to seal. Tie a knot on each twist. Refrigerate butter until cold.
6. To serve, unwrap butter, slice into rounds and dot on top of hot steak or burgers. The butter will melt in the residual heat from the meat to form a rich, flavourful sauce.

Top Tip:  

Instead of rolling butter into a log to store, simply spoon it into an air-tight container and spoon from there. 

Recipes & Styling: Sjaan Van der Ploeg
Photography: Zhann Solomos