Maître D’ Butter Recipe (2024)

Published August 3, 2023.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This classic easy-to-make Maître D’ Butter Recipe is the perfect finishing touch on all your steak, chicken, fish, pork, and vegetable recipes. You will love the complimenting flavors of this butter on anything you make.

There is nothing like finishing off a perfectly cooked piece of beef or chicken with a sauce or butter like this. If you love big flavors that pair together nicely, try using this Maître D’ Butter on my Reverse Seared Steak or my Grilled Spatchco*ck Chicken.

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (1)

Maître D’ Butter

Maître d’ butter, also known as Maître D’hôtel Butter, is a standard compound butter comprised of whipped softened butter with acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, with finely minced fresh parsley and seasonings. It is commonly served on beef, fish, chicken, pork, or vegetables.

Back several decades in fine dining, the Maître d, or head waiter, would serve a slice of this butter onto your steak, chicken, fish, or pork tableside directly before serving it in Infront of you. This isn’t common practice anymore, but table-side service has begun to make a comeback, especially in France and England.

The hint of acid from the lemon juice and fat from the butter makes it the perfect finishing touch to any of your recipes. It’s always good to finish all your sauces, soups, main courses, etc., with some clean acid and unsalted butter to brighten a dish as well as provide some body and flavor.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (2)
  • Butter – I always use unsalted butter in all my cooking backing so that I control the sodium content.
  • Parsley – Italian flat-leaf parsley is best to use in this recipe. However, if curly parsley is all you can find, then it will be great to use as well.
  • Lemon – You will need some freshly squeezed lemon juice.
  • Seasonings – coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper is all that was used for this maître d butter.

How to Make Maître D’ Butter from Scratch

Add your softened butter to a stand mixer and whip with the paddle attachment on high speed for 5-7 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (3)

Next, stop the mixer and add chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

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Turn the mixer onto low speed and mix until everything is incorporated.

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Transfer the butter to 16” x 12” pieces of parchment paper and slightly form it longways, leaving about 3” of parchment paper on either end of the butter.

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Roll the butter up to form a round log.

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Twist the ends of the parchment paper to tighten it up.

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Freeze the butter for 1 hour or until cold and hard.

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Slice it and serve it on to your favorite cooked protein.

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Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead:You can make this up to 5 days ahead of time.Keep it in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it.

How to Store:Cover and keep the maître d butter in the refrigerator for 7 days.Cover and freeze for up to 6 months.

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (11)

Chef Notes + Tips

  • You canuse thismaître d butter directly from the freezer in whatever you want to use it in.
  • Feel free to enhance this with finely grated garlic or shallots.
  • You canuse other fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano, basil, thyme, chervil, or rosemary.

More Butter Recipes

  • Clarified Butter
  • Honey Butter
  • Truffle Butter
  • Roasted Garlic Butter
  • Herb and Garlic Butter

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (12)

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Maître D’ Butter Recipe

Maître D’ Butter Recipe (13)

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5 from 1 vote

This classic easy-to-make Maître D’ Butter Recipe is the perfect finishing touch on all your steak, chicken, fish, pork, and vegetable recipes.

Servings: 2 cups

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 sticks softened unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup finely minced fresh parsley
  • Juice of 2 lemons, about ¼ cup
  • 2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Add the softened butter to a stand mixer and whip with the paddle attachment on high speed for 5-7 minutes until it becomes light and fluffy.

  • Next, stop the mixer and add chopped parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

  • Turn the mixer onto low speed and mix until everything is incorporated.

  • Transfer the butter to 16” x 12” pieces of parchment paper and slightly form it longways, leaving about 3” of parchment paper on either end of the butter.

  • Roll the butter up to form a round log.

  • Twist the ends of the parchment paper to tighten it up.

  • Freeze the butter for 1 hour or until cold and hard.

  • Slice it and serve it on to your favorite cooked protein.

Notes

Make-Ahead:You can make this up to 5 days ahead of time.Keep it in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it.

How to Store: Cover and keep the maître d butter in the refrigerator for 7 days.Cover and freeze for up to 6 months.

You canuse this maître d butter directly from the freezer in whatever you want to use it in.

Feel free to enhance this with finely grated garlic or shallots.

You canuse other fresh herbs such as parsley, oregano, basil, thyme, chervil, or rosemary.

Nutrition

Calories: 1630kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 2gFat: 184gSaturated Fat: 117gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 48gTrans Fat: 7gCholesterol: 488mgSodium: 2355mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 0.2gVitamin A: 6302IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 1mg

Course: sauce, Topping

Cuisine: American, english, French

Author: Chef Billy Parisi

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1 comment

    • Terry Goins
    • Maître D’ Butter Recipe (14)

    Takes ribeyes and filets to a whole new level. I like to add some grated garlic to mine. Great recipe that allows for so many variations!

    • Reply
Maître D’ Butter Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients for a traditional maître d'hôtel butter? ›

Ingredients
  • 5 1/3 oz of unsalted butter, softened.
  • 3/4 oz of parsley, finely chopped.
  • 1 lemon, zested, plus half the juice.
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt.
  • 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper.
  • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, (optional)
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper, (optional)

How is Maître d'hôtel butter often served? ›

Uses. Beurre maître d'hôtel is usually served cold as sliced disks atop various foods, and sometimes as a side condiment. It is used on grilled meats such as steak and fish, and also on eggs, vegetables, potatoes and breads.

What is French flour butter mixture? ›

Beurre Manié (French for “kneaded butter”) is made by mixing equals parts of softened butter and flour. This dough or paste is used to thicken sauces, soups and stews.

How to make butter Gordon Ramsay? ›

This is Gordon Ramseys recipe which is as follows 200g of unsalted butter at room temperature 1 tsp of parsley 1tsp of chevil 1 tsp of tarragon salt and pepper Mix together until all combined Put it on some gladwrap and roll into a log and then put into the fridge ready for use.

Why does butter taste better in France? ›

French butter comes from milk from grass-fed cows, which produce a more savory, nutty-tasting butter than non-grass-fed cows." When shopping for butter he says, "Butter with the PDO label is a protected butter that signifies a production guideline regulating milk, production process, terroir and savoir-faire.

Why does French food use so much butter? ›

Butter is a signature ingredient for many recipes, but never has it figured more prominently than in French cuisine. From baked goods to savory items, butter is thought to add depth and dimension, making everything it coats more spectacular. While French food relies on butter, many diets, especially vegan ones, do not.

What is so special about French butter? ›

French butter also has a higher fat content. This is France, after all! While most countries use about 80% butterfat in their butter, French law requires at least 82% butterfat. It might not sound like much, but this 2% difference actually has a a huge impact on texture and taste.

Is it cheaper to make your own butter than to buy it? ›

Butter isn't that expensive — it's about $3 per pound at the wholesale level. Cream costs roughly $3.50 for 16 ounces, or less if you buy a larger carton. That means the price of making your own butter isn't much more than buying it in the store, and often you can get organic cream cheaper than organic butter.

Is it cheaper to make your own butter? ›

Whatever the case, making your own butter probably won't save you much money. In fact, it might cost you money.

What is the best heavy cream for making butter? ›

The cream from Jersey cows produces the best butter because of its higher fat content milk, plus the fact that their fat is dispersed in larger globules than milk from other types of cows and tends to churn into butter more easily.

Why do Americans say maitre D? ›

Maître d' is short for maître d'hôtel, which comes from French and literally means "master of the house." Maître d'hôtel was used in English for a head butler or steward of a household before it referred to the head of a dining-room staff.

What is a female maitre D called? ›

There are different meanings for "maître". It can be used for a teacher in elementary school or the master of an animal. Then the feminine form is "maîtresse". It is also used to refer to the master of some sport or art.

What does maitre d mean in cooking? ›

Maître d' is short for maître d'hotel. In a restaurant, maître d' is responsible for greeting guests, seating them, and taking care of their needs during their dining experience.

Why is it called hotel butter? ›

Mâitre d'Hotel butter refers to a compound butter that the head waiter (or “Mâitre d'” in French) would prepare tableside and add to finished dishes in high end hotel restaurants – which is why it's also sometimes called hotel butter.

What is Entrecôte Maître d'hotel? ›

Pan-seared steak with parsley butter. The steak the French most often use with beurre maître d'hôtel is perhaps the entrecôte, which is as it sounds — cut from between the ribs. But as cuts of meat differ from country to country, this recipe does not specify which kind of steak to use.

How many ingredients are in Cafe de Paris? ›

22 ingredients

: Beurre 76%, eau, légumes 3.5% (oignons, ail), sel de cuisine, herbes aromatiques 2.5% (ciboulette, aneth, persil, estragon, thym), petit-lait en poudre, concentré de tomate 1%, sucre, épices, extrait de levure, acidifiant: acide citrique, épaississant: E415, arômes naturels.

What is Italian butter made of? ›

Italian butter is one of the most highly sought-after Italian dairy product, made from fresh milk, treated with specific techniques that lend the final product a creamy white color, softness in taste and spread ability.

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