You always want to have some of this tarragon compound butter in the freezer. A pat or two on fish or chicken and it goes from ho-hum to wow! Rub some under the skin of chicken before grilling or roasting and it is so juicy and flavorful!
I love tarragon. The soft anise flavor goes so well with fish and chicken.
One of my favorite ways to preserve the flavor of fresh tarragon to use all year round is with my tarragon vinegar. I love it.
After reading a chapter on compound butter in a recent cookbook (yes, I read cookbooks like novels) I thought...what a great way to preserve some of my herbs.
The first one I tried was this tarragon butter.
I was roasting a chicken that night and pushed some up under the skin on the breast and the thighs. Best. Chicken. Ever.
Let's just say, I now have 3 logs of this flavorful butter in my freezer!
Read on to see how easy it is to make, so you can stock your freezer too!
Ingredients:
Tarragon - I used fresh, though you can use dried.
Salt - kosher salt.
Pepper - you can use black pepper, I just had some white and used it so there wouldn't be black flecks in the butter.
Garlic - can also use garlic powder.
Lemon - you'll be using the zest from the lemon, so try and get organic if you can.
Butter - unsalted. If using salted, you can omit adding the extra salt.
Instructions
Soften the butter by letting it come to room temperature.
Zest the lemon (you'll need about ½ teaspoon.)
Finely mince the garlic and the tarragon.
Place the butter, tarragon, salt, pepper, lemon zest and garlic in a bowl.
Combine the butter with the rest of the ingredients. I like to use a fork, it's easier to get everything mixed together.
Place the butter in the center of a sheet of parchment paper. You can also use plastic wrap.
Fold over the paper to cover the butter.
Using a flat straight surface (I used a thin cutting board) to press against the butter, forming it into a tight cylinder.
Twist the ends to encase the butter.
Store in the fridge or freezer. It will keep in the fridge for about 5 days and up to 6 months in the freezer.
As I said in the first paragraph, this was so good! So easy to, I will be making herb butters from a lot of my herbs and will be sharing them.
I have used it under the skin of a chicken before roasting and it came out so juicy and flavorful. I did a very simple broiled salmon and melted a pat on top of it - easiest dinner ever!
Sautéed some green beans in it and they were amazing.
More Tarragon Recipes:
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Recipe
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Tarragon Butter
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter softened to room temperature
- 3 tbsp tarragon minced
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper or black
Instructions
- Combine everything in a bowl with a fork to work the ingredients into the butter.
- Place on parchment or plastic wrap and roll into a tight cylinder.
- Store in fridge or freeze.
Ann M. says
Love this recipe! My favorite way to use it is for scrambled eggs. It’s also great with peas. I keep extra in the freezer and give it as gifts to foodie friends. Yum!
Pam Greer says
Oh, I bet it's amazing with scrambled eggs!
Rhonda Beezy says
If I skip the lemon zest and add a lemon slice to the dish to squeeze the juice over fish, will it jeopardize the flavor of the butter? I'm terrible at zesting (I always over-do it and end up wasting the rest of the fruit), which is why I'm asking. If I can substitute the juice, I can either use bottled lemon juice or preserve half the fresh lemon for the next meal and use the leftover slices to make my garbage disposal smell clean, haha.
Pam Greer says
Yes, you can totally omit the lemon zest from the butter if you'd like. It just won't have that bright lemon flavor in the butter.
Toni says
Thank you so much for this recipe! It's so easy! Can't wait to use it with my favorite meals!
Charla says
I'm definitely intrigued by this recipe because dill and tarragon are two herbs that I have a love/hate relationship with. I never thought about trying compound butter made with tarragon and I'm convinced this will win me over. Thank you!
Andrea says
Tarragon butter is so delicious with asparagus too! I love how easy this is to make.
Gloria says
What a great way to make this culinary delight at home. Gourmet right in your own kitchen. Perfect for so many uses. Delicious.
Beth says
Yum! I can't wait to use this! I'm grilling tonight and definitely using this butter with the chicken!! Can't wait!!
Lauren says
I can’t wait to use this on steak 😍