Newsletter # 64 – Compound Butter – Cafe de Paris Butter

Chances are that if you have eaten in an Italian restaurant or have attended an Aussie Barbeque or maybe ordered pizza you would have unknowingly come into contact with today’s subject –compound butter. Yes, the butter in your garlic bread is an example of a compound butter. Another type which I haven’t tried for many years is the sweet, whipped butter that is a standard accompaniment served with McDonald’s pancakes. So, you get it, ‘Compound Butter’ is butter with other ingredients added.

Butter is an interesting product for it can incorporate certain additions when it is creamed, including liquids that will add flavour that can complement the dish. Today’s recipe is Cafe de Paris butter, which is delicious on top of the grilled sirloin steak. Actually, it is perfect on chicken, pork and fish grills as well. My recipe benefits from the addition of raw egg yolk and extra whipping which will improve the appearance of the finished grill as it melts over steak and an even more creamy texture if you speed the process up by placing the cooked meat under the oven grill element.

The origin of Cafe de Paris Butter is from a restaurant of the same name in Geneva, Switzerland. While the concept of adding herbs and flavourings to butter has been around for many years, there seemed to be no confusion with who popularised the name Cafe de Paris butter – that being the cafe’s owner.

I would think that many chefs would have their own similar recipe for this famous butter, which reflects on the secrecy in which the original recipe is held. If you want to try the original, then journey to Geneva where it is still a speciality of that same restaurant.

Cafe de Paris Butter

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Course: Accompliment

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 250 g butter softened
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 small onion peeled finely chopped, gently cooked and chilled
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
• 6 anchovy fillets finely chopped
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tbs curry powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp tarragon
• 1 tsp thyme leaf
• 2 tsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbs chopped chives
• 1 tbs parmesan cheese
• salt
• cracked pepper

Other ingredients which are optional:

• spring onion, capers, ginger

Method

 

1. Assemble your added ingredients
   
2. Prepare the onions – the term we use here is ‘sweating’
   
3. Place your softened butter in your mixer and whip on medium speed for 5 minutes, occasionally scraping the sides of the mixing bowl down
4. The butter should have a pale fluffy appearance
   
5. Add the rest of the ingredients
   
6. whip for a further 2 minutes, repeating the scraping
   
7. Turn the butter mixture out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper (About 20cm x 30cm)
   
8. Roll the butter up into a 5cm diameter cylinder shape
   
9. Trim the excess paper ends
   
10. Now wrap this butter cylinder shape in plastic wrap
    
11. Refrigerate the butter until hard
12. When chilled cut a 1cm slice to melt on top of your grilled steak
    

Notes

Perfect in the freezer –it’s a sauce in the freezer

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Cafe de Paris Butter

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Course: Main Course

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• I purchased two sirloin steaks about 2cm thickness each, at Coles when they were on special. They required no extra trimming and finished product was very tender.

Method

 

Grilling your steak:

1. Pat the steak dry and season both sides with salt
   
2. Let it stand at room temperature for 15 minutes
3. The meat will seem to be sweating
   
4. Pat the meat dry again with kitchen paper
   
5. Pre heat your pan or grill plate
6. Season your steak with cracked pepper if desired
7. Brush your steak with olive oil
   
8. Place on your hot grill
   
9. I grilled my steak for about 90 seconds before turning
   
10. I turned the steak three times for an approximate cooking time total of six minutes
    
11. When you think the steak is done to your liking take out of the pan and rest the steak for 5 minutes
    
12. Place generous slice of the Cafe de Paris on top
    
13. place it under the grill element in your oven till melted
    
14. Serve your steak with French Fries