Spicy Red Pepper Butter
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 21, 2007
Time
1 hour
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Before You Begin
This compound butter is easy to make—if the butter is softened to room temperature, the whole thing can be done in the blender. Though this butter is excellent with any white fish such as monkfish, cod, snapper, flounder, or halibut, it is also great with meat and poultry. The meat or fish must be hot so the butter melts over it. The compound butter holds a few days in the refrigerator or several weeks in the freezer and is great on vegetables as well.
Instructions
- Set the half pepper on a steamer rack over boiling water, cover, and adjust heat so that water simmers. Steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from steamer and let cool at room temperature or in refrigerator.
- Put cooled pepper along with garlic, vinegar, Tabasco, and salt in blender or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade and process until smooth. Add butter and blend until smooth. Finished butter will be very loose. If using immediately, spoon about 1 tablespoonful onto each piece of fish or meat and serve. Or roll into a log in parchment paper and refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, cut 1/4-inch-thick medallions of chilled butter and place one on each serving of seafood or meat, if desired.
Time
1 hourYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
When we tested steamed fish recipes, we found the two most important variables affecting cooking time to be the thickness and texture of the individual fish. Times are more affected by the thickness of the fillet or steak, for example, than by weight or size; as long as they are roughly the same thickness, an 8-ounce salmon fillet and a 1-pound salmon fillet take the same amount of time to cook. The easiest and most effective way to add flavor to our steamed fish recipe was to steam the fish on a thick bed of herbs or other aromatics such as onion, lemon, or ginger. A simple sauce drizzled on the fish added even more flavor.
Before You Begin
This compound butter is easy to make—if the butter is softened to room temperature, the whole thing can be done in the blender. Though this butter is excellent with any white fish such as monkfish, cod, snapper, flounder, or halibut, it is also great with meat and poultry. The meat or fish must be hot so the butter melts over it. The compound butter holds a few days in the refrigerator or several weeks in the freezer and is great on vegetables as well.
Instructions
- Set the half pepper on a steamer rack over boiling water, cover, and adjust heat so that water simmers. Steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from steamer and let cool at room temperature or in refrigerator.
- Put cooled pepper along with garlic, vinegar, Tabasco, and salt in blender or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade and process until smooth. Add butter and blend until smooth. Finished butter will be very loose. If using immediately, spoon about 1 tablespoonful onto each piece of fish or meat and serve. Or roll into a log in parchment paper and refrigerate or freeze. When ready to serve, cut 1/4-inch-thick medallions of chilled butter and place one on each serving of seafood or meat, if desired.
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Keep Exploring
0 Comments