Want to make things a little easier in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day? Make compound butter!

By combining butter and fresh herbs in your early Thanksgiving prep, you can cut out all that chopping on the big day. For all those traditional recipes that call for butter and herbs, just reach for this! Mixed it into your stuffing/dressing and mashed potatoes, smothered it on your roasted turkey, whisked it into your gravy, even served on your table to spread on your freshly baked rolls. Compound butter can be a cook’s best friend on Thanksgiving Day!

Consider this recipe more of a guideline than hard and fast rules. Compound butter is meant to be customized to your personal taste. Prefer to use unsalted butter? Go for it. Don’t like garlic? Leave it out. Prefer a different herb? Chop it up and toss it in! The one exception: the lemon juice. It might seem strange, but try it. The acidity adds a little something special!

Herb Compound Butter
(Original recipe: NYT Cooking)

1 cup butter, softened (I prefer Kerrygold)
2 garlic cloves, finely minced (or substitute 2 TBSP minced shallots)
1 TBSP fresh thyme, chopped
1 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped
1 TBSP fresh sage, chopped
1 TBSP fresh tarragon, chopped
1 TBSP fresh chives, chopped
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl, mash together all the ingredients. Spoon the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap, form into a log, and twist to wrap well. Chill for at least 3 hours before using.