The alarmingly large selection of outdoor grills on display at our local hardware store convinced me. There must be one out there for every American with a backyard. Those nostalgic for a ’50’s Sputnik look can still purchase the original round black Weber model. The largest ones ones are designed to be the same size as the owner’s SUV - gas powered, stainless steel and fitted with a refrigerator and sink. Who needs to cook indoors?
While inspecting one such kitchen on wheels, I tried to remember when I had last seen someone cooking outdoors in France. It wasn’t at the home of our friends Jean-Paul and Danièle who purchased a barbeque à charbon (charcoal grill) after visiting us.. It had to have been last May - at the Museum of Pre-History in Eyzies-le-Tayac (Dordogne)!
I’m recalling of the beautifully reconstructed scene of a life-size Cro-Magnon man grilling meat – a reindeer steak? a salmon filet? – over an open fire. Imagine, twenty thousand years before the Christian era, at least in France homo sapiens were dining very well, if simply, in the temperate valley of the Vezère River. But (aside from our friend Jean-Paul), I've seen no sign of Frenchmen grilling outdoors.
Predictably, the lexicon of French cuisine is mute on the subject of beer can chicken and smoked brisket over mesquite. You could deduce from this absence that French and barbecue cuisine are polar opposites, but that’s not necessarily so.
Here’s the problem. Sauces are very important in French cuisine, and grilled food produces too little juice to make a traditional sauce. However, when meat is sautéed in a pan, browned scraps and cooking juices remain and are loosened (deglazed) with wine or Cognac. The addition of butter turns it into a creamy emulsion. Spoon this thickened sauce over an entrée: you’ve created a ‘Voila!’ moment.
Sooooo, why not make a sauce of butter by itself with perhaps some minced 
herbs to add summer aromas? Herb-infused butter melts on the warm food, glazes it and releases fresh, herbaceous scents as you eat. Officially, butter sauces are called compound butters. The name doesn’t do them justice.
Herb butters require only five minutes of assembly time. They store well for a week in the refrigerator and can be frozen for longer periods. Four ounces of soft unsalted butter is easy to blend by hand with minced herbs and salt (sometimes shallots and garlic). I mix up larger amounts of butter in a food processor. With either process, room temperature butter is a must. It’s my habit to add a small amount of fresh lemon juice or spirits to highlight the unctuous properties of the butter. (Citric acid also acts as a preservative.)
About now you are beginning to fear for your arteries. It’s a false alarm. Most of us are not affected by dietary cholesterol. (I could throw in an endorsement from Julia Child. Butter was her favorite ingredient, and she lived to be ninety-two. But I won’t.) Suffice it to say that a teaspoon or two of herb butter will not unbalance your diet, and it will definitely heighten your dining satisfaction. However, I will caution you.
Once you start making herb butter, you will find a multitude of uses for it. I have found myself brushing tarragon butter on grilled seafood; folding parsley butter into cooked rice; sautéing couscous in cilantro butter and smoothing chive butter on steamed corn.
Like any good sauce, herb butter with its concentrated natural flavor and aromas flatters whatever is eaten with it. The French may not cook over fire today, but their cuisine still channels an inner caveman.
MAITRE D’HOTEL BUTTER
(Parsley* and Herb butter)
4 ounces soft unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- Mash together with a fork or puree in a food processor.
- Tightly cover and hold for two hours before using.
- Refrigerate between uses.
- This butter is delicious on steaks and seafood
- *Substitute cilantro if desired.
SCOTCH AND TARRAGON BUTTER
4 ounces softened, unsalted butter
3 tablespoons minced tarragon leaves
3 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons scotch
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Use method above or puree in a food processor.
- Serve with a rib roast and grilled salmon
CHIVE BUTTER
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 large clove garlic
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons chives cut into 1/4” pieces
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Peel the garlic and drop it down the feed tube of a food processor with the machine running.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add remaining ingredients and puree.
- Hold and store as described above.
- Serve with poultry, dark greens, toss with pasta, fold into cooked rice.
HERB RICE
Follow package directions for cooking 1 cup rice. After it has rested for 10 minutes, loosen with a fork and fold in 3 – 4 tablespoons of herb butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
HERB SCENTED COUSCOUS
2 tablespoons herb butter, divided
1 cup instant couscous
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Melt one tablespoon of butter in a saucepan. Add the couscous and stir over medium heat until the couscous is toasted, about 2 minutes.
- Add the water and bring to a boil.
- Turn off the heat, cover the pan and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter, add salt to taste and serve.
