Tarragon Butter

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan
• •Large bowl for an ice bath
• •Two clean kitchen towels
• •Small food processor or heavy mortar and pestle
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Flexible bowl scraper
• •Parchment paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the butter

   Cut the butter into small pieces and leave it until pliable but still cool, about 18°C to 20°C. Press a piece with your finger: it should yield cleanly without looking shiny or oily. Melted butter cannot hold the herb evenly, so keep it away from the stove while the water heats.

2. 2

   Scald and shock

   Bring a medium saucepan of water to a full boil and prepare a large bowl of ice water beside it. Lower in the tarragon and blanchir, scald it briefly, for 10 to 15 seconds, pressing floating leaves beneath the water. The herb should collapse and turn a clearer green while retaining its clean anise scent. Lift it immediately into the ice water and stir until completely cold. Do not let it linger in the boiling water; overcooked tarragon loses the perfume the butter is meant to preserve.

   Have the ice bath ready before the tarragon touches the boiling water. This process lasts seconds, and there is no useful moment for hunting through the freezer halfway through it.
3. 3

   Press thoroughly dry

   Drain the tarragon, squeeze it firmly between your hands, then spread it across a clean dry towel. Roll the towel tightly around the herb and press with both hands until no more water marks the cloth. Open it, move the tarragon to a fresh dry patch, and press again. If droplets appear when you squeeze a pinch, do not proceed. Ça se rattrape: wrap it in the second towel and press once more. Water left here makes the finished butter weep and dulls its keeping quality.

4. 4

   Pound into butter

   Put the dried tarragon in a small food processor and pulse until very finely minced. Add one quarter of the softened butter and process to a thick green paste, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the remaining butter in three portions, processing only until the colour is even and no large herb pieces remain. If the butter becomes glossy or begins collecting around the blade, stop and chill the bowl for 5 to 10 minutes, then continue. It has grown too warm, not failed.

5. 5

   Pass through sieve

   Set a fine-mesh sieve over a cool bowl and press the tarragon butter through it with a flexible scraper or the back of a sturdy spoon. Work firmly against the mesh, collecting the smooth butter from underneath as you go. Discard the dry threads left behind. This is the home equivalent of the tammy, and it is what turns a chopped herb butter into beurre d'estragon with a fine, even body.

6. 6

   Shape and chill

   Scrape the butter onto parchment and form it into a compact log about 4 cm thick, twisting the ends closed, or press it into a small covered crock. Chill for at least 1 hour before cutting. Use a coin to finish fish, chicken, green vegetables, or a pan sauce, letting it soften into a glossy green pool rather than frying it. Return the remainder promptly to the cold. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy French tarragon, which has the clear anise perfume this butter needs. Russian tarragon often grows larger but tastes faint and grassy; technique cannot put back an aroma the herb never had.
• •The butter must be soft enough to work but never greasy. If it shines, chill it briefly. We don't apologize for butter, but we do treat it properly.
• •A thin coin is enough to finish a portion of grilled sole, roast chicken, peas, asparagus, or carrots. Add it after the pan leaves the heat so the butter melts into a gloss without separating.
• •Do not skip the sieve because the processed mixture already looks smooth. The fine herb fibers reveal themselves on the tongue, and removing them is one of the steps that belongs to the butter rather than to the old brigade.

Advance Preparation

• •Keep the finished beurre d'estragon tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cut only what you need and rewrap the exposed end so the herb perfume stays in the butter rather than wandering through the refrigerator.
• •For longer keeping, chill the log until firm, slice it into coins, and freeze them in a single layer before transferring them to an airtight container. They keep well for up to 3 months and can be taken from the freezer one portion at a time.
• •The tarragon can be scalded, shocked, and pressed dry several hours ahead. Wrap it tightly and refrigerate it, then let the butter soften before completing the pounding and sieving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 15g)