Garlic Butter Sauce
An easy accompaniment to your next seafood dish, this sauce is perfect for all your dipping, dunking, and drizzling needs. It's delicious mashed into a baked potato too. Recipe may be cut in half or doubled as needed.Yield: ½ cup (easy to halve or double as needed)
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter*
- 4 cloves minced garlic**
- Optional: 1 tablespoon chopped parsley and/or a light squeeze of lemon
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until the garlic mellows to your liking, about 1-2 minutes. You don’t want the garlic to brown.
- Remove from the heat and add a pinch of salt to taste. (If not using right away, either keep over the lowest possible heat or set aside and then return to low reheat a minute or two before serving.) If you have fresh parsley on hand, feel free to add a finely minced sprinkle – about 1 tablespoon per stick of butter – when you remove the butter from the heat. A light squeeze of lemon will also brighten the flavor .
Notes
*Using unsalted butter? Simply stir in ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and an extra pinch to taste.
**For milder garlic flavor, use 2-3 cloves. For more intense flavor, increase to 5-6 cloves.
Flavor options: Depending on the recipe, you can enhance the butter with dried herbs, spices (Old Bay is a good option with seafood), and/or Parmesan cheese. Or add a squeeze of lemon juice and/or lemon zest to brighten the flavor.
Storage: When stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, the garlic butter sauce will stay fresh for 3-4 days. Reheat as needed over low heat in a small saucepan or in the microwave in 5-second increments.
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