Steaks with Cilantro-Lime Butter

Looks at those precious steaks! Seared exterior, juicy interior, and topped with a melty slice of compound butter - a rich combination of butter, cilantro, lime, garlic, and green onions. Impossibly easy, insanely delicious. 

If you think making "compound butter" is beyond your culinary prowess, you are wrong. A compound butter is a simple blend of soft butter and any other damn thing you want to put in it. The mixture is well blended, rolled into a log and refrigerated until ready to use. In fact, it's one of those recipes that you make once and it pays off countless ways. I used a few tablespoons on this steak, and now I have leftovers in my fridge for future meals!

And these steaks just gobble up the butter. Some of the butter melts and drips down the sides of the warm steak, while the rest stays perched and perky up top. It's like dining at your favorite steak house - without having to dress up.

Note: This recipe makes 1/2 cup of the cilantro-lime butter. That's clearly more than you need for 1 meal; so wrap the butter in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use again. It's great over vegetables, potatoes, eggs, pasta, fish, seafood, and chicken!

Steaks with Cilantro-Lime Butter 

For the Cilantro-Lime Butter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime zest
1 teaspoon finely chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 steaks of choice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the butter, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, green onion, and garlic. Mash with a fork or spoon to fully combine. Transfer the butter to a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log. Refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm.
Brush a grill or grill pan with oil and heat to high heat. Season the steaks with salt and pepper and add to the hot grill/grill pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare meat, or longer for more fully cooked meat. Remove the steaks from the heat.
Slice the cilantro-lime butter and place about 1 tablespoon on top of each steak. Allow the butter to melt over the steak while the meat rests for 5 minutes.
Serves 4