Compound butters great way to amp up grilling

We wait a long time for summer. When it arrives, we don’t want to miss any of it by being stuck cooking something delicious in the kitchen. But even though we don’t want to be chained to the stove, we still want our meals to be memorable.

Lucky for us, summer offers plenty of opportunities to make life easier. It takes just a few minutes in the kitchen to slice a little fruit, toss a salad, get ready to throw something on the grill and make compound butter (or butters) that will transform whatever comes off the grill into something special.

Compound butter is nothing more than regular butter — I like to use a good-quality salted butter for this purpose — mixed with a few other ingredients, such as herbs, citrus, chiles, even roasted strawberries. The result is a sort of insta-sauce that will melt on whatever is hot, whether it’s off the grill, or even out of the oven, skillet or toaster oven. You get the picture.

Here are a few of my favorites that you can have on hand to add a little something extra to your dishes this summer.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Butter

Makes about 1/2 cup. Give your steak, lamb chops, pork tenderloin or chicken an upgrade with this flavorful butter. It’s also delicious smeared on rustic bread. From Meredith Deeds.

1 head garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tbsp. finely chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice the top 1/2 inch off the garlic and place garlic head on a piece of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the cloves are completely softened. Let cool.

Gently squeeze the head of garlic until all the cloves pop out. Finely chop the cloves and add to a medium bowl. Add the butter, rosemary, garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to thoroughly combine. Let the compound butter chill, covered in the refrigerator, at least one hour.

Make ahead: Can be made 2 days in advance, wrapped tightly and kept refrigerated.

Lemon Dill Butter

Makes about 1/2 cup. This variation is great on grilled fish, shellfish or chicken. From Meredith Deeds.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 tbsp. finely chopped dill

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. salt

In a bowl, stir together the butter, dill, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt until thoroughly combined. Let the compound butter chill, covered in the refrigerator, at least one hour.

Make ahead: Can be made 2 days in advance, wrapped tightly and kept refrigerated.

Smoky Cotija Butter

Makes about 1 cup. Perfect for grilled corn or other veggies. _From Meredith Deeds.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup cotija cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Grated zest of 1 lime

1 tbsp. lime juice

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a bowl, stir together the butter, cotija, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, chipotle, garlic and salt until well blended. Let the compound butter chill, covered in the refrigerator, at least one hour.

Make ahead: Can be made 2 days in advance, wrapped tightly and kept refrigerated.

Roasted Strawberry Butter

Makes 1 cup. Step up your Saturday pancakes game with this summery sweet butter. It’s equally good spread on toast or a piece of grilled pound cake. From Meredith Deeds.

1 lb. strawberries, washed, dried and hulled

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp. honey

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar. Place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Stir and continue baking for another 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Combine the roasted strawberries with the butter, honey, vanilla and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the strawberries are finely chopped and thoroughly combined with the butter. Let the compound butter chill, covered in the refrigerator, at least one hour.

Make ahead: Can be made 5 days in advance, wrapped tightly and kept refrigerated.