The Caper Butter I Keep Ready for Fish
Softened butter, chopped capers, lemon, and garlic. The Search The Gulf trick I keep in the refrigerator so dinner already tastes finished.
This is the caper butter I keep ready for fish. I make it once. I use it all week.
On Ono Island, I do not want a sauce pan every night. I want a log of butter in the refrigerator that already tastes like the Gulf: briny, lemony, a little sharp. Soften a stick of butter. Chop the capers. Mash in lemon zest and garlic powder. Roll it. That is Search The Gulf cooking. The fish is almost done before you remember dinner.
I put a slice on hot mahi-mahi, on grouper, on steak, on bread, on leftover hash browns I make when the porch fills up. The caper butter I keep ready for fish does the rest.
Rinse the capers. Chop them. Use soft butter, not melted.
The caper butter I keep ready for fish turns sloppy if the butter is melted, and it tastes like the jar if you skip the rinse. Soft, mashable butter is the whole method.
The caper butter I keep ready for fish
About 10 minutes · Makes 1 log
One stick of butter. Capers. Lemon. That is enough.
What I use
The butter
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
The capers and lemon
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped · zest of 1 lemon · 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Dry seasonings
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder · 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt · a few grinds of black pepper
How I make the caper butter I keep ready for fish
1. Soften and mash
Leave the butter out until it gives when you press it. In a bowl, mash it with the chopped capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper until it looks even. Taste. Add a pinch more salt only if it needs it. Capers are already salty.
2. Roll
Spoon the butter onto a piece of parchment. Roll it into a log. Twist the ends. Chill at least 1 hour, until it slices clean.
3. Use it on hot food
Cut a thick slice and set it on fish, steak, or bread the moment it comes off the heat. It should melt. That is the point of the caper butter I keep ready for fish. It keeps 1 week in the refrigerator, or a month in the freezer.
“This is the caper butter I keep ready for fish. I make it once. Dinner already has a finish.”
Keep the log. Change one thing.
Add 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika if you want it to taste like the rest of my kitchen. Add 1 tablespoon chopped chives if you have them. I would not load this with shallots and herbs. The caper butter I keep ready for fish is already enough.
Melt a slice into barbeque shrimp, Ono Island style, or set it on leftover fish next to the tomato and cucumber salad. Read about my other recipes when you want a full plate, not just a finish.
A kitchen that can do a weeknight well is not a small detail.
When I walk a house on Ono Island, I look at the refrigerator, the counter, and the path to the porch. If you are thinking about a home here, call or text me. I live here. Search The Gulf is how I show this life.
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Caper butter, answered simply
Salted or unsalted butter?
Unsalted. The capers bring the salt. If salted is what you have, skip the extra pinch in the bowl.
Can I freeze it?
Yes. Slice it first, or freeze the whole log and cut it frozen. One slice at a time is how I use the caper butter I keep ready for fish.
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