So, here we are: the end of Brown Butter January. I’m delighted to have greased my slide into 2026 with this culinary MVP. How did you get on? There’s a reminder of all the brown butter recipes I’ve developed at the end of this post (and of course, for paid subs, there’s a recipe to come this Friday. Encore!) This month has also been about comfort and peace beyond the kitchen as I returned to freelance life. It means I have more time to spend here, mapping ideas and tunnelling deeper into the mind-bending mycelium opening up from each month’s theme. A brown butter year could’ve happened, but that’s a niche newsletter. Next week, we’ll refresh and adopt a new starting point from which to fire this little rocket. For now, let us say farewell to brown butter in style with a recipe for ‘cowboy’ pan sauce, which is based on the cowboy butter commonly used to dress steak across the Atlantic. I brown the butter during the steak-basting, then finish with a lash of acidity, a slap of horseradish and a triple threat of mustard. Why would you pour butter on top when you can add extra flavour in the pan? You would not. You should not. Do not.
Why am I cracking out steak at the end of a famously frugal month? I had them in the freezer, truth be told. I appreciate that flashy meats might not be top of your shopping list as we crawl towards payday, but I couldn’t not do this. Surely you understand that you will need this recipe, if not now, then in the future. What is this, anyway? Basically, a maximalist approach to seasoning butter, a bit like a Cafe de Paris, but more heat-forward and sans curry powder. The whack-it-all-in approach is the same. This is also elite with a baked potato, obviously. Helen x Here’s the Brown Butter round-up! ‘Supersize Me!’ posts are for paid subscribers.
Brown Butter Cowboy Sauce If you don’t have or want to acquire three varieties of mustard, you can add 2 teaspoons of Dijon and 1 of wholegrain, or 2 teaspoons of Dijon and omit the other two. Do not add 3 teaspoons of English mustard, though, unless you know exactly what you’re doing. Steaks of your choice Have everything ready before you go because you’ll want to add things quickly. Place the steak into the pan and cook, flipping every 30 seconds or so to build a crust. (I take my steaks to 52°C, then allow them to rest for medium rare). When the steak is nearly at temp, add the butter and garlic cloves and start basting. It’ll brown very rapidly, so you want the steak almost cooked before you add the butter, otherwise you’ll burn it. Remove the steak, turn the heat down very low and add the lemon juice, mustards and horseradish immediately. Give it a stir, then add the Worcestershire, chilli flakes, pepper, paprika, and stir well. Add the herbs to finish. Taste it and adjust as needed - you may want more lemon, for example. Once the steak is rested, serve with the butter.
SUPERSIZE ME! This week, cowboy butter finds a home atop smoky beans with a foundation of jammy peppers. The perfect recipe for January, and for your freezer. Come join us! There’s also an Ampersand Dairy giveaway running; I’ll be picking the winner this Friday. The January Special Subscription Offer ends this Friday, too! Until next time, Flavour Fans x
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Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Flavour Nugget #64: Brown butter 'cowboy' sauce (with steak and a jacket potato)
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