Have you heard of a butter board? If you haven’t before, now you have. And I assure you — it’s going to change the name of your hosting game. Think a charcuterie board, but with butter in lieu of meats, and accompaniments such as garlic, chilli oil and figs replacing cheese, olives and grapes. Lastly, served with warm and crispy sourdough slices, which you and your guests will use to mop up the sinful butter and toppings.
Perfect as a centerpiece for parties, even the fanciest of butter boards are more affordable to put together than a charcuterie board. And it’s up to you to make the board entirely your own, as pretty much anything — sweet, savoury or umami — pairs fantastically with butter. So it’s up to you to make it an appetiser to whet everyone’s appetite, or as a sweet ending to a satisfying meal.
Ahead, we’ve gathered some inspo for you to construct your very own butter board.
Start off with room-temperature butter, which is easier to slather onto the board. For an easy cleanup afterwards, line your board with a piece of parchment paper before you lay the butter. This way, the board won’t be insanely greasy after you’re done, so you can easily rinse it.
Unlike charcuterie boards and their convoluted rose-shaped salami, there’s no tactic to place the toppings, really. Just sprinkle everything evenly, and drizzle any sauces in a zigzag motion. Also remember to add some flakey salt, which adds brightness.
You can even put a unique spin on your butter board by substituting good ol’ butter with some artisanal flavoured butter that comes in flavours like black truffle and blueberry mint.
Now, onto some drool-worthy butter board inspo:
The star ingredient of this butter board is something we all know and love — chilli oil! Whether you procure yours from Lao Gan Ma or make your own at home, this mouthwatering board will surely please.
Accompany it with roasted garlic, cashews and micro greens. Afraid it’ll be too spicy? Honey works great to balance out the heat.
This butter board consists of honey, a miso glaze and goat cheese with tomato, radish, dill and mixed nuts sprinkled generously on top. Make it uber pleasing to the eye by garnishing with fresh edible blooms.
This fig and pomegranate seeds butter board also counts mint and thyme as ingredients, which help to add depth to the flavour. Even better, roast the figs to give the board an added je ne sais quoi.
For the uninitiated, harissa is a spicy chilli paste hailing from the North African region of Maghreb, Tunisia in particular. It’s made of a mixture of roasted red chilli, garlic, oil, vinegar or lemon juice and various spices.
For this board, you can either top the butter with some harissa paste or make a compound butter with the paste. Best with some dried chilli flakes and fried garlic! And for that delightful combination of spicy and sweet, add some honey too.
For an explosion of flavours and textures, give this board a try. Layer orange zest, thyme, chopped pecans and pomegranate seeds on the butter, and finish off with drizzled honey.
Commonly found in Latin cuisine, chimichurri is a sauce that’s made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil and either red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Think of this butter board as a tastefully deconstructed version of that.
Simple and satisfying, you can experiment with any jam, preserve or marmalade that catches your fancy for this board. Then, bring it to another level by adding some fresh fruit or spreading a range of jams on the board.
This one’s easy to make — just douse the butter in various herbs, and place edible flowers on top.
Although chaat is an umbrella term, it’s basically a type of traditional savoury street food snack, different in each region as each place has put their own unique twist on it.
With either butter or cream cheese and yogurt as the base, ingredients include chopped onion, potato, tomato and green chilli and pomegranate. Finish it off with chutney and masala and chilli powder.
Drawing inspiration from our favourite brunch fare, you just need maple syrup, pecan nuts and a dusting of cinnamon powder to craft this butter board.
Best if you use roasted pecans for some extra oomph! With this board, we say ditch the sourdough and pair the butter with some fabulously flakey pastries straight out of the oven instead.
Juicy and crunchy all at once, this butter board is a showstopper, thanks to its striking red hue. Dice up some cherry tomatoes and red onions, and sprinkle mint and almonds to taste.
This butter board inspired by the classic Italian pasta dish calls for a heaping portion of parmesan cheese or pecorino romano and fresh cracked black pepper topped with seeds and basil leaves.
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Citrusy, nutty, sweet and savoury all at once. Scatter some pistachios and edible blossoms atop the butter before drizzling orange blossom honey. But if you only have regular honey lying around, that will suffice, and top with some orange zest.
Think of hearty New York-style lox bagels, but deconstructed. You’ll need the classic lox ingredients for this board — lox or smoked salmon, dill, capers and black pepper. You can blend cream cheese with butter to make a whipped cream cheese butter, or forgo the butter entirely, replacing it with cream cheese. When serving, pair with some toasty bagel bites!
Garlic fanatics, this one’s right up your alley. Evenly distribute some mashed garlic confit on the butter, and top with lemon zest, parsley and honey. Just remember, there’s no such thing as too much garlic.