Grilling Decadence -- Butter on a Steak

I love the simplicity of summer grilling. Throw some veggies in foil with butter and herbs, and salt some chicken, steak or fish and grill. So, as if that wasn't wonderful enough, I decided to take my grilling over the top -- by adding a pat of Caramelized Onion Butter to the top of my grilled steak. There's a restaurant in town known for serving their steak with a pat of butter -- you know, the kind of place that charges $35 or more for a steak. Well, I enjoyed this same decadence on my breezy deck, with a steak that cost less than half that amount, and, I dare to say, mine was even more amazing with onion butter!

Making the butter is a snap. Really. Just chop your onion -- first cut across lengthwise...

... and then line up the slices and cut. This is the easiest way I know of to chop an onion.

Then, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet.

When it's sizzling, add the onions and salt and pepper.

Cook them for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally -- about every 4 or 5 minutes -- until they're fragrant and a lovely brown color. I spent this time doing little errands in between stirrings. I straightened up the living room, sorted the recycling, and watered the plants -- all while my onions were caramelizing beautifully!

Now simply cool them in a bowl for 10 minutes, being sure to get all the delicious browned bits from the pan.

Then add your pieces of softened butter.

Mix with a wooden spoon or a handheld mixer until it's nice and creamy.

This makes quite a bit of butter, so I put some in a small dish for spreading on bread ...

... and made some into tiny "butter balls" for my steak!

I put both the small dish and the butter balls in the fridge to keep them chilled.

First, I got my steaks ready. I also had a piece of salmon for my daughter, who has become a real fish lover lately! I salted the meat and fish with a smoked kosher salt, though you could use any salt.

Then, I set about creating a couple foil packets of veggies. I actually used frozen veggies, dotted them with butter, and cut some herbs from my garden to infuse a little extra flavor -- a sprig of purple basil for the green beans and a few cuttings of rosemary for the zuchinni and eggplant mix. A little salt and pepper, too, and they're ready to grill!

The only addition to this meal was the loaf of French bread I warmed up in the oven at 300° for about 15 minutes. The grilling itself took less than 10 minutes, but this time varies based on the type of grill you have. When the steaks were perfectly done, I plated up everything and let one of the butter balls melt onto the top. Whoa! This was amazing ...

Summer doesn't get any better than this. You really need to try this Caramelized Onion Butter, on your steak or on a crusty loaf of bread. It's simply fantastic! Perhaps you have some other ideas for using this great butter or other flavored butters for grilling? I'd love to hear all about them.

Be sure to stop back in a few days, when Amanda makes a special Italian-inspired dessert for summertime entertaining.

Liz is paid to write for the Land O'Lakes Recipe Buzz™ Blog.