This Buffalo-Ranch Butter Board Is a Hot Take on the Viral Butter Board Trend
Butter boards can drive on many flavor avenues, but buffalo hot sauce and ranch dressing join forces to make one spread you can't resist as we approach tailgate season.
Serves4 to 6
Prep15 seconds
If you’ve been on social media within the last week or so, chances are high that you’ve come across a butter board. In case you missed it, a butter board is super-soft, doctored-up butter (similar to a compound butter), that is spread in an even layer onto a cutting board or platter, making it ideal for scooping and spreading. You can either mix different ingredients into the butter or simply sprinkle them on top. Although there are some mixed feelings surrounding the trend, the truth is that I’ve been a fan since it first hit my feed!
Butter is one of those versatile ingredients that is easily suited to satisfy both sweet and savory cravings. When experimenting with this recipe, I thought through a few different flavor avenues. Maple cinnamon, a spicy Calabrian chile, and herby lemon butter all sounded like amazing variations, but where I landed was heavily influenced by some of the most beloved flavors of the season.
I’m not a huge sports fan; I am, however, a fan of all of the food that comes with sporting events and gatherings. In my opinion, the combination of Buffalo wings and ranch dressing is one you simply can’t do without this time of year. Thus, this Buffalo-ranch butter board was born.
Tips on Making a Butter Board
- Make sure your butter is extra soft. In other words, be patient and give your unwrapped unsalted butter time to properly soften at room temperature. This will make it much easier to mix in your ingredients and spread it onto the board. In a pinch, you can use a couple of these helpful methods for softening butter to speed things up.
- Don’t use too many liquid ingredients. This recipe calls for Buffalo hot sauce as one of the main ingredients, which may take a little bit of time to incorporate into the butter. Using too much of a liquid ingredient will make this an arduous process, so start with a little bit at a time.
- Use different snacks for dipping. When I first developed this butter board recipe, I only served it with sliced bread, a rather normal pairing for butter. But I encourage you to mix things up and use a variety of dippers like sliced celery and carrots.
- Save the leftovers. Senior Contributing Food Editor Kelli Foster cross-tested this recipe and suggests tossing extra Buffalo-ranch butter with cooked butter or spreading it onto bread for the ultimate grilled cheese.
Buffalo-Ranch Butter Board Recipe
Butter boards can drive on many flavor avenues, but buffalo hot sauce and ranch dressing join forces to make one spread you can't resist as we approach tailgate season.
Prep time 15 seconds
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 stick
(1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 to 3 tablespoons
Buffalo-flavored hot sauce, plus more for drizzling (optional)
- 1 teaspoon
ranch seasoning, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/3 bunch
fresh chives or 3 to 4 scallions
- 1 loaf
seeded Italian bread
Carrot sticks, for serving
Celery sticks, for serving
Instructions
Place 1 stick unsalted butter in a medium bowl and let sit at room temperature until the butter is very soft and easily spreadable. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, this can take as long as 2 hours. Finely chop 1/3 bunch chives or 3 to 4 scallions until you have about 1/4 cup.
To the butter, add 2 tablespoons Buffalo-flavored hot sauce sauce, 1 teaspoon ranch seasoning, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Mix with an electric hand mixer on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, mix by hand with a rubber spatula. The mixture should be a light orange color. Taste and add up to 1 tablespoon more Buffalo-flavored hot sauce if needed.
Use a rubber spatula to transfer the butter mixture to a wooden cutting board or cheese plate and smooth it across the board to a 1/4-to -1/2-inch thick layer. Use a butter knife, the back of a spoon, or a short, flat cheese knife to create grooves and swirls in the butter (you can do this using a zig-zag or figure eight motion).
Cut 1 loaf seeded Italian bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices. If the slices are very large, halve them crosswise. Toast if desired.
Drizzle the butter mixture with extra Buffalo sauce if desired and sprinkle with the chopped chives or scallions. Serve with the bread, carrots, and celery for dipping.