Garlic Butter Sauce

Garlic butter strikes the perfect balance of simple and stunning, making everything it graces more luscious and flavorful. If you hadn’t thought to cook or finish your weeknight favorites in a basic garlic butter sauce, then your Wednesday potatoes are sorely missing out.

This Snapshot Cooking will walk you through a basic formula for garlic butter, and then show you how to use it to flavor everything from shrimp to steak.

• The basic garlic butter formula: 1 stick unsalted butter + 4 cloves minced garlic + 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs + 1 teaspoon kosher salt/spice 
• The cooking methods: Garlic butter is as straightforward as cooking garlic and butter together, but how you use it (and when you add the garlic) depends on what you’ll be cooking in it.

Melt 1 stick unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning, and 1 1/2 pounds medium cleaned and peeled shrimp. Simmer until the shrimp are opaque‚ about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and garnish with 1/4 cup sliced scallions.

Cut 2 pounds thick-cut New York strip steaks into 1-inch cubes and season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Melt 1 stick unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium high-heat. Add steak cubes and sear until browned, flipping them halfway through, 6 to 8 minutes total. Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 4 cloves minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and garnish with 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves.

Get the recipe: Garlic Butter Steak Bites

Melt 1 stick unsalted butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 pound cremini mushrooms and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook undisturbed until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Flip the mushrooms and cook undisturbed until browned on the second side and tender, about 5 minutes more. Add 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 tablespoons each chopped fresh rosemary and thyme leaves, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Get the recipe: Garlic Butter Mushrooms

Heat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and cut 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 stick melted unsalted butter in a large bowl. Add 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and toss again. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast, flipping the potatoes with a wide, flat spatula halfway through, until tender and golden-brown, 35 to 45 minutes total. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves and toss to combine.

Get the recipe: Garlic Butter Roasted Potatoes

Pat 4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets dry with a paper towel, then season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until shimmering. Add the salmon skin-side up and and sear until golden-brown on the bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip the salmon. Add 1 stick unsalted butter and 4 cloves minced garlic and continue to cook, occasionally using a spoon to baste the salmon with the butter, until the salmon is just cooked through cooked, about 4 minutes more. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves and drizzle with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice. Serve with lemon wedges.

Get the recipe: Garlic Butter Pan Seared Salmon