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I made the butter a celebrity chef swears by for creating the perfect steak, and loved it for more than meat

Ree Drummond's perfect steak recipe
I tried Ree Drummond's recipe for the perfect buttered steak. Monica Schipper/Getty; Tiffany Leigh for Insider
  • I tried Ree Drummond's herb-butter recipe to make the perfect steak.

  • The butter took three hours to make and it has sweet and savory ingredients, like herbs and citrus.

  • The finished steak was well-seasoned and juicy, but I'd only make it every now and then.

  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Butter always takes steak to the next level, so I tried the fan-favorite cowboy-butter recipe that celebrity chef Ree Drummond created to make the dish even better.

Keep reading to see how it turned out.

I started by dividing all of the ingredient quantities in half

Ingredients for cowboy butter - black pepper, parsley, red-pepper flakes, lemon, garlic and butter
The recipe required black pepper, parsley, red-pepper flakes, lemon, garlic, and butter. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

The butter is essentially a compound mixture - softened butter mixed with savory or sweet ingredients. The recipe yields enough for four steaks but I halved the ingredients since I was cooking for two.

Drummond said it's crucial to make this butter in advance, so I prepared it three hours before dinner.

The butter recipe was relatively straightforward

I whipped softened butter in a bowl and set it aside. Then I chopped parsley until it was finely minced.

Chopped parsley.
I chopped the parsley - the most time-consuming part of the recipe. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

I added it to the butter along with red-pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Stripping the fresh parsley from the stems was the most time-consuming part of the preparation.

Herbs mixed into bowl of butter.
I mixed the herbs into the softened butter. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

I also made the error of washing the leaves and blotting the water off using paper towels. Though some of the moisture was removed, it was still damp and a hassle to work with.

If you have a salad spinner, I'd highly recommend using it to dry the herbs.

Mixed butter and herbs.
Make sure to mix everything until it's cohesive. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

Once I formed a cohesive mixture, I mounded the butter on a piece of plastic wrap to form a log. I tied the sides together and placed it in the fridge.

Butter and herb log in the fridge.
I stuck the butter and herb mixture in the fridge. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

To prepare the steaks, I used salt, pepper, and a cast-iron skillet

I preheated the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit then covered the meat with freshly-ground salt and pepper.

Steak covered in spices.
I covered the steaks in ground pepper and salt. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

Meanwhile, I heated a cast-iron skillet on the stovetop to medium-high heat and added butter and oil.

Two steaks in a cast-iron skillet.
I cooked both steaks in a cast-iron skillet. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

I seared each side for 45 seconds before placing the skillet in the oven for three minutes.

I noticed that one of the steaks cooked medium to medium-well done and the other was a perfect medium-rare.

Two steaks in a cast-iron skillet.
The steaks didn't cook evenly, but that was because they were different sizes. Tiffany Leigh

Unfortunately, I couldn't control the thickness of the steaks when I purchased them.

Drummond advised that the rib-eye thickness should be 2 inches. If you can, visit your butcher and ask them to cut you a piece of meat that's precisely 2 inches to ensure even cooking.

The steaks were juicy, flavorful, and buttery

Steak with herb butter.
I placed the herb butter on the steak. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

I removed the firmed-up butter from the fridge and cut coin-sized pieces to place on each steak. It melted slowly and covered the meat with sweet herbs.

I slathered a piece of my steak in a pool of butter and took a bite.

Slice of steak.
I dipped a piece of steak into a pool of butter. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

The meat was succulent and enhanced by the herbs. When my husband tried it, he said, "Holy s---, this is delicious."

My favorite component was the citrus - it brightened up the overall flavor. Butter and steak are very rich ingredients, so the lemon acted as a necessary counterbalance to the dish.

Now that I've tried it, I'm not sure I would make it too frequently

Herb steak cut in half.
I liked this but don't think I'd make it too often. Tiffany Leigh for Insider

The cowboy-butter recipe is great for leftovers and I've found it to be incredibly versatile in the kitchen. I've used it on burger buns, pasta with chicken, and even smeared it on a crostini.

But making the butter actually took longer than it took me to cook the steaks. This only heightened my expectations for everything to be sensational due to all the time and effort involved.

Overall, though, this recipe is a worthy winner that I'll return to when I feel like stepping up my at-home culinary game.

Read the original article on Insider