Best #1 Black Truffle Butter Recipe | Simple. Tasty. Good. (2024)

Here’s a nice and easy truffle butter recipe… Spread it on toast with sea salt or add it to cooked pasta to make a delicious truffle butter spaghetti!

How do you make fresh truffle butter?

Are you looking for a simple truffle butter recipe?

How do you make truffle butter anyway?

Can you really make it at home?

Here is my lavish truffle butter recipe!

My Compound Truffle Butter Recipe

Have you tried black truffle before?

Yeah, these delicate shrooms cost a fortune. And that’s why I am using preserved truffles for my truffle butter recipe instead of fresh ones.

Truffle Butter Recipe with Black Truffle

Preserved truffles are black truffles of a lower quality, not enough to be sold raw.

Those are perfect to chop up and cook with.

That’s what makes them perfect for my truffle butter recipe here.

You might find them in gourmet supermarkets. They are mostly kept in tiny little glass jars. You can also find them sliced or even ground into a flavorful truffle tapenade.

Can you see that truffle juice that keeps the truffle moist?

I add it to my truffle butter recipe.

My favorite way to use this homemade truffle butter recipe?

Poached Egg & Truffle Butter Recipe

Love to spread it onto warm toastwithsea salt.

That and a lovely bowl of pumpkin soup, fantastic lunch! Or how about truffle butter toast with a poached egg, brown shrimp and samphire?

Check it out here.

Looking for a yummy dinner with my truffle butter recipe?

Try mytruffle butter spaghetti below! Or how about a lovely juicy truffle butter steak recipe? A truffle butter popcorn recipe maybe?

Find more truffle butter recipe ideas and truffle oil recipes at the bottom of this post!

Enjoy!

Easy Black Truffle Butter Recipe

How To Roll Compound Butter Into A Log

So…

Here’s an easy way to shape that beautiful soft butter in a nice restaurant style compound butter log.

If my description below is not clear enough, just take a quick look at this very instructive video byATCO Blue Flame Kitchen:

The Method

Easy Spaghetti & Truffle Butter Recipe(Spaghetti al Tartufo)

My next truffle butter recipe…

Truffle butter spaghetti. Spaghetti, butter and truffles. As you can see above I made a batch of that truffle butter recipe today.

You will love thisspaghetti andtruffle butter recipe…

Enjoy!

Easy Spaghetti & Truffle Butter Recipe

So!

Did you enjoy my truffle butter recipe?

Let’s talk about truffles in general now.

Do you know what truffles are exactly?

What are truffles?

Truffles are a fungus, a type of mushroom.

The Latin name for this species is Tuber. They are typically found in temperate forests because truffles thrive between the roots of trees such as oak, pine and birch where the soil is rich in cal­cium and alkaline.

They require a particular climate without extreme summer heat or extreme winter cold.

Climate & Location

Truffles like shadow and darkness so you won’t see them.

They have to be dug up. Truffles grow slowly. Patches of trees where truffles are feeling at ease sometimes take 10 years before they produce good quality truffles.

Black truffles are easier to cultivate when youprovide the necessaryenvironment and soil they like. Black truffle farming is infact becoming more and more popular.

Why do they use pigs to find truffles?

Youprobably heard about the truffle hunters and their trained pigs (truffle hogs) looking for truffles.

The sense of smell pigs have is excellent.

Did you know that they are able to find truffles up until 6 feet (1.8 m) underground? Scientists have a theory why pigs are sensitive to the smell of truffles: it is apparently very similar to the smell of the natural sex hormones of the male pig.

The hunt for truffles with a pig is forbidden in Italy since 1985, apparently the hogs are not only excellent truffle hunters but their brutal force while doing so also caused a lot of damage to the forests. Other countries still allow it.

Truffle Dogs

The hunt for truffles and the use of them in cooking goes as far as the Middle Ages.

Nowadays truffle dogs (truffle hounds) are mainly used.

Their sense of smell only picks up truffles up until 3 feet (1 m) but instead of the pigs the dogs know exactly where the truffle is located.

The pigs dig up a larger area and therefore can destroy an area.

Where do you find truffles?

I mentioned Italy before.

But also France and Croatia are excellent hunting grounds for truffles. The white truffle (Tuber magnatum) can be found in northwest Italy, in the Piedmont area and in Croatia.

Although they can be found in other parts of Europe, the Alba white truffle is the most popular, but most difficult to find.

Périgord

Black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) however likes France more,more specificallythe Périgord area more to the south.

Truffles can also be found in other countries of course like America and China.

However the truffles from Italy and France seem best in the world for their quality and flavor.

They like soils with a higher pH level which is easier to find in Europe. Some countries where this soil is not natural try toraise those levels by manipulating it by adding minerals.

When is truffle season?

Truffles begin to grow in the soil in the beginning of the summer when they are most vulnerable to damage from high soil temperatures and dry conditions.

Smaller low quality black truffles (the ones I used for my truffle butter recipe) are harvested during that same summer. Black summer truffles are usually harvested late spring or very early summerbeforethey are overripe.

White vs. Black Truffle Season

White truffle season goes from September through December.

Harvest is at its peak in October and November.

They must be harvested at the peak of their season, which is late fall or early winter before the ground is too frozen to dig them up. White truffle season is followed by the black winter truffle season a bit later: this one spans from December until February.

What’s the difference between white and black truffles?

Their color of course!

Flavorwise white truffles are more delicate and subtle than the stronger nutty black truffles. Chefs often call it the white diamond.

Keywords I keep reading over and over about that particular white truffle flavor: earthy, musky and with hints of garlic.

Smell & Flavor

The white truffle itself can smell verystrongly and is verydifferent from its taste.Some even go as far as to say that they are quite pungent, almost unpleasant to smell.

Black truffleshave a much stronger nutty flavor and so is their smell. Lots of people (and chefs by the way) prefer the black truffle over the white truffle and it’s not only because they are less expensive.

How to cook with white truffles

Because that white truffle flavor is very delicate and essential, you don’t want to lose that.

That is why it is best to use white truffle raw and uncooked. One thing to keep in mind when cooking with white truffles: keep your recipe simple! It has to be the star of the dish. It would be a shame to pay loads for a white truffle and not respect it.

Be aware that you don’t have to use the whole truffle all at once. You can start off byserving it grated or shaved over a simple meal.

Pasta & Risotto

My personal favorites fresh pasta or risotto with lots of butter. The heat from the pasta or risotto is enough to bring out maximum flavor.

Shave or grate the truffle once you have plated up your meal. Don’t add it to your pots and pans, that’s way too hot for that delicate white truffle! If a recipe asks forthat, better opt for a black truffle instead.

If you areabsolutely not certain about the flavor and portion, then begin with some toast spread with butter and shaved white truffle. You only need a tiny portion for that.

How to cook with black truffles

Here is the difference with white truffles.

Black truffles are great to use in warm meals because they can cope much betterwith the higher temperatures. And it doesn’t decrease their flavor level at all. But of course you can also use black truffles raw,grated or shaved over a simple meal.

So both ways are OK which makes black truffles easier to introduce into your kitchen and cooking. It just depends what kind of meal you are preparing.

What also makes them cool to work with is their strong flavor.

Raw & Cooked

A small portion will likely be more than enough to get the necessary flavor kick into your food. You can add them to just about any dish you want: pastas, risottos, my truffle butter recipe above, cream sauces…

My favorite: grated on top of a gooey omelet and sprinkled with sea salt. This is a great black truffle recipe by the way to start experimenting with black truffle if you have never cooked with it before.

If you want a black truffle that is not too expensive and easy to work with, go for a black summer truffle. Or start with a preserved one, just like the one I used in my black truffle butter recipe.

Are black or white truffles better?

That is a highly personal question which one you like best.

Before you go out to buy truffles, it is always good to know what you are intending to prepare with them or to which dish you want to add it.

Be aware of the flavor difference between the two.

Are black or white truffles more expensive?

Why are truffles so expensive?

Because they are not in abundance on this world.

So their small harvest means that prices can go very high up. The white truffles are in general the most expensive because they are the rarest to find. That’s also because farming white truffles is near to impossible.

Be prepared to pay a couple of hundreds of dollars for an ounce of white truffle.

Harvest

The most expensive species of white truffle can be found in the Alba region in northern Italy.

In contrast to this, the most expensive black truffles are the ones that are dug up in the Périgordregion in France. Black truffles are less expensive than the white ones but still expect to pay a hefty amount per ounce though.

The higher the price, the better the quality. It is not alwayscorrect in daily life but if we are talking about truffles, then that is the best way to know what you are buying.

What do you cook with fresh truffles?

Here are a couple of recipe ideas with fresh truffles that caught my eye!

1) Truffled Macaroni & Cauliflower Gratin (Zen Can Cook)

Who doesn’t love a good mac and cheese!

But wait, from now on it gets even better: why not think out of the box for just once and turn this delicious classic into a spectacular dinner? Flavor bomb!

Look at this beauty right here: an awesome macaroni gratin with cauliflower… and black truffle! Cauliflower is one of my favorite vegetables by the way. This recipe is by French chef Stephane who is behind the food blog Zen Can Cook.

Pasta, cheese sauce, cauliflower and freshly grated black truffle? That seriously sounds like heaven on my plate. Count me in for sure. Thanks, Stephane!

2) Meatballs in Black Truffle Sauce (Woman and Home)

I prepare meatballs fairly often for dinner throughout the year, how about you? A meatball dinner is always a hit here. What is your favorite meatball recipe? I usually prepare classic meatballs in tomato sauce or carbonara sauce.

But way a second here, I think I just found a third recipe idea that will be a big hit as well: these lovely meatballs in a delicious creamy white wine and truffle sauce! Credits for this winner go toWoman and Home. Thanks!

3) Baked Black Truffle Stuffed Brie (Sprinkles & Sprouts)

I like a good old baked camembert as an appetizer or even for lunch. And I have tosay that I usually add justgarlic and thyme to it. Do you love it too?

Then listen up: have I got news for you. Look at this baked brie with black truffle! I mean, just look at it.

Oh my god! I can honestly smellthe melted cheese infused with truffle right now. Get me aloaf of bread and I’ll polish this treat off in just acouple of minutes.

Awesome recipe by the very talentedClairewho is the photographer, recipe developer and writer behind the wonderfulSprinkles & Sprouts. Thanks!

4) White Truffle Butter Recipe Risotto (Williams Sonoma)

The previous truffle butter recipe ask for black truffles: let’s sneak in another truffle recipe here but one that asks for white truffle. And I want to keep it classic: here is a delicious risotto with white truffle butter. I love a good risotto. And how I love the idea of adding some of that truffle butter recipe to a risotto! I am sure that this white truffle butter is a perfect match for the shaved parmesan cheese on top. But I could see it work with my black truffle butter recipe as well.

ThanksWilliams Sonoma!

5)Baby Leeks with Truffle Butter Recipe (Great British Chefs)

OK, nexttruffle butter recipe…

Are you into sous vide cooking? Then this is the perfect truffle butter recipe for you: sous vide baby leeks with black truffle butter sauce from chef Russel Brown over at Great British Chefs.

Hey look, if you read this recipe you will see that you don’t necessarily have to know how to cook sous vide: I am sure that steaming the leeks is just as good.

That black truffle butter sauce intrigues me though. Leeks and truffle, I can definitely see those two come together perfectly.

We love Great British Chefs!

6) Black Truffle Ice Cream (Anisa Sabet)

Oh hey, the previous recipes were all hearty appetizers, started or main courses. But what do you think of a black truffle dessert?

Then you definitely want to know more about this creamy black truffle ice cream that I found at Anisa Sabet!

Thank Anisa for this awesome recipe here, plus I love the plating and the pictures as well! I could eat a bowl of this truffle ice cream in under a minute.

And I also like Anisa’s idea of serving this truffle ice cream with her delectable apple and rhubarb walnut crumble. What a lovely dessert!

Truffle Oil?

You only need a few drops of truffle oil to add flavor to dishes.

It will overpower the rest of your food.

Be gentle with it!

Is truffle oil made with truffles?

No, it is olive oil to which a chemical is added that smells like truffle. Nothing natural about it. But that also doesn’t mean that truffle oil is bad.

Which is better black or white truffle oil?

You can’t tell the difference between a drop of black or white truffle oil. Cooking with truffle oil is simply acheaper shortcut if you want to add truffle flavor to dishes.

How to use truffle oil?

In salads and pastas.

Add a drop of truffle oil to freshly seared scallops. You can also sprinkle the truffle oil on top of a pizza or add a few drops to a creamy squash soup for instance.

What do you cook with truffle oil?

Here are a couple of recipe ideas, not with my truffle butter recipe but with truffle oil that also caught my eye!

1) Truffled Deviled Eggs (Local Milk Blog)

A simple appetizer recipe: cute littledeviled eggs with truffle oil and creme fraiche from Beth who is behind Local Milk Blog?

Everyone has made deviled eggs before, right. And I have to say that sometimes I am looking for a good deviled eggsrecipe with just that little extra.

And that is what I find here: these eggs look like the classic ones but I can just imagine that truffle flavor explosion when you bite into one. Yes, I am all in!

Transferring this deviled egg recipe to my to do list for my upcoming dinner party with neighbours…

2)Truffled Cauliflower Puree with Mushrooms and Sage (Victoria’s Table)

What attracted me first of all to this recipe, was it is rustic look and feel. Now second of all, when I see a poached egg on mash my knees start to buckle. All this before I even knew what was in it!

And how I love the sound of this dish: truffled cauliflower puree with sautéed mushrooms and sage butter. Every single ingredient has my name on it.

Credits for thisgorgeous mash go to Viktoria behindVictoria’s Table. I find it theperfect hot autumn lunch. And I am sure that my husband will just love it.

Thanks!

3) Steak with Truffle Oil Parmesan Fries (Foodness Gracious)

Well I love the combination of truffle and red meat. Truffle butter with steak is just one of those flavor combos that go extremely well together.

But what if you don’t have or find truffle butter? Let’s use truffle oil instead!

Let’s see how Gerry over at Foodness Gracious serves steak with truffle. This stay at home dad with a serious passion for food has this cool idea: a grilled flank steak served with truffle oil fries and grated parmesan cheese. Can I repeat that for you? I mean, how awesome does this sound!

Fantastic recipe, thanks Gerry!

4) Mushroom Pizza Bianco with Truffle Oil (Port and Fin)

Pizza, glorious pizza. I like making pizzas from scratch because I am very fussy about the crust. The thinner, the better for me.

So when I spend time making my dough, I also like to add my favorite toppings. I usually go for a simple tomato sauce base and then top it with sliced salami, mushrooms, anchovies and other goodies.

But here is a challenge for me next time! A white pizza from Port and Fin. And not just any white pizza: homemade pizza topped with caramelised onion, mushrooms, goat cheese and last but not least: truffle oil! I am all ears.

Thanks Finn and Chelsea!

5) Pumpkin Soup with Fried Sage and White Truffle Oil (Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary)

Another one of my truffle flavor combos that I certainly have to include here on my list: pumpkin and truffle! And if I can pick just any recipe I would go for a creamy pumpkin soup with truffle.

And I find just what I need at Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary: her roasted pumpkin soup with fried sage and white truffle oil really has me dreaming already.

Pumpkin and truffle. Definitely a match for each other. And I will be trying this soup out for sure.

Thanks Elizabeth!

truffle butter recipe

truffle butter recipe

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