Bobby Flay Revealed His Favorite Butter Brand, and We Completely Agree

Bobby Flay has quite the diverse culinary repertoire. He went to the French Culinary Institute and has run or currently owns restaurants that specialize in everything from burgers and upscale American fare to Southwestern and Italian cuisine. Flay has written the book (actually several) on barbecue, and in his years on “Iron Chef,” “Beat Bobby Flay,” and “Throwdown!” he’s presented winning recipes that span the globe.

So if you had to select a single ingredient as Flay’s signature, it would be quite challenging. After learning about the 5-ingredient late-night meal he makes when he doesn’t feel like whipping up an “Iron Chef”-stature feast, you might guess it would be bacon. Or perhaps eggs. But if you asked Flay, which we were lucky enough to do in our exclusive interview on the heels of his partnership with Pepsi, the answer is butter.

“Listen, I can use butter in basically anything,” he told us.

As part of the “Grills Night Out” campaign with the soda brand, Flay shared three of his signature cookout season recipes, and of course one of them included butter. (We’ll be right back…off to make the luscious, butter-infused queso sauce that Flay suggests serving as the cheese atop Green Chile Cheeseburgers.)

Whether he’s grilling or creating a gourmet multi-course meal, Flay revealed that he turns to one butter brand above all others. And he’s in good company: Flay’s pick for the best butter is the same that our Allrecipes Allstars selected as their favorite item in the entire supermarket dairy case. It’s the butter that Stanley Tucci keeps “vats” of, as well as the one Sarah Jessica Parker asks for “wall to wall” on her favorite bagel shop order. It’s also the type of butter we rely on most often in the Allrecipes Test Kitchen.

Bobby Flay’s Favorite Butter Brand

When we asked Flay about his all-time fave, he said, “First of all, I always use unsalted butter. That’s a chef’s tip, because we like to add the salt later on.” 

Since the exact salt content per tablespoon isn’t listed on the label of butter, Flay finds it easier to dial-in the seasoning by sprinkling or measuring the salt himself.

As for the brand, Flay says, “I have some Irish blood in me, so I go with Kerrygold. I just know it’s going to taste good and grassy in the best way.” (This is due to the fact that the 82% butterfat staple is made with milk from grass-fed cows, which also helps make Kerrygold a gorgeous golden hue.)

His runner-up is Plugrà, a French brand that also checks his boxes as being high-quality and a high fat percentage. In case you missed it, American butters are allowed by the USDA to be 80% butterfat. While 2% might feel minuscule, our tests have proven that it makes a significant difference in terms of the richness of flavor and the creamy consistency.

“Those are the higher-end butters, but just as long as it’s a good quality, unsalted butter—usually I pick an organic butter—it’s delicious,” Flay says.

How To Use Kerrygold Butter, According to Bobby Flay

We couldn’t change topics in our Flay quickfire round without asking how he likes to put his sticks to good use. (Beyond in those craving-inducing Green Chile Cheeseburgers, of course!) 

Here are three taste bud-tempting options:

• For breakfast. Even though we initially tried Flay’s “Perfect Scrambled Eggs” nearly 2 years ago, we still can’t stop thinking about the fluffy and flavorful results that come courtesy of stoking the scramble with butter and crème fraîche.
• For dessert. Tipping his cap to one of his favorite Pepsi flavors, peach Pepsi, Flay said that the flavor made him think of peach pie and peach and blueberry cobbler. “I make those all summer long… but I will tell you that my dessert game is a little weak, okay? I’m not a pastry chef, but last summer, I baked a lot of pies,” Flay says with a laugh. It seems that Flay could be being unnecessarily hard on himself by deeming his dessert skills “a little weak.” Case in point: Flay has shared a Grilled Peach Cobbler recipe that’s earned 5 stars, as well as a Peach-Blackberry Pie that fans have deemed a “big hit” and “the best pie I’ve ever made!” Both of those summer fruit desserts showcase butter in the filling and the pastry or crumble topping.
• In bolstered butters. “I make a lot of compound butters, and I make a lot of cornbread in the summer, too,” Flay told us. “I make it in cast-iron pans and cook it in the oven or [in the summer] right in my Big Green Egg for that smoky flavor. To melt on top of the hot cornbread right after it comes out, I usually make a butter that has something sweet and something hot infused in it. So maybe like a honey butter with some hot sauce running through it.” We can’t wait to “bake” Skillet Cornbread that would make Flay proud. On top, we’ll be sampling our way through these compound butter combos that are right up Flay’s alley.