Brown Butter

[Suvir Saran]

??

[Fat Guy]

Brown butter (beurre noisette) is what it sounds like: Butter that has been browned. You just put butter over a low heat and watch it carefully for about ten minutes. You want to let it turn brown but you don't want to let it burn -- it will smell like hot buttered popcorn when it's right. The shift from regular to brown to burnt happens pretty quickly so you do have to be vigilant. It has a very nice taste and makes a good basic sauce for, well, for just about anything.

[tommy]

it's what happens when you're making clarified butter but you go off to check on egullet "real quick"...for 20 minutes.

oops.

[helenas]

It has a very nice taste and makes a good basic sauce for, well, for just about anything.

Oh yes, like Ducasse's Bearnaise au beurre noisette, that instead of clarified butter is done with the brown one.

Or this brown butter tart crust.

[Suzanne F]

What FG said. Plus:

Brown butter, aka beurre noisette, is whole butter cooked over low heat until it takes on the light, golden brown hue of hazelnuts (noisettes). A bit tricky to make, since it still has the milk solids in it, and they can easily burn. It's somewhere in between clarified butter and ghee, but with the milk solids left in and cooked to brown nuttiness

[Suvir Saran]

What FG said.  Plus:

Brown butter, aka beurre noisette, is whole butter cooked over low heat until it takes on the light, golden brown hue of hazelnuts (noisettes).  A bit tricky to make, since it still has  the milk solids in it, and they can easily burn.  It's somewhere in between clarified butter and ghee, but with the milk solids left in and cooked to brown nuttiness

I think I get it....

How can I ever see it made or buy it made?

Or is this something one has to do at home?

Do people sell brown butter? Does it solidify?

[Sandra Levine]

I've never seen it sold. It's something you make yourself right before you use it. It's delicious with capers and lemon juice added and poured over fish.

[Suvir Saran]

I've never seen it sold.  It's something you make yourself right before you use it.  It's delicious with capers and lemon juice added and poured over fish.

I have had it like that.... Now I get it.... Duh.....I have always seen it referred to as beurre noisette and never thought one would use it in baking.... Silly me!

[wingding]

It's difficult to brown butter in small amounts-it can go to black butter very quickly...If you can do a pound,you can chill and reserve the butter,and slowly melt it when you need more.For extra flavor,add some vanila bean and star anise to the pot.Brown butter will smell wonderful when it is cooked to the right point..

[APPS411]

I add a little bit of balsamic (1 tsp. or so) and some dried breadcrumbs (1/2 Tabl.) to the butter (stick) right when it gets to my desired brownness. Great on a steak like this. Preferably a chared aged porterhouse.

[GordonCooks]

I've had good luck using buerre monte for buerre noisette- it seems a little more stable and makes a nice foam when desired

[Malawry]

We've made beurre noisette-based sauces a few times at school. Unlike the directions given here, we were taught to make it quickly over high heat. Dice and chill your butter and get a pan very very hot. Test with a small piece of butter, if it starts to sizzle loudly and move around right after you add it then the pan is hot enough. Drop in your butter and shake the pan to melt it all quickly. Add salt and pepper and watch the large bubbles. Swirl the pan occasionally to see what color the butter is. (Don't do this in a dark pan where you can't see the bottom.) Once it's light brown, come off the heat and squirt in some lemon juice. Add parsley for a basic sauce, or add capers or almonds or whatever. Very very good on sauteed lightly breaded fish.

[Fat Guy]

If you're making a quick brown-butter-based sauce that's the preferred method for line cooks and those with practice, but if you're an infrequent user or you want to produce brown butter in quantity or for pastry applications you should follow the directions above for the most reliable outcome.