Smoked Butter..

[TimmDavis]

When I did my externship Chef had smoked butter for his 'smoked' jus, and while he explained how to do it in a commercial kitchen I"m having a hard time figuring out how to do this at home. The butter is fantastic and a little goes along ways.

I do have a charcoal grill, but he did via an oven and flat top.

Any suggestions?

[Tri2Cook]

I've never smoked butter but smoking stovetop without an actual smoker is as easy as wrapping some wood shavings in heavy foil, poking a few holes in the foil, heating it until smoke starts coming out of the holes then tossing it in a hotel pan or something with whatever you want to smoke in the pan as well. Seal the top with foil or a tight lid and leave it alone for a while. I've smoked chocolate that way many times.

The idea of smoked butter has me wondering what the results would be like if you put a container of cream set in a bowl of ice in the pan, smoked that, then made your own butter from the cream. Hmmmm... note to self...

[TimmDavis]

When I did my externship Chef had smoked butter for his 'smoked' jus, and while he explained how to do it in a commercial kitchen I"m having a hard time figuring out how to do this at home. The butter is fantastic and a little goes along ways.

I do have a charcoal grill, but he did via an oven and flat top.

Any suggestions?

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That would be interesting. But yeah it obviously needs to be a cold smoke...

[Chris Amirault]

Not sure if you want to keep it unsalted, but adding a bit of heavily smoked salt to unsalted butter would do the trick.

[TimmDavis]

Not sure if you want to keep it unsalted, but adding a bit of heavily smoked salt to unsalted butter would do the trick.

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I thought about that, I have a whole bunch I haven't found much use for. Or even maybe some liquid smoke?

[Reignking]

Richard Blais recently posted his smoked mayo recipe on his twitter...

[Werdna]

I've seen instructions for smoked olive oil, I'd bet thats the way to go:

Heat-resistant plastic tubing

melted butter

aquarium bubbler in the smoke

Bubble smoke up through the butter, then chill. Course, it will probably seperate while you do this, so may as well skim the milk solids and make ghee.

Or, you could just work something smokey into the room-temp butter and then chill it, like smoked salt into unsalted butter.

[isomer]

Richard Blais recently posted his smoked mayo recipe on his twitter...

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Any chance you have a link for that? I can't find it.

thanks

[Tri2Cook]

It basically just says to mix smoke powder or a little liquid smoke with some mayo.

[weinoo]

Interestingly enough, I bought some smoked fresh ricotta today, which I imagine is smoked via a similar process to that used to smoke butter...since it comes from Salvatore in Brooklyn, I'm imagining it's cold smoked like smoked salmon...evidently for this ricotta, they use cherry wood.

[Reignking]

RichardBlais

Smoked mayo recipe. 1 cup prepared mayo. Half tsp hickory smoke powder or 2 drips liquid smoke , a good squeeze/ zest of lemon. #F&W

[brandonscott]

I've seen instructions for smoked olive oil, I'd bet thats the way to go:

Heat-resistant plastic tubing

melted butter

aquarium bubbler in the smoke

Bubble smoke up through the butter, then chill.  Course, it will probably seperate while you do this, so may as well skim the milk solids and make ghee.

Or, you could just work something smokey into the room-temp butter and then chill it, like smoked salt into unsalted butter.

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do you use the bubbler to suck up smoke and then push it out through the tubing and into the butter...Im a little confused at this suggestion, but see a lot of potential.

[Tri2Cook]

do you use the bubbler to suck up smoke and then push it out through the tubing and into the butter...Im a little confused at this suggestion, but see a lot of potential.

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Yes. Chef Andoni Aduriz uses the technique for the chocolate bubbles in his An Interpretation of Vanity dessert. He pumps the smoke into chocolate water with a little xanthan and egg white powder to stabilize the bubbles. The smoke is trapped in the bubbles and releases when they pop. Seems like a bit of extra effort just to add smoke flavor to melted butter but I've never been opposed to doing the seemingly unnecessary for experimental purposes. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes.