Brown Butter Is Our Favorite Way to Boost Flavor in Cooking and Baking
Some call it liquid gold; we say this one-ingredient wonder is a cook's secret weapon—and it's the ultimate fall flavor.
If we told you there was a simple-to-make, one-ingredient sauce that you could use at home to transform all kinds of recipes, both savory and sweet, you'd want to know about it—and be eager to try it. There is! It's brown butter, and it takes mere minutes to make. Learn what brown butter is, how to make it, and get inspired to use it to heighten the taste of everything from meat, fish, vegetable, and pasta dishes to decadent desserts.
Related: Why Ganache Is Our Favorite Two-Ingredient Recipe
What is Brown Butter?
Brown butter is cooked butter that transforms into something new. A stick of unsalted butter melts, then simmers and sputters, morphing into an intoxicatingly fragrant and impossibly silky brown sauce. As soon as the foam subsides, the milk solids darken and fall to the bottom of the pan, which indicates that you've hit the sweet spot. That's brown butter. It's no surprise the French call it beurre noisette, or "hazelnut butter," as that is what your kitchen will smell like when you make it. An unmistakable nutty aroma fills the air, and you're well on your way to better, bolder-flavored food.
How to Make Brown Butter
Stephen Kent Johnson
While brown butter tastes luxurious, it's actually a cinch to master. All you need is one simple ingredient and a watchful eye.
To make delicious brown butter, follow this method, using the amount of butter required by the recipe:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When it boils, reduce heat to medium, then simmer until foamy.
Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pan, until the foam subsides, the butter turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, and the milk solids separate into brown specks that sink to the bottom. This will take about two to seven minutes (depending on the amount of butter used).
Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl unless otherwise noted in the recipe (your butter may burn if left in the hot pan).
How to Use Brown Butter (Sweet and Savory Ways and Recipes)
Now that you know what brown butter is and how easy it is to make, you'll be using it on the regular. Here are a few of our favorite recipes that call for brown butter, but bear in mind that you don't need a recipe to enjoy its rich flavor. Try drizzling brown butter over just-cooked chicken or fish or still-warm polenta, risotto, or mashed potatoes.
Tips
To guarantee you always have brown butter on hand to enhance pastries, sauces, and more, make a big batch and freeze it in ice-cube trays
Poached Salmon, Spinach, and Potato Salad
Poached fish drizzled with brown butter is a classic combination, but this salad sidesteps tradition, making the "liquid gold" the secret ingredient in the salad dressing: Dijon mustard, minced shallot, and sherry vinegar emulsify with the sauce, turning it into a velvety, tangy counterpoint that ties the whole dish together.
Chicken Potpie With Brown-Butter Crust
Just when you thought you couldn't improve on potpie, brown butter comes along and raises the bar with more flavor, more flakiness, and more nuttiness than a crust has ever delivered. This pie is the epitome of comfort food, and then some. Seconds, anyone?
Apple Cardamom Brown-Butter Dutch Baby
Nutty brown butter further enhances one of the most impressive breakfast foods you can make at home, the Dutch baby. Also called a German pancake, this delight puffs up to great heights while cooking, with the sides climbing and then reaching out over the edges of the pan. In this recipe, the butter carries the spicy flavor of the cardamom through to each bite, warming up each wedge of cooked apple—totally next-level brunch!
Lemony Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies
Buttery baked goods become even more flavorful when that primary ingredient (yes, butter) is browned. These cookies are simple to prepare, and the richness of the butter shines a light on a complementary ingredient: lemon.
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
