Also known as beurre noisette, the nutty, toasty, and toffee-like flavor of brown butter is pure liquid gold. Use it to enrich the flavor of your main dishes and desserts or make it into ketogenic brown butter bites. Learn how to make it perfectly, every time.
Place the butter in the pan and melt it over medium-high heat. Stir the butter occasionally as it melts.
As the butter melts, it will start to foam. This is the water in the butter evaporating. Keep stirring the butter occasionally to prevent it from burning.
After several minutes, the foam will start to subside and the milk solids will start to fall to the bottom of the pan. At this point, lower the heat to medium low. Keep stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent the solids from sticking and burning.
Keep checking the color of the milk solids at the bottom of the pan by spooning them up and looking at them. (It will likely begin to foam again.)
Once the milk solids have browned, remove the butter from the heat source. The residual heat in the pan will continue to cook the butter, so it's important to remove it from the heat as soon as it's done.
Use the brown butter immediately in your recipe, or store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Notes
Brown butter can also be frozen for up to 6 months.
Uses
Add some garlic and sage to make a sauce for seafood, meat, or pasta.
Spoon some over warm meats, pasta, and seafood.
Replace some of the butter or oil in baked goods recipes with brown butter for enhanced flavor.
Use it in place of regular butter as a popcorn topping.
Use the whipped brown butter as a spread for pancakes, bread, or crackers.
Pour the melted brown butter (or press the whipped butter) into candy molds to make butter bites.