Making Ghee (clarified butter)

Keltin

New member
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I decided to go ahead and make some ghee tonight. This is clarified butter. To make it, you cook butter over meduim-high heat. It will boil and froth up. Keep cooking until it begins to "quiet down", milk solids form in the bottom of the pan, and you smell a nutty (like hazelnut) aroma coming from the pan.

More important than the smell is to watch for those solids in the bottom of the pan to form. This can be a bit tricky due to the froth on top, so tilt the pan or use a spoon to move the froth about and look for those solids.

It's best to use a stainless steel pan for this since a darker pan (Cast Iron or non-stick) makes it hard to see the solids.

Ghee has a higher smoking point, is great for sautes, dipping sauces, and more.

In Indian cooking, clarified butter is called ghee, in France, there are two types of clarified butter: Beurre noisette - hazelnut butter or brown butter. And then there is Beurre noir - black butter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noisette

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noir

I was actually shooting for brown butter (ghee) on the first attempt, but overshot the mark and ended up with black butter. It’s very easy to spill over from brown to black, so you have to be vigilant and remove the pan from heat once the solids begin forming in the bottom of the pan.

Strain through a paper towel lined mesh strainer. Cover and store in the fridge.

Now, I need to find recipes for my black butter! :yum:

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Keltin

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We’ll I wanted scallops, but all Publix had was the mini ones that are about the size of a nickel. Not what I was looking for. The guy did offer to open a $20 frozen bag from the cooler and give me as many as I wanted out of it, but those were only a little bigger.

However, they had lobster tail still on sale. So, I got one.

I took the meat out of the tail by cutting up the soft side, spreading it open, and using my fingers to gingerly ease it out. I then cut the tail into medallions. This also exposed the “vein” which was easily washed away in the cross sections.

I then lightly salted the lobster and seared the medallions on each side for about 2 minutes per side in Olive Oil.

I removed the lobster and deglazed with a white wine - Pinot Grigio. Once the wine was reduced to nearly nothing, I added 2 tablespoons of the Beurre noir (black butter) and heated it through. I then poured this sauce (strait from the pan) over the lobster medallions and garnished with scallions.

O……….M…………G!!!!

This is incredible! I’m floored. So tender and flavorful that I haven’t the words. The sauce was thick and buttery as if you were dipping the lobster in melted butter on the side. It had a faint nutty flavor (the black butter), and a bit of sweetness (from the wine and lobster).

This was wolfed down in record time. Perhaps a bit of work and a little pricey ($4.99 for the tail) for a snack or appetizer…..but considering the day I had, it was well worth it! I’ll be doing this again!! :wink:

Looking back, if you do garnish with scallions, don’t eat them. They get in the way of the wonderful flavor of the lobster and sauce….but they look pretty on the plate. :biggrin:

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QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
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Oh, man, Chris! That looks and sounds so good, it might even make ME like lobster!

Beautiful job!

Lee
 

Cooksie

Well-known member
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That one gets an :a1: from me. I love lobster, and that looks like it is cooked and sauced perfectly.
 

joec

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I turn 2 lbs of butter into Ghee and store it in a 1 qt jars. It keep almost forever also. Now mine doesn't come out that dark Keltin but then I use a medium heat setting and skim the froth off which my dog flat loves. I use a coffee filter to strain it through and is a liquid when placed in the jar. It will solidify however once it cools down. Its smoke point is about 485° F and is great with a pan cooked steak. Also excellent on sea foods etc. Outstanding on popcorn too.
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I have done this in the microwave. Melted the butter and boiled (the first time it boiled ALL over the micro what a mess!!) I then pour off the top "oil" I never stored it though. I use it to brush my filo for spinach pies.
 

Keltin

New member
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DW had never had Ghee (clarified butter) before I made it for this thread. Now she is addicted. She has me make it all the time so that we always have it on hand.

We were at a yard sale, and found some old-school crocks that are perfect for keeping the Ghee in. We keep it in the fridge even though we could probably just leave it out on the table. It gets hard in the fridge, but DW likes shaving off what she needs, so it’s been working pretty good. She puts it in everything from beans to bread to basting meats. We even basted some ribs and chicken on the grill with it the other night. :biggrin:
 

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Keltin

New member
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Those crocks were available in the stores with a spread cheese in them.


From what I can tell, these were actually, flour/sugar/coffee crocks. I got three differnt sizes, this one is the smallest, and the largest can hold a bag of flour.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
From what I can tell, these were actually, flour/sugar/coffee crocks. I got three differnt sizes, this one is the smallest, and the largest can hold a bag of flour.
Ahh ok.
I just remembered them in the grocery stores when I was a kid, and they had sharp-mild cheeses for spreading, which were the small ones.
Cool.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
holy moly, keltin, you really outdid yourself! and that's saying a lot!!!

if no one else was here i'd lick my monitor.

:shifty:

slurp!

:w00t2:

:whistling:

:a1:
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Those crocks were available in the stores with a spread cheese in them.
I remember that cheese spread!! Mom would get one that was a kind of smoky cheddar flavor and had a strange name I am thinking Cheshire or something like that. It was yummy!! I wish I could find find it now. I think I have one of those little crocks somewhere in the back of a closet.
 

buckytom

Grill Master
the crocks of cheese spread from when i was a kid was wispride cheese, cheddar or port i beleieve.
 

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
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I'm not sure what brand the crocks of cheese were around here from the grocery stores, but I do know that Mom and Grams used to keep the crocks that contained cheeses from Hickory Farms (Christmas gifts) also.
 
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