How to Make Clarified Butter

Step 1

Place the butter in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Do not stir.

Step 2

Allow the butter to melt, moving to low heat if it starts to brown or smell nutty. Soon a white foam will develop on the top (whey proteins). Tilt the saucepan to the side and carefully spoon the white foam off the top and discard. You might have to repeat this process several times until you get it all removed.

Step 3

Gently pour just the yellow, golden liquid from the pan into a container, leaving behind any of the murky white layer at the bottom (milk solids). You can also transfer everything to a heat safe fat separator and pour out the milk solid layer from the bottom.

Step 4

For most, this is good, but if you want to get really serious, run your clarified butter through a cheesecloth to get rid of any undesirable things. Discard any browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

Step 5

Use in a recipe or store for later.

Step 6

If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.