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Clarified Butter Recipe

Daniel Gritzer

The easy way to stable, burn- and spoil-resistant clarified butter.

Published: Last Updated:
Clarified Butter Recipe

Clarified butter has a longer shelf life and higher smoke point than regular butter. [Photographs: Vicky Wasik]

What is clarified butter? Plain butter that's been gently simmered to remove its water content, then strained to remove the browned milk solids to create a more stable cooking fat. When comparing clarified vs plain butter, clarified is best for recipes where plain butter might smoke or burn. Here's the easiest method for at-home cooks.

Why It Works

  • Gentle heat cooks of butter's natural water content, without scorching the milk solids.
  • Straining removes the milk solids that would otherwise smoke and burn when used as a cooking fat.

Read more: The Best Way to Make Clarified Butter

  • Yield:Makes about 1 1/2 cups
  • Active time: 20 minutes
  • Total time:20 minutes
  • Rated: 4.25

Ingredients

  • 1 pound unsalted butter, cubed

Directions

  1. 1.

    In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat.

  2. 2.

    Continue to cook over medium-high heat; an even layer of white milk proteins will float to the surface.

  3. 3.

    Bring to a boil; the milk proteins will become foamy.

  4. 4.

    Lower heat to medium and continue to gently boil; the milk proteins will break apart.

  5. 5.

    As the butter gently boils, the milk proteins will eventually sink to the bottom of the pot, and the boiling will begin to calm and then cease. Adjust heat as needed to continue boiling off the water without scorching the milk solids.

  6. 6.

    Once boiling has stopped, pour butter through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or through a coffee filter into a heatproof container to remove browned milk solids. Let cool, then transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use. Clarified butter should keep for at least 6 months in the refrigerator.

This Recipe Appears In
The Best Way to Make Clarified Butter

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Daniel Gritzer Culinary Director

Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. He spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Europe, where he harvested almonds and Padron peppers in Spain, shepherded a flock of more than 200 sheep in Italy, and made charcuterie in France. When not working on, thinking about, cooking and eating food, he blows off steam (and calories) as an instructor of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art.

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