Originally posted September 03, 2011

ghee (clarified butter)

ghee (clarified butter) by joanie

I wanted to make ghee and first came across this video, which sort of freaked me out because the guy isn't wearing a shirt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGBI4IKL58g

Then I came across this recipe, and the method was so much simpler, which I preferred, of course. Plus, there was no shirtless dude involved. Another plus.
http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2007/05/14/how-to-make-ghee/

So here's my recipe. There's only 1 ingredient so you might as well make sure you're using high-quality butter. Plus, it takes some time so if you're making the effort, you might as well do it right. Also, if you're up for it, you can season your ghee with herbs or spices. I'm not that advanced myself.

Use ghee where you might otherwise cook with butter. The benefit of ghee is that it has a higher smoke point, meaning it can go to a much higher temperature before burning. It can also be used like drawn butter for dipping seafood.

NOTE: Don't leave boiling butter unattended in your kitchen. Maybe that's a no-brainer warning, but it's still worth saying.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of good butter, salted or unsalted
2 1/4 cups

Directions

Slowly heat butter in a heavy pot on low heat. As it melts and gently bubbles, solids will foam up to the top and drop down to the bottom. The goal is to separate out the solids and boil off the water while preventing the solids from burning on the bottom. Low heat does this nicely. You really don't even need to stir. Just wait.

After about an hour, the liquid turns clear, you can see the bottom of the pot, and no more new solids seem to appear. Turn off the heat.

Lay muslin, a folded cheesecloth, or a nut bag over a fine mesh strainer set atop a large pyrex or other glass container that can take heat. Strain the liquid, taking care to prevent solids from entering the final product. (These solids can be saved and used in place of butter, but they have a strong flavor akin to buttermilk.)

Transfer the liquid to storage containers. You can leave it out, but feel free to refrigerate it if you're paranoid.

1 hour

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  • commented about 12 years ago

    but you still included a link to the shirtless man video? LOL

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