Beurre Noisette (Brown Butter)
Learn how to make beurre noisette, the classic French brown butter technique. This simple one-ingredient recipe transforms ordinary butter into a rich, nutty sauce that's perfect for pasta, fish, vegetables and baking.
Servings 1 cup
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) butter
Instructions
- Cut the butter into roughly equal pieces so it melts evenly. This isn't essential, but it helps the butter melt at the same rate rather than having one large chunk still solid while the rest is already cooking.
- Place the butter in a light-colored pan (stainless steel or a light saucepan, not non-stick or dark cast iron) over medium heat. A light-colored pan is important because you need to see the color of the milk solids as they change. In a dark pan, you're essentially cooking blind. Let the butter melt completely, stirring occasionally.
- Once the butter has fully melted, it will start to foam as the water content evaporates. You'll hear it sizzling and bubbling. This is normal. Keep the heat on medium and let it do its thing. Swirl the pan gently every now and then so the milk solids toast evenly.
- After a few minutes, the foaming will start to subside and you'll notice the butter changing color. It will go from pale yellow to golden and you'll start to see small brown flecks forming at the bottom of the pan. These are the toasted milk solids. The butter will smell intensely nutty and fragrant, almost like toasted hazelnuts or caramel. This is your beurre noisette.
- As soon as the butter is a warm amber or golden brown color and smells nutty, take the pan off the heat. The residual heat in the pan will continue cooking the butter for a few seconds, so pulling it slightly earlier than you think is the safe move. If you're using the brown butter as a sauce (over ravioli, fish or vegetables), you can add your other ingredients now to stop the cooking process.
Notes
- This recipe makes just under 1 cup, enough for 4 servings of pasta, vegetables or fish.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter so you can control the seasoning. Salted butter can become too salty as the water evaporates and the flavours concentrate.
- Pan: Use a light-colored pan (stainless steel is ideal) so you can see the milk solids changing color. Dark pans make it almost impossible to judge.
- Heat: Keep it at medium. High heat browns the butter too quickly and unevenly, increasing the risk of burning.
- Timing: The whole process takes 5 to 8 minutes. Stay at the stove for the last 2 to 3 minutes as the colour changes quickly.
- Colour guide: Pull the pan off the heat when the butter is golden amber with brown flecks and smells nutty. It will continue cooking slightly from residual heat.
- If it burns: Start over. Burnt brown butter tastes bitter and will ruin whatever you put it on.
- Storage: Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or frozen for up to 3 months.
