Learning how to brown butter is a kitchen essential! It adds richness to dishes, especially when baking! A step-by-step visual guide for an indispensable kitchen technique that you will absolutely love!
Add butter to sauce pan over medium-low heat. Watch carefully as butter melts and turns from a bright lemon yellow to a pale gold to a dark nutty brown. As it cooks, the water will boil off of the butter and the milk solids will settle to the bottom of the sauce pan. Begin stirring the butter at this stage to make sure that the milk solids do not burn since they cook faster. Once the butter has reached the desired color, remove it from the heat completely, spoon the foam off the top of the butter and pour into a heat-proof bowl for cooling.
To remove the browned bits from the brown butter, pour brown butter through a fine mesh strainer topped with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a heat-proof bowl for cooling.
Brown butter keeps for up to a few months in an airtight container in the refrigerator provided no moisture is introduced into the butter. I recommend for longer term storage, freeze in ice cube trays and then transfer to a zip top bag to store in the freezer for up to six months.