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First Attempt at Clarified Butter


SconnieGirl

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Can anyone tell me if it looks like I correctly prepared the clarified butter? I'm wondering if I was impatient and didn't do it right, because once I transferred it through the cheese cloth, there was still a substance. I'm not sure if that substance was all of the dairy I didn't get or if what I did looks good. 

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That milky-looking stuff at the bottom in the first pic I leave out ... I pour slow and so most of it stays in the saucepan due to gravity, and then the cheesecloth catches the rest. How many layers of cloth did you use? Maybe the weave wasn't dense enough some solids slipped through?

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Thanks Kirkor - I'll keep trying. I (sadly) didn't realize I needed the cheesecloth until after I started (need to practice what I preach when I tell my daughter to always read the full recipe before starting!  :lol: ) So I grabbed what looked like a cheesecloth but honestly, I'm not sure what it is/was and I hadn't considered using multiple layers. I'm heading out to the store today to try buy some cheese cloth. My gut tells me that what I pour should be the pure, clear form of the butter.  

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SconnieGirl, Alton Brown has detailed instructions:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/clarified-butter-recipe.html

 

Things to keep in mind:

  • Begin by bringing your butter to a boil then turn the heat down so that it simmers. The simmering stage is to get the milk solids to settle out AND to remove the water. It will take 30-45 minutes and at the end your clarified butter will begin to stop bubbling as the water is now gone. Just keep an eye on your pan to make sure the butter continues to simmer but does NOT boil.
  • I skim off the foam on the top about halfway or two thirds through and discard.
  • My milk solids never brown at all (I prefer this and this is the classic French technique).
  • The cheesecloth (four layers) is essential to remove ALL the milk solids.

​You can find cheesecloth at most any grocery store.

 

Clarified butter is right up there with dark roast organic coffee, olives and mustard in my list of favorite foods and these are all things that made following the Whole30 easy for me.

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  • Whole30 Certified Coach

Did you throw away that attempt?  Just put it back in the pot and start again :)   If you get it to the point of browning... oh my gosh, I swear it tastes like caramel.  Which is good for things like sweet potatoes, winter squash etc.  Save the duck fat, lard, bacon grease for the savory foods. 

 

Check out this website too :)  Very useful step by step photos.

 

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15235810877/diy-ghee

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  • 4 weeks later...

SconnieGirl, Alton Brown has detailed instructions:

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/clarified-butter-recipe.html

 

 

 

I'm bumping this conversation. Alton Brown's recipe has really clicked with me and I am far more successful now in making clarified butter! (Thanks ArtFossil!) So now I'm wondering - does anybody know of a food thermometer that I can basically just sit in the cooking pot so I can easily just check it for the desired temp of 260? I'm concerned the handle on the one I have would melt or something when propped up on the side of the pot. But it's a pain to dip it in and wait to see what temp I'm at. Maybe I just need a faster-responding thermometer. I'll take recommendations on that too!  :)

 

BTW I'm on Day 26 and WOW I'm just LOVING THIS!! I'm curious about reintroducing foods just to take the opportunity to see how I react. But I would say I'm hooked on this lifestyle for the long-term (aside of those "worth it" days or nights out!). Between this and the uplift I gave me workouts, I am faaaarrrr away from what I felt like a month ago. AND I've trimmed up a bit too. Not sure by how much - I don't care about looking at the scale or counting calories (loving both of those changes!) but I know I feel better and my clothes fit better too. While I have to cook a lot (meat, veggies, eggs....more meat, veggies, eggs.....) I feel like I'm finally approaching a routine of all the prep. It goes so fast with a family of four! 

 

I think my biggest challenge is fluids. I'm bored of water, fruit-flavored water (which I really don't seem to care for at all) and tea. 

 

Hope all is well with my fellow-Whole-30ers!   :wub:

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I tried to make some ghee yesterday. I had to strain it several times before I felt like the solids were completely gone. Honestly I feel like it would have been cheaper just to buy it, as I didn't have much left after all the straining. :) I will probably just order some from Amazon next time. 

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I'm bumping this conversation. Alton Brown's recipe has really clicked with me and I am far more successful now in making clarified butter! (Thanks ArtFossil!) So now I'm wondering - does anybody know of a food thermometer that I can basically just sit in the cooking pot so I can easily just check it for the desired temp of 260? I'm concerned the handle on the one I have would melt or something when propped up on the side of the pot. But it's a pain to dip it in and wait to see what temp I'm at. Maybe I just need a faster-responding thermometer. I'll take recommendations on that too!  :)

 

BTW I'm on Day 26 and WOW I'm just LOVING THIS!! I'm curious about reintroducing foods just to take the opportunity to see how I react. But I would say I'm hooked on this lifestyle for the long-term (aside of those "worth it" days or nights out!). Between this and the uplift I gave me workouts, I am faaaarrrr away from what I felt like a month ago. AND I've trimmed up a bit too. Not sure by how much - I don't care about looking at the scale or counting calories (loving both of those changes!) but I know I feel better and my clothes fit better too. While I have to cook a lot (meat, veggies, eggs....more meat, veggies, eggs.....) I feel like I'm finally approaching a routine of all the prep. It goes so fast with a family of four! 

 

I think my biggest challenge is fluids. I'm bored of water, fruit-flavored water (which I really don't seem to care for at all) and tea. 

 

Hope all is well with my fellow-Whole-30ers!   :wub:

I hope that I can get into a routine! I am cooking for 5 most of the time (occasionally 8) and it's overwhelming.

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I hope you can too, Amy Fillinger! Each week that goes by I get better and better at this. Sundays I cook two egg bakes to give us (me and my husband) breakfast for the week. It goes faster when the kids decide they want some, but at least I know they're making good choices. I hard boil 1-2 dozen eggs. Every few days I toss in some meats and veggies to cook/roast. I long to start makings recipes to get some variety going, but I just don't have the time to pull the ingredients together and make something that might only last for one meal. (Okay yeah....I could/should double it.) But there are endless recipes I want to try and vow that I will! But for now, we're pretty basic with the "perfect" cooked meats, "perfect" raw/roasted veggies, some fruit and healthy fats. They aren't fancy-pants plate pics I would show off, but we're getting the job done and feeling great from it! Good luck to you!

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