A jar of this on your kitchen counter in a dark-tinted mason jar is a great asset. Make a big enough batch that you can have one jar on the counter, one "on deck" in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer. When your final jar gets promoted to counter duty, it's time to whip up another batch.
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Ingredients
- Any whole butter — Salted or unsalted (read instruction #5 for an optional use of the milk solids).
- mason jars & lids — 8 or 16 oz wide mouth mason jars work well. Best is dark amber tinted to protect from light. Ball/Kerr now make "black" lids that provide a more positive seal than the old white ones.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat the sous-vide water to 185°F (85°C)
- Seal butter in a vacuum pouch or well sealed ziplock bag with air expelled.
- Submerge the pouch in the water, weighted to keep submerged, heat for 30 minutes after the temp returns to 185°F/85°C
- Snip a top corner (or open the ziplock) and slowly pour the butter into a large enough bowl - stopping just before you get to the milk solids/water slurry. You don't want any of them in there. OR, Find a way to hang the sous vide bags in the fridge until everything is thoroughly chilled. Then open the bags, and separate the butterfat from everything else.
- ONLY If you used unsalted butter, optionally reserve the milk solids & water. You can heat them in a shallow pan first to drive off the last of the water, then continuing to allow the milk solids to brown a bit. They have various uses like dressing vegetables, mixed into mashed potatoes or rice, or kneading into bread dough. Mixed back into the butterfat they take on an amazing flavor profile and consistency, though it lowers the smoke point. If you used salted butter, once the water is driven out the milk solids they are so insanely salty they are not practical to use.
- Cover the bowl and move to the fridge. Chill until solid, overnight is convenient.
- Pop the butterfat out of the bowl, discard any residual liquid, and dab the bottom dry with a paper towel.
- Heat the butterfat in a pan to around 225°F to drive out any residual water. There will some visible bubbling when it first comes up to temp. Stir occasionally. After a while the bubbles will stop, indicating the water is all gone and you're done.
- After it cools a bit, but while still over 150°F, pour into sterile mason jars. If you're going to keep them refrigerated clear jars are fine, but use tinted if you plan on leaving them on the counter exposed to light.
- Seal with either a leak-proof lid, or a canning lid with a ring.
- For freezing, alternatively you may prefer to pour it into something that holds about the amount you are looking to keep on your countertop. Chill, pop out, vacuum seal and freeze.
- Shelf life is 6 months in the dark (cupboard, pantry, or even on your kitchen counter sealed in a darkened jar). A year or more in the fridge, but it's a pain to scoop when cold. Years in the freezer — preferably vacuum sealed. Oxygen degrades all fats, so be sure it is stored nicely sealed.
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