Extra-Browned Brown Butter Shrimp Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How much extra butter for browned butter? ›

I suggest using 2 extra tablespoons for every half cup of butter than what the recipe calls for as you'll be left with less butter than you started out with (due to the water evaporating). Also try to brown larger amounts of butter (equal to or more than 1/2 cup). Anything less than that will be very easy to burn.

You can (and should!) make brown butter in advance and store it until needed. Pour brown butter into a heat-safe bowl, then after it cools to room temperature, transfer it to an airtight container. Brown butter will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months.

Brown butter is regular butter cooked a bit longer than usual until the milk solids toast and turn brown. You'll cook the butter just past the melting point. Browning butter creates a magical toasty flavor you don't get with regular melted butter.

You can use either salted or unsalted. We like using unsalted butter, especially for baking, because you can control the quantity of salt in your dish.

Chill the butter in the refrigerator until totally solid, about 1 hour, then get ready for longer-term storage. Pre-browned butter can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to two weeks, but it'll last for up to three months in the freezer.

You can expect to lose around 1 tablespoon of water per half cup. To make up the for loss I recommended adding 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to the browned butter. See my brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe as an example.

Adding one standard two-tablespoon ice cube for every two sticks of butter you brown has two benefits: 1) It will help stop the cooking process so your butter doesn't burn and 2) The melting ice will add back water content to your butter that was lost during the browning.

Brown butter isn't one of those things you can start cooking and walk away from. It requires your total attention, which means stirring the butter every once in a while. Without stirring, the butter has more potential to cook unevenly, and the milk solids can stick to the bottom of the pan and eventually burn.

YES! Those little flecks of brown you see in your browned butter are toasted milk solids. They're FULL of flavor, so be sure to scrape them all in with your browned butter.

What makes brown butter taste good? ›

In its purest form, brown butter tastes like toffee, a little sweet and savory with a heady caramel aroma. Chemically, brown butter tastes so good for the same reason a seared steak does: a process called the Maillard reaction that describes the breakdown of animal proteins into hundreds of flavor compounds.

Check for doneness: To check if the butter is browned to your liking, while the butter is in the saucepan, clear away some of the foam and spoon a little of the butter onto a white plate. Account for evaporation: Brown butter reduces in volume by 20-25% as water content cooks off.

For every ½ cup (8 tablespoon / 113g) of butter you brown you'll lose about 1 tablespoon (14g) of water content to evaporation. So if a recipe calls for 8 tablespoon butter and you want to use brown butter, you can add 1 tablespoon additional liquid to the recipe.

Brown butter tips

Add 1 tablespoon (14g) water (or other liquid) for every 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 113g) of butter used. Failing to add this extra liquid may yield a somewhat greasy final result, especially in something like chocolate chip cookies.

Watch butter closely. The color will progress from a bright yellow to a golden tan, then quickly to a deep golden brown. When you smell a nutty aroma, butter is deep golden brown and browned milk solids appear in bottom of pan, take pan off the heat. Immediately transfer browned butter to heat-proof bowl.