Ghee, or clarified butter, is butter that has had the milk solids removed. This allows you to heat the oil that is left over to higher temperatures without burning it. Ghee is one of my favorite cooking fats—it has a nutty, buttery flavor, and is great for sautéing, roasting, or drizzling as a finishing oil. You can purchase ghee in some stores or online, but making it is incredibly easy and less expensive if you find high-quality, grass-fed butter on sale.
Cooking time 15 to 20 minutes
Makes about 31/2 cups (773 g)
2 pounds (905 g) grass-fed butter (organic, if possible)
1 Cut the butter into large pieces and put it into a medium saucepan.
2 Cook the butter over medium-low heat until it is all melted.
3 Continue to cook the butter over medium-low heat. The butter will bubble and simmer for several minutes and get very foamy at the top. Then the foam will subside, and the top will be relatively clear. After a few more minutes, it will get foamy again, with smaller bubbles. At this point, remove the pan from the heat and use a spoon to skim the foam from the top. Do not scrape the residue from the bottom of the pot.
4 Pour the clear ghee into a lidded glass container for storage. Allow the ghee to cool completely, and store, covered, at room temperature for a few days or chilled for a few weeks.
