Recipe for beurre monté
If you have been following MasterChef 2020, you’ve probably heard about Beurre monté.
Beurre monté is a butter sauce, and it is a French technique that essentially involves cooking/poaching in melted butter. The French often use this method of cooking for vegetables, as it is a very gentle way of preparing them.
When making Beurre monté, an emulsion occurs between the butter and the water. An emulsion is when two liquids are mixed—liquids that “naturally” do not “want” to mix, such as water and oil. When we get these two things to emulsify, it is because we are incorporating—or whisking—the oil into the water.
As the oil (or fat) incorporates into the water, it distributes as tiny droplets within the water. A Beurre monté is a permanent emulsion, meaning that the water and butter do not separate again. No matter how much butter sauce you need to make, the amount of water used is always the same.
Vegetables cooked in Beurre monté become juicy and extra flavorful, and almost all the contestants on MasterChef use this technique! Here is my take on the recipe.
Beurre monté Recipe
Beurre monté
Ingredients
- 15 gram Water
- Butter cut into larger cubes
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
- Reduce to low heat and begin to add chunks of the butter - a little at a time - while constantly whisking so it emulsifies (combines). When it begins to emulsify, add more butter. It is very important to keep the temperature within the range of 160 - 189 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure the emulsion becomes permanent. It must by no means come to a boil.
- When it has become a very thick butter sauce, remove the saucepan from the heat. Your Beurre monté should be used within an hour.