Clarifying butter: filter? Or decant?

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SameGuy

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I've been clarifying butter lately, small amounts using a small (1-quart) stainless saucier. I'm not sure I'm doing it correctly, but the results seem to be pretty good. To make 8 ounces of clarified butter I start with 10 ounces (2½ sticks) of sweet butter, cut up into chunks. Melt on medium to medium-low heat (my Maytag-brand glass top range is rather slow), get it bubbling and skim the foam off the top. When the bubbling slows considerably -- but before the whey on the bottom starts browning -- remove from the heat and let sit for five minutes. Skim one last time. Now, this is where my question comes in: at this point, do you decant the butter fat off the whey? Or do you filter it through cheese cloth (or musline or étamine)?
 
You can clarify butter in a microwave(I know,it's sacrilege).Use a Pyrex or microwave safe measuring cup w/a spout.1-2 mins,wait till it settles and slowly pour into a different container till you hit the whey.Then you can use a spoon or small laddle to scoop up the rest of the good stuff..
 
I've always decanted. If you want to make it easier, use one of the gadgets for separating fat to remove the solids:

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Another decanter. FWIW its my understanding that clarified butter has no shelf life issues. I do a couple sticks at a time in sauce pan in oven for the more gentle heat. Pour off and refrigerate in qt container. Remove as necc.
 
I do a bit of both, carefully decanting through a couple layers of butter muslin (no idea how the "e" got on the end of "muslin" above). My result is translucent instead of the transparent fats I see online, but when I use the butter for frying it clears right up and doesn't burn.
 
Wouldn't that still mix the whey with the fat? In my (limited) experience the layer of whey would be up to right about the bottom of the spout... Tilt it to decant and the whey comes out, no?
 
Skim top, refrigerate over night. Next day pop two holes in the solid butter, one to pour out the liquid by-products the other for air. (the stuff on the bottom stays liquid)

I recommend relatively large batches and refrigerate.
 
Skim top, refrigerate over night. Next day pop two holes in the solid butter, one to pour out the liquid by-products the other for air. (the stuff on the bottom stays liquid)

I recommend relatively large batches and refrigerate.

When you do this are you pouring out the water so you're left with nothing but the fat?
 
Salty's method gets rid of the whey,which doesn't solidify(the fat does)
Decanting, you pour off the fats first leaving the crap in the bottom of the container.
 
I think Shinob was asking about Salty's method; the whey remains "loose" after the fat congeals.
 
When you filter, isn't that making ghee? I know ghee and clarified butter are similar, but I did not think they were the same.

-AJ
 
I thought ghee is similar to beurre noisette​ in that the heat is applied until the whey starts to cook and brown.
 
I think Shinob was asking about Salty's method; the whey remains "loose" after the fat congeals.

I was, so what you're left with is the solid butterfat, because the water was evaporated into foam and the whey was poured out, right?
 
I guess my way is just an extra step, I'm decanting the butter off the whey but through a muslin to trap any that may still be in suspension. One site I just visited suggested to wet the muslin first, or it will absorb too much of the fat. I hadn't thought of that.
 
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