Porcini Mushroom Clarified Butter/Ghee

Clarified butter!!

It is achieved when separating the milk solids and water from the butter fat. Through heating the butter, the water evaporates and the milk protein rises to the top and is then skimmed off. What you are left with is clarified butter.

Its a pretty wonderful food. It has a longer shelf life and has a higher smoking point than regular butter (485 F.) It does not need to be refrigerated and will last in an air tight container for years. I keep mine on the counter for easy to reach access.

Clarified butter has been used all around the world but is best known for Middle Eastern and Indian cuisine. Yum!

Using clarified butter has many health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants and helps with the absorption of vitamins and minerals. It is known to enhance brain cell function and is good for the immune system. It can be used to soften skin and to relieve rashes. It is thought to help fight the growth of cancer cells and the list goes on and on. It is not advised for someone with high cholesterol to use regularly though.

2 sticks of unsalted butter

8 oz dried mushrooms ground to powder ( I usually use Porcini but thought I would try a fancier Morel mushroom. I preferred the Porcini)

Weigh out 8 ounces and grind the mushrooms into a powder. I like using a coffee grinder best but those fancy machines work too.

Set aside for later.

You will need a small sauce pan and a fine sieve for this.

On low to medium heat, heat the butter. You will immediately see the milk proteins floating to the top.

The next step just takes patience. Strain all of it. Just when you think you're done, there is more. You also may notice black specks at the bottom of the pot, those specks are impurities. This is a good thing since they will be left behind.

When you feel confident it is clarified, strain it into a clean sauce pan.

Now this is the good part... Add the ground mushrooms and stir on a low heat. you don't have to stir constantly but you do need to stir so nothing sticks to the bottom.

You can keep it on the stove anywhere from five minutes to twenty. The longer you keep it on the stronger the mushroom flavor but there is also chance of it browning which sweetens it a bit.

In the photos, the clarified butter looks brown due to the mushroom pieces floating around, but it cooled yellow and the mushroom settled to the bottom. I like to save some of the mushroom pieces to add to the top of the cooled butter.

When I bake bread I like covering the top with this clarified butter before putting it in the oven as well as dipping the fresh bread in the melted goodness. It's also great for dipping lobster, shrimp or any sea creatures in. Add it to a pasta dish or a savory popcorn.

Thank you and enjoy