Beurre Monté

Beurre monté is a classic French butter sauce made by whisking cold butter into a small amount of simmering water. This creates a smooth, stable emulsion that is incredibly rich, glossy, and velvety, unlike melted butter, which separates into fat and milk solids.

The 5-Minute Magic Butter Sauce, which is simply emulsified butter, clings beautifully to vegetables, seafood, and other foods without feeling greasy. As the butter is whisked in, the fat disperses into tiny droplets suspended in water, creating a luxurious sauce with the consistency of heavy cream. Ready in about 5 minutes, beurre monté is an elegant yet simple way to enrich and finish a wide variety of dishes.

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What Is Beurre Monté?

Beurre monté translates to “mounted butter”, and is one of the fundamental techniques in French cooking. Rather than simply melting butter, cold butter is gradually whisked into a small amount of hot water, creating an emulsion that suspends tiny droplets of butterfat throughout the liquid.

How to make at home

Beurre monté may sound intimidating, but it’s actually really easy to make at home. It looks and feels super special, but it’s nothing more than two ingredients, butter whisked into warm water, until the mixture thickens.

The full printable recipe card is below, and I have tips and tricks for you in the post.

Let’s take a quick look at the ingredients

Use a filtered clean water that you’ll warm on the stove.

Always start with cold butter. As the cold butter is whisked into the hot liquid, it forms a stable emulsion that gives beurre monté its smooth, velvety texture. Salted, unsalted, and European-style butter all work well, though many chefs prefer unsalted butter for greater control over the seasoning.

The steps

Cut butter into 1-tablespoon-size pieces and keep them cold in the fridge.

Use a small saucepan rather than a skillet to keep the sauce from spilling out.

Temperature control is important. Heat the water over low heat until it reaches a gentle simmer, small bubbles are fine, but vigorous boiling means the heat is too high. If the sauce gets too hot, the emulsion can break and become oily. If the water is not warm enough, the butter won’t melt and incorporate properly.

Add a tablespoon-sized piece of the cold, cubed butter and whisk vigorously.

Wait until the butter is completely melted and incorporated into the water (emulsified) before adding the next piece of cold butter.

Continue whisking in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture transforms into a rich, creamy, pale-yellow sauce. Season with salt if desired.

Can I fix a broken sauce?

Yes, if the sauce begins to separate, there are a couple of ways to help bring it back together. First, if the sauce is still warm, try whisking it vigorously. Sometimes a broken emulsion simply needs a little extra encouragement to recombine.

If that doesn’t work, remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water. The sudden temperature change can help restore the emulsion and bring the sauce back to a smooth, consistency.

Storage and make ahead

Want to make it ahead? Cover the saucepan, keep it warm on the lowest setting for up to 4 hours. Keep an eye on it, it can break if simmered for an extended period of time. 

Ideally, it will remain smooth as it cools, provided it isn’t allowed to boil. However, a small amount of separation can occur, and that’s perfectly normal. If the sauce has cooled, gently reheat it over low heat while whisking continuously until smooth. Avoid high heat or boiling, as excessive heat can cause the emulsion to break further.

Do you have leftover sauce? Or even separated sauce? Don’t throw it away; it’s just water and butter. Store in a covered dish in the fridge, and use it to cook or sauté, like it’s perfect for cooking morning scrambled eggs, on toasted bread, pasta, sautéed vegetables, or in pan sauces.

To store with the least amount of breaking (where the fat and water separate)…

1. Transfer the sauce to a shallow glass or stainless steel container.
2. Place the container in an ice-water bath.
3. Stir until cooled to room temperature.
4. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days.

How to Reheat

1. Place the sauce in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water.
2. Warm gently while whisking continuously.
3. Do not microwave.
4. If the sauce begins to separate, whisk in 1 tablespoon cold water or a small piece of cold butter until smooth.

How to use

This sauce is perfect for dunking lobster tail, crab, shrimp, scallops, and other seafoods in. It’s rich and clings to the meat so well.

Drizzle it over veggies like roasted asparagus, artichokes, carrots, green beans, or steamed vegetables. Or try it as a finishing sauce for steak or pork chops.

Toss pasta in it and add some freshly grated Parmesan.

It’s often used as a poaching liquid for lobster, shrimp, scallops, or white fish.

Try swapping the water in the recipe for broth for more flavor. You can also whisk in fresh minced herbs, citrus peel, lemon juice, garlic, or spices.

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