Buerre Monté

 

How to Make a Basic Monté

Beurre monté looks and feels luxurious, but it’s nothing more than butter 

whisked into simmering water until the mixture thickens. 

Here’s how you make it:

1. Bring water to gentle simmer.
2. 
   
3. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time until it melts.

From Melted to Monté

The difference between beurre monté and melted butter looks and feels like the difference between velvet and raw denim: a substance that’s luxurious versus one that’s unrefined.

Structurally, the difference between them is emulsification—the process of fusing together liquids that would normally separate. Butter, a solid emulsion of fat and water, breaks when you melt it, causing its fat and water to separate and turn thin and greasy. Monté is butter that’s simultaneously melted and rebuilt into a new emulsion by thoroughly whisking it into hot water.

The whisking breaks up the fat into tiny droplets that get dispersed throughout the water until it thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.

All it takes is a little precision, starting with the right ratio of butter to water. You need just enough water to give the fat droplets space to disperse without touching one another but not so much that the mixture is thin and lean (and won’t allow for the addition of any liquid seasonings).

The temperature of the butter and water matters too: The butter should be well chilled and the water simmering but not boiling. That way, the butter melts slowly so that its fat droplets gradually become available and don’t overwhelm the emulsion as you’re building it, and the water doesn’t evaporate so much that there isn’t enough of it to keep the fat droplets separate. It’s easy to control by bringing the water to a simmer over a medium-high flame and then lowering the heat as soon as it comes to a simmer. 

Finally, be sure to add the butter slowly and whisk vigorously after each addition—especially early in the process when you’re establishing the emulsion. I like to drop in 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk it for 20 to 30 seconds before adding the next so that the butter has a chance to melt and its fat breaks down into sufficiently tiny droplets.

Beurre monté comes together very quickly but can also be covered and kept warm over your stove’s lowest setting for up to 4 hours. Note that it will break if simmered for an extended period of time, and it cannot be cooled and reheated. 

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/articles/7939-how-to-make-Beurre-Mont%C3%A9