If you love clarified butter, you've likely made it several times at home. After all, it's super easy to prepare — simply melt unsalted butter in a saucepan, then pour it through a cheesecloth or coffee filter. The result is butterfat sans water and milk proteins, which has a higher smoke point than normal butter.
But what if there was an even easier way to make clarified butter? Courtesy of user @poppycooks on TikTok, that seems to be the case. Not only is her method mostly hands-off, but it doesn't require the stovetop.
Video of the Day
Video of the Day
The first step is to cut unsalted butter into cubes, then place it in a microwave-safe container. Next, heat the butter until it's fully melted and separated into layers of butterfat and buttermilk.
Without stirring the melted butter, let it sit until it reaches room temperature, then place it in the refrigerator. Once the butterfat fully sets, pierce a hole with a butter knife. This will allow you to pour out the buttermilk, leaving you with clarified butter.
We're loving this technique for several reasons. For starters, it reduces the risk of overcooking the butter and accidentally making browned butter. (Although, we do love the ingredient, especially in chocolate chip cookies.) It also allows you to actually keep the buttermilk. If you were to use the stovetop method, the liquid portion will ultimately cook off.
And just in case you're wondering, yes — you can totally use the buttermilk for another recipe. "I use the buttermilk to marinate chicken," commented @poppycooks on the video. So smart.
Needless to say, this is one heck of a brilliant butter hack. Martha Stewart also loves using clarified butter to make scrambled eggs, so you can be sure that we'll be giving it a try the next time we make breakfast.