Browned Butter Sauce
The browned butter sauce.
I came across the idea for a sauce the other week, and my hubby latched onto it like a baby with a pacifier. This browned butter sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, and you can serve it with noodles, chicken, or even over rice. Pasta blends better than rice, but if you want a creamy chicken, use this sauce. This is a form of Bechamel sauce, and the flavorings you add make the name for you.
By adjusting your seasonings and flavorings, you can have several variations of this browned butter sauce. Add garlic powder to serve over pasta. Add Parmesan cheese to make an Alfredo sauce, and just add any kind of cheese to serve over macaroni.
The secret to this sauce is to brown your butter and your flour mixed with butter. Be careful, because burning either will have you starting over. Not only is that a waste of time, it’s a waste of ingredients and money!
Brown your butter over medium heat.
Then add flour. Stir the flour until well-mixed, then allow it to simmer so the flour browns also. Add milk, about 1/4 cup at first. Stir, allowing it to simmer and thicken. Add seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a dash of nutmeg.
When the sauce has thickened, add more milk. Keep cooking, stirring, and adding milk until the browned butter sauce is the right consistency.
One thing to remember is that slower is better. The longer you cook your sauce, the thicker it becomes and the less flour you will need!
Once the sauce is ready, you can serve it over chicken and noodles, or mix it with pasta.
The recipe
Browned Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 - 2 Tablespoons flour
- 2-3 cups milk
- Salt and Pepper
- Dash of nutmeg
- Dash of garlic powder
Instructions
- In a skillet or kettle, melt butter over medium heat
- Continue to cook until the butter is browned
- Add flour, whisking well until it is blended with the butter
- Allow flour/butter to brown some more until the color is a light brown
- Add 1/4 cup milk, stirring until well blended
- Add seasonings, and stir
- As the sauce thickens, continue to stir, adding more milk, about 1/2 cup at a time
- Continue until the sauce is the right thickness
- If you want to add cheese, this is the time to do it; add cheese, stir, and cover until melted
- Remove from heat and serve