Techniqueintermediatedraft
Mounting with butter
Also searched as: swirling in butter, mounting a sauce, beurre blanc, monter au beurre
In short: Swirl cold butter into a hot but not boiling reduction. The sauce turns glossy, silky and round.
Picture it
Like snow melting slowly in your hand instead of on a hot stove: only that way does it keep its form.
What happens
Butter itself is already an of fat, water and milk protein. If it melts slowly in a warm liquid, the fat droplets stay finely spread and make the sauce silky. If the sauce boils afterwards, the fat separates again.
How it’s done
Sequence · Step 1 of 4
Take the sauce or reduction off the heat.
All steps as a list
- Take the sauce or reduction off the heat.
- Swirl or stir in cold butter cubes one at a time.
- Add more butter only when the previous piece has almost melted.
- Do not let it boil again; keep warm and serve soon.
Common mistakes
- Butter into boiling sauce: it melts into pools of fat instead of thickening.
Related entries
Sources
- Harold McGee: On Food and Cooking (2004), Kapitel Saucen, Eier