Easy Oven Clarified Butter

Clarified butter is a rich golden fat that is also referred to as drawn butter. It is very useful in cooking because it has a much higher smoke point than regular butter, due to the removal of the milk solids. The milk solids are what cause whole butter to smoke and burn if heated excessively. The elimination of the milk solids also helps the clarified butter to keep longer than whole butter. Making clarified butter is easily done at home and is worth the effort because of the delicious flavor it provides when used in cooking, as a condiment, or as a dipping sauce for seafood. Butter can also be clarified on the stovetop. See our Oils and Fats Preparation Guide for steps on clarifying butter on the stove.

When making clarified butter, it is best to use unsalted butter when preparing clarified butter so that the quantity of salt in the finished product can be controlled. When using salted butter, the salt content may become more concentrated after the butter is clarified. Additional salt can always be added to the finished product. Clarified butter keeps longer than whole butter due to the removal of the milk solids, although homemade clarified butter may still contain a small amount of milk solids. Like whole butter, clarified butter should be stored in the refrigerator.