How to make pure homemade ghee butter from scratch?

Question

I am tired of all these modern cooking sprays and processed seed oils full of unpronounceable chemicals that ruin the flavor of a good steak on the grill. People used to cook with pure animal fats and real butter, and things were much simpler back then. I want to start making my own traditional ghee at home so I have a clean, high-smoke-point fat for high-heat searing on the cast iron without burning milk solids.

Every store-bought jar these days is either overpriced or packed with preservatives. What is the proper, traditional method to clarify unsalted butter completely? I want to know the right simmering temprature and how to tell when the milk solids have properly separated and browned without scorching the whole batch. Can I use a heavy saucepan or do this slowly in a multicooker?

Answer 1

Hello David. Making your own ghee at home is a wonderful choice, especially if you want a clean fat with a high smoke point for searing. When made properly, ghee has a smoke point between 450 and 485 degrees Fahrenheit because the water has fully evaporated and the milk proteins are completely separated and filtered out.

Here is a thorough, step-by-step method to clarify your butter traditional-style.

1. Equipment and Butter Selection
Always start with unsalted butter, as salted butter tends to foam excessively and scorch more easily. A heavy-bottomed, light-colored stainless steel saucepan or enameled Dutch oven is best because the light surface allows you to clearly see the color of the milk solids at the bottom. If you prefer to use a multicooker, set it to the lowest saute or slow-cook setting, but make sure to leave the lid completely off so the moisture can escape into the air.

2. Melting and Simmering
Cut your butter into equal chunks and place them in the pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter has melted completely, turn the burner down to low to maintain a gentle, continuous simmer.

3. The Stages to Look For
First stage: The butter will produce a thick white foam on the surface and make loud sputtering sounds. This is the water content boiling off.
Second stage: After about 10 to 15 minutes, the sputtering will quiet down, the surface foam will thin out, and the liquid will turn bright golden and transparent. The white milk solids will sink to the bottom.
Third stage: To turn clarified butter into true ghee, let it continue simmering on low heat. Watch the solids at the bottom closely. They will turn from white to a light toasted brown, and you will smell a rich, nutty, caramel-like aroma. This usually takes an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

4. Straining and Storing
Remove the pan from the heat the moment the solids turn golden brown, as the residual heat from the heavy pan can easily scorch them. Allow the ghee to sit for 3 to 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Place a fine-mesh strainer lined with a few layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter over a clean, dry glass jar. Carefully pour the warm liquid through the filter. The browned milk solids will stay trapped in the cloth. Let the jar cool uncovered to room temperature before sealing. Kept clean and dry, it will stay fresh in your pantry for months.

Comments

Making clean cooking fat at home is essential for my weeknight steak dinners so the pan does not smoke out the kitchen. Here is the routine:

1. Melt two pounds of unsalted butter over low heat in an enameled pot.
2. Let the water boil off until the crackling stops completely, about fifteen minutes.
3. Keep simmering until the milk bits at the bottom turn light brown.
4. Pour through a fine sieve into glass jars and tighten the lids right away while it is steaming hot to lock in freshness, eh.
5. Keep in the cold pantry.

---

I need pure ghee for our daily family curries, but I only know the color test. Once it turns amber I pull it off, though I honestly doubt multicookers manage the heat properly

Answer 2

Clean, high-smoke-point fat is essential for high-heat steak searing on the grill. Melt unsalted butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat and let it simmer without a lid. The water will evaporate after the foaming stops, and the white milk proteins will sink to the bottom. Once those solids turn golden brown and smell nutty, immediately remove the pan from the stove and pour the liquid through a coffee filter.

Answer 3

Simmer unsalted butter in an open heavy saucepan on low heat. When bubbling stops and bottom solids turn light brown, remove from heat and pour through a cloth filter.

Answer 4

Melt your unsalted butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat on the stovetop. Once the milk bits at the bottom turn light golden brown, take it off the burner and strain.

Answer 5

Melt the unsalted butter in a heavy saucepan on low heat untill the bubbling stops and you see clear yellow oil. I always skim off the white surface foam with a spoon. I do not know if a multicooker works well for this, and I am always uncertain about the exact moment the bottom solids go from golden to burnt, so I remove the pan early.

Answer 6

A heavy saucepan works best for this... Just keep your heat low and watch the pot closely! The butter will foam up first, but then it settles down and turns clear. When the milk bits at the bottom turn a nice light brown color, take it off the heat immediatly so it does not scorch! Filter the liquid through clean cheesecloth into a jar... It makes a great fat for cooking!

Answer 7

I prepare this fat in batches for my weekly meal prep. Melt unsalted buter on low heat and keep the lid tightly closed on the pot until the yellow liquid turns fully clear.