Kerrygold Beurre Manie

There is a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many home cooks.  Sauce.  Think about it.  What other dish with so few ingredients has the power to cause as much anxiety and tears?   In my kitchen, sauce has always been a seat of my pants adventure.  Sometimes I get them right.  Other times they go horribly, horribly wrong.

I’m usually ok with roux based sauces that start with cooking butter and flour as the base of the sauce before hot liquid is added.  But that process is not always an option.  And that’s when things get dicey.  Have your liquid too hot when you add in the flour and instead of a perfectly thickened sauce you get pasty lumps that refuse to disperse.  Add too much flour and you’re likely to get gummy sauce.  Today’s tip illustrates that it doesn’t have to be like that.

There’s a french term, beurre manie, which literally means kneaded butter.  Despite the fancy pants name, beurre manie is not to be feared; it’s your secret weapon in the war against lumpy sauce.  Beurre manie is simply equal parts butter and flour mixed together until smooth. Nothing intimidating about that, is there?

When you whisk this mixture into your sauce, the butter melts away and allows the flour to evenly disperse into your liquid.  Traditionally, beurre manie is made by smearing the butter and flour together on the counter.  But with Kerrygold Premium Spreadable Reduced Fat Butter, your counter, and your hands, stay butter free.  And your sauces and gravies stay beautifully lump free.

Kerrygold Beurre Manie

BAH Note:  You will want to skim the fat off of the liquid in your pan and then let it cook until reduced by about half before adding the beurre manie to the liquid.

• 1 tablespoon Kerrygold Premium Spreadable Reduced Fat Butter
• 1 tablespoon flour

Place the butter and flour in a small bowl.  Use a fork to mash the butter and flour together until they are fully combined and the mixture smooths out, approximately one minute.  Scoop out the mixture with a whisk and stir it into your hot liquid.  Whisk until completely incorporated and then cook your sauce for a few more minutes to thicken.

Official Disclosure: Kerrygold provided me with their Premium Spreadable Butter and Premium Spreadable Reduced Fat Butter to use in developing these tips as part of a contest.  The opinions, and #butterlove, expressed here are my own.