Flavoured butters are among the most useful instant sauces. Anchovy butter is wonderful with salmon, wine merchant’s butter can be melted over a grilled steak, and chicken with tarragon butter is a superb combination, but there are countless other possibilities.
Secrets of Successful Butter Sauces
Some cooks find butter sauces a little tricky, so here are a few helpful hints to ensure perfect results every time:
Use a small, heavy saucepan and a small wire whisk.
Use sufficient heat to melt the butter quickly.
Avoid boiling the sauce.
Never stop whisking.
Do not attempt to make the sauce with less than 200g of butter.
A wide-mouthed vacuum flask, duly pre-warmed, will keep a butter sauce warm for an hour or more. If the sauce sits for a while it will thicken as it cools; to return it to the correct consistency, whisk in a few drops or more of hot water.
Should the sauce separate, whisk in a tablespoon of double cream [45% fat] that has been simmered until reduced to half its original volume.
Having laid down the rules, it should be noted that every chef has a set of rules that will differ from those given here ...
