[1 - 1] hello my name is andrew and welcome to
[1 - 3] my kitchen in this video you're going to
[3 - 5] see me cook through eight pounds of
[5 - 7] butter this is part of an ongoing series
[7 - 8] on the channel where i cook through a
[8 - 11] large amount of one ingredient in an
[11 - 12] effort to better understand how that
[12 - 14] ingredient works i'm usually cooking
[14 - 16] things i've never made before often not
[16 - 18] getting it exactly right but there's
[18 - 20] something about the repetition that is
[20 - 23] very fun and revealing butter is a
[23 - 25] magical ingredient it's often said that
[25 - 27] the reason why restaurant food tends to
[27 - 30] taste a lot better or more exciting is
[30 - 32] that they're just using a lot more
[32 - 33] butter and in this experience i
[33 - 36] definitely push my personal upper limit
[36 - 39] of how much butter is too much butter so
[39 - 41] i've already made all these recipes and
[41 - 42] now i'm going to take you through how
[42 - 44] those experiences went the first thing i
[44 - 46] made was compound butter which is
[46 - 48] essentially just butter mixed with some
[48 - 50] seasoning ingredients that can be used
[50 - 52] in a variety of ways but i wanted to
[52 - 55] start by trying to make my own butter so
[55 - 58] i began by finding the best heavy cream
[58 - 60] available to me and then i simply
[60 - 62] whipped it in a stand mixer the same way
[62 - 64] i would if i was making whipped cream
[64 - 66] and if you've ever broken a whipped
[66 - 68] cream then you're about three quarters
[68 - 70] of the way to making your own butter and
[70 - 72] i actually had to throw a towel over my
[72 - 74] mixer because it started splashing too
[74 - 77] much liquid the moment that the butter
[77 - 78] really separates from the rest of the
[78 - 81] liquid is very sudden like it's just
[81 - 84] sloshing sloshing sloshing and then all
[84 - 86] of the sudden there's a mound of butter
[86 - 88] in your whisk and liquid everywhere else
[88 - 90] i strained my butter squeezing out as
[90 - 92] much liquid as possible rinsing it a
[92 - 94] couple of times with cold water and then
[94 - 96] finally squeezing it with a cheesecloth
[96 - 98] to remove as much moisture as possible
[98 - 100] and this is my butter i knew
[100 - 102] conceptually how this worked but i'd
[102 - 104] never done it myself it's pretty cool so
[104 - 105] this was the butter i was gonna use for
[105 - 107] my compound butter but i wanted to have
[107 - 110] some on its own simply salted this
[110 - 113] probably ranks as the best thing i ate
[113 - 115] throughout the whole video that
[115 - 118] perfectly soft butter lots of salt on
[119 - 122] it's very hard to beat and i wanted to
[122 - 124] shout out that this bread comes from a
[124 - 126] place called bub and grandma's in los
[126 - 128] angeles often if you see me using bread
[128 - 130] in these videos it usually comes from
[130 - 132] them and i'd be remiss not to mention
[132 - 134] them because the quality of this
[134 - 136] combination is definitely
[136 - 138] in large part due to the quality of this
[138 - 140] bread so now i have the rest of the
[140 - 141] butter that i'm going to use for my
[141 - 144] compound butter and i began by chopping
[144 - 147] some chives parsley grating some garlic
[147 - 150] and adding salt and some dry white wine
[150 - 152] which is something i saw in jacques
[152 - 154] pepin's book essential pepan after that
[154 - 156] was well combined i spread it on some
[156 - 158] parchment paper where i could then roll
[158 - 160] it into a log and chill it until it was
[161 - 163] firm and that's the compound butter this is
[163 - 165] and that's the compound butter this is now a thing that's available to me to
[165 - 168] add to pretty much anything where i
[168 - 169] would normally use butter compound
[169 - 171] butter is classically served as a
[171 - 175] finisher for steak a simple pad on top
[175 - 177] adds that additional luxuriousness the
[177 - 179] herbs and garlic are interacting and
[180 - 181] becoming aromatic from the heat of the
[182 - 186] meat amazing i also took some to make simple
[186 - 188] amazing i also took some to make simple scrambled eggs in the morning one of my
[188 - 190] favorite things was actually broccoli
[190 - 192] that i simply blanched and then finished
[192 - 194] with this butter because i think it
[194 - 197] represents the maximum return for the
[197 - 199] least amount of time it wouldn't be that
[199 - 202] hard to cut up some herbs or add a
[202 - 204] little bit of garlic to something but
[204 - 205] the fact that it's already done it
[205 - 207] really turns it into something that you
[208 - 210] in practically
[210 - 212] four minutes really the limiting factor
[212 - 214] is just how long it might take your
[214 - 216] water to boil the next thing i made was
[216 - 218] pound cake which i immediately thought
[218 - 219] of with butter because pound cake is
[219 - 221] classically named for its ratio of a
[221 - 224] pound of butter to a pound of sugar to
[224 - 226] etc etc and i followed the recipe from
[226 - 228] james beard which was published in the
[228 - 231] new york times i began by sifting flour
[231 - 233] onto a sheet of wax paper which i then
[233 - 235] used to transfer the flour back to the
[235 - 238] sifter to sift through a couple of times
[238 - 241] incorporating baking powder and salt in
[241 - 242] the subsequent times i thought the
[242 - 244] specificity of the wax paper was
[244 - 246] unnecessary but it actually ended up
[246 - 249] being a very good tool to corral a bunch
[249 - 252] of flour with i then separated my eggs i
[252 - 254] then whipped the egg whites in a stand
[254 - 256] mixer gradually adding sugar until it
[256 - 259] held soft peaks i set the whites aside
[259 - 262] and used the same mixer to cream butter
[262 - 263] adding a little bit of sugar there as
[263 - 266] well the yolks i beat adding lemon zest
[266 - 268] and a little splash of rum beard's
[268 - 270] recipe calls for cognac but i had rum on
[270 - 271] hand because i was using it for
[272 - 273] something else later i then added the
[273 - 276] flour to the butter and egg mixture and
[276 - 278] then added the egg whites to those
[278 - 280] gently folding them in to not deflate
[280 - 283] the whites too much when it was well
[283 - 285] mixed i poured it into a prepared bundt
[285 - 287] tin and then baked it for about an hour
[288 - 290] pound cake is so good i used to think it
[290 - 292] was called pound cake because you could
[292 - 294] just pound this cake like devour it i
[294 - 295] really liked the way that this
[295 - 298] particular mold accentuated the peaks
[298 - 300] around the ridge it really created this
[300 - 303] sort of blade shaped crust area which i
[303 - 306] think is the best part of the pound cake
[306 - 308] it is a fairly simple cake which is why
[308 - 310] i think it's often glazed i ended up
[310 - 311] eating some with some strawberry
[311 - 313] preserves i had which is excellent but i
[313 - 315] think this is one of the simplest
[315 - 318] representations of butter's role in
[318 - 321] baking and making a delicious cake the
[321 - 323] next thing i made was sol solmanir this
[323 - 325] is a dish that julia childs references
[325 - 327] as one of the first things she ate in
[327 - 329] france and contributed to her
[329 - 331] fascination with french cuisine to make
[331 - 333] this dish i began by clarifying some
[333 - 336] butter taking some butter in a saucepan
[336 - 339] and heating it until it bubbled and the
[339 - 342] milk solids separated from the rest of
[342 - 344] the butter this takes a little bit of
[344 - 346] time you need to be careful not to brown
[346 - 347] any of those solids as that would alter
[347 - 349] its flavor and then you would have brown
[349 - 351] butter as the bubbles dissipate that
[351 - 353] indicates that a lot of the water
[353 - 355] content has been evaporated out some of
[355 - 357] those milk solids will begin to sink and
[357 - 359] then you can strain the butter scooping
[359 - 362] off any last bits that remain resulting
[362 - 364] in a very clear
[365 - 366] clarified butter
[366 - 368] butter and then there's my fish i was able to
[368 - 370] get these beautiful fillets of patrolly
[370 - 373] soul which i simply seasoned
[373 - 375] and dredged in flour
[375 - 377] in a heavy pan i then added some of that
[377 - 380] clarified butter and briefly cooked the
[380 - 383] sole on either side just until it was
[383 - 385] beginning to turn golden brown but this
[385 - 387] being such a thin filet it was really
[387 - 389] going to take no time to cook at all i
[389 - 391] transferred my soil to a plate and held
[392 - 394] it in an oven at a very low temperature
[394 - 396] just to keep warm in a small saucepan i
[396 - 399] melted more butter i referenced a few
[399 - 401] different recipes in making this dish
[401 - 404] but the one by little lefeb asks you to
[404 - 406] almost brown the butter so in my
[406 - 409] saucepan i melted that butter and took
[409 - 411] it until it was just at the browning
[411 - 413] point and then added a squeeze of fresh
[413 - 416] lemon juice on my plated sole i
[416 - 418] sprinkled some fresh parsley and then
[418 - 420] poured that butter over the top of the
[420 - 422] fillets i like that this dish featured
[422 - 426] both clarified butter and gently brown
[426 - 427] butter the clarified butter i think is
[427 - 430] used because it will then not brown when
[430 - 432] cooking at a high temperature keeping
[432 - 435] the flavor of that fish very pure and
[435 - 437] then the brown butter i think is smartly
[437 - 439] added at the end because that level of
[439 - 442] toastiness can be controlled
[442 - 445] despite just swimming in butter it's
[445 - 447] amazing how much balance that lemon
[447 - 450] juice can add to the whole dish it
[450 - 451] wasn't overwhelming with butter it
[451 - 453] really was quite delicious the next
[454 - 456] thing i made were sabli french butter
[456 - 459] cookies and i referenced a recipe from
[459 - 461] david leibovitz who is adapting one from
[461 - 463] the little flower baking cookbook by
[463 - 465] christine moore these being butter
[465 - 467] cookies i think it's important to use
[467 - 469] the best butter possible i creamed that
[469 - 471] butter in a stand mixer with a bit of
[471 - 473] salt in another bowl i whisked together
[473 - 476] separated egg yolks with sugar
[476 - 478] and then i added that to my stand mixer
[478 - 480] which incorporated with the butter i
[480 - 482] then sifted my flour and baking powder
[482 - 484] into that mixture incorporating it and
[484 - 486] then turning it out into a sheet of wax
[486 - 488] paper and packing it into a tight
[488 - 490] rectangle so that it could be chilled
[490 - 493] overnight in my case the next day i
[493 - 494] rolled out the dough cut two inch
[494 - 497] circular rounds from it and then chilled
[497 - 499] those in the freezer until firm i then
[499 - 501] egg washed the cookies and created a
[501 - 504] cross hatch with a fork they cook for
[504 - 507] just 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven and
[508 - 510] i think on my first batch i actually
[510 - 512] slightly under baked them i didn't think
[512 - 514] they had quite the texture that they
[514 - 516] were supposed to have so on my second
[516 - 519] batch i baked them a little bit longer
[519 - 521] but they rapidly approach
[521 - 524] a burning point this is definitely my
[524 - 527] preferred type of baked good they're not
[527 - 529] too sweet and they just carry this
[529 - 532] essence of butter in them it's the same
[532 - 534] sort of perfume that you get from like
[534 - 535] biscuits when you're making them
[535 - 538] suddenly your whole house has the smell
[540 - 541] and i think that's reason enough to make
[542 - 543] them the next thing i made was hot
[543 - 545] buttered rum which i immediately thought
[545 - 547] of with butter because it is heavily
[547 - 549] featured in my favorite episode of the
[549 - 552] show frasier and i referenced a recipe
[552 - 554] from wine enthusiasts for this recipe i
[554 - 556] needed a stick of room temperature
[556 - 559] butter so i employed this trick where
[559 - 561] you take some boiling water fill a bowl
[561 - 564] allow the bowl to become fully hot pour
[564 - 565] out the water and then flip it upside
[566 - 568] down on a stick of butter and you just
[568 - 570] let it sit this is just a way of
[570 - 572] dramatically speeding up the time it
[572 - 574] would take to get a stick of butter to
[574 - 577] room temperature so to that butter i
[577 - 579] added a mixture of spices including
[579 - 582] allspice cloves cinnamon and nutmeg
[582 - 584] i also added brown sugar
[584 - 587] salt and vanilla extract you then
[587 - 589] essentially have a spiced compound
[590 - 591] butter which i'm sure would be good for
[591 - 593] a lot of other applications but for this
[593 - 594] drink you only need a couple of
[594 - 597] tablespoons that you add some hot water
[597 - 600] to as well as some dark rum it sounds
[600 - 602] gross at first like oh i'm just drinking
[602 - 605] melted butter but it really is just a
[605 - 607] small amount in each individual glass
[607 - 608] and if you think about the role that
[608 - 611] milk plays in coffee what tastes better
[611 - 614] skim milk or half and half well butter
[614 - 616] is just the fat from cow's milk so
[616 - 618] you're really just adding the essential
[618 - 620] component directly to the drink probably
[620 - 622] not a drink i'd like all the time but on
[622 - 624] a sort of blizzardy day i think it would
[624 - 627] be perfect the last thing i made was
[627 - 630] burr blanc the classic french butter
[630 - 631] sauce and i referenced the recipe from
[631 - 633] the youtube channel french cooking
[633 - 635] academy for grab blanc you begin with
[636 - 637] just a small amount of butter that you
[637 - 640] sweat a minced shallot in until it's
[640 - 643] just translucent you then add white wine
[643 - 645] and white wine vinegar and reduce that
[645 - 647] liquid until it's almost completely
[647 - 649] evaporated you then take a lot of butter
[649 - 652] like basically three sticks of butter
[652 - 654] and then with the heat off you slowly
[654 - 656] whisk in a few cubes at a time
[656 - 659] emulsifying it into this shallot mixture
[659 - 661] and if you keep the temperature low and
[661 - 663] continuously whisk you should be able to
[663 - 665] incorporate all this butter and have
[665 - 669] this velvety smooth texture at the end i
[669 - 670] then strained my burp blanks so that
[670 - 672] there wouldn't be these shallots in it
[672 - 674] and then seasoned with salt and white
[674 - 676] pepper i tried it in a couple of classic
[676 - 678] applications like on some simple
[678 - 680] asparagus or this roasted piece of
[680 - 683] salmon which it was amazing on because
[683 - 685] it covered up the fact that i overcooked
[685 - 687] my salmon because i was so distracted by
[687 - 689] emulsifying the butter i had sort of a
[689 - 691] roller coaster eating this ber blanc at
[691 - 693] first i was just so excited that i
[693 - 695] successfully made this sauce and then i
[695 - 697] was suddenly disgusted like oh my god
[697 - 698] this is a ridiculous amount of butter
[698 - 700] what am i doing the realization that i
[700 - 703] had was how is this really any different
[703 - 705] than spreading butter on a piece of
[705 - 707] bread really all i've done is i've
[707 - 710] changed the consistency of it so that
[710 - 713] it's stable in a portable form it's kind
[713 - 716] of like gives you the ability to spread
[716 - 719] butter onto something that normally
[719 - 721] wouldn't be spreadable and that's the
[721 - 724] breblanc it is really amazing tasting so
[724 - 726] that's how i cooked through eight pounds
[726 - 728] of butter i hope you enjoyed if you have
[728 - 730] suggestions on other things i should do
[730 - 732] with butter or other ingredients i
[732 - 733] should try in the future please comment
[733 - 735] below but otherwise thank you for
[736 - 749] watching [Music] [Music] you