Rich Melted Butter is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic Victorian rich sauce of butter melted in a water and plain flour sauce that was the classic English sauce of the Victorian era. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Rich Melted Butter.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
RICH MELTED BUTTER.
This is more particularly required in general for lobster sauce, when it is to be served with turbot or brill, and for good oyster sauce. Salmon is itself so rich, that less butter is needed for it than for sauce which is to accompany a drier fish. Mix to a very smooth batter a dessertspoonful of flour, a half-saltspoonful of salt, and half a pint of cold water: put these into a delicately clean saucepan, with from four to six ounces of well—flavoured butter, cut into small bits, and shake the sauce strongly round, almost without cessation, until the ingredients are perfectly blended, and it is on the point of boiling ; let it simmer for two or three minutes, and it will be ready for use. The best French cooks recommend its not being allowed to boil, as they say it tastes less of flour if served when it is just at the point of simmering.
Cold water, 1/2 point; Salt, 1/2 saltspoonful; flour, 1 dessertspoonful: 3 to 4 minutes. Butter, 4 to 6 oz.
Modern Redaction
The melted butter sauce, typically simply known as 'melted butter' was the commonest Victorian sauce of all and which was served with every kind of fish, meat and vegetable dishes. The base sauce could be flavoured with lemon juice and lemon zest or with parsley, though the plain sauce (in one of its many incarnations) was by far the commonest. This is the sauce called for in any Victorian recipe calling for 'melted butter'. This is a rich version of the sauce intended to be served with seafood dishes.
Ingredients:
1 dessertspoon plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
300ml water
250g butter, finely diced
Method:
Sift together the salt and flour into a small bowl. Work in a little of the cold water to give you a smooth paste free of lumps then whisk in the remaining water until the mixture is smooth.
Pour this mixture into a saucepan and add the butter. Heat gently, swirling the pan constantly, until the butter has just melted. Now gradually bring the sauce to a simmer (do not allow to boil) and continue simmering, stirring the sauce constantly with a wooden for about 3 minutes, until the sauce is thick and the raw flavour of the flour can no longer be tasted.
