Thickened Butter is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic sauce made from a melted butter base and thickened with an egg yolk liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Thickened Butter.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
THICKENED BUTTER.
379.—INGREDIENTS.—1/4 pint of melted butter, No. 376, the yolks of 2 eggs, a little lemon-juice.
Mode.—Make the butter quite hot, and be careful not to colour it. Well whisk the yolks of the eggs, pour them to the butter, beating them all the while. Make the sauce hot over the fire, but do not let it boil; add a squeeze of lemon-juice.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 tsp plain flour
60g butter
200ml milk
a pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
Work together the butter and flour until you have a smooth paste. Put this in a small pan, then pour over the milk. Place over high heat, stirring constantly in a single direction. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
In the meantime whisk together the egg yolks and lemon juice in a bowl. Take the melted butter sauce off the heat then pour a little into the egg yolk mix, whisking constantly. Pour the egg yolk mix back into the pan, return to the fire and heat gently until thickened. Add a pinch of salt and serve immediately.
