How to De-salt Butter

Using unsalted butter gives you more control over your recipe.

While most working chefs prefer unsalted butter for cooking and baking, as it gives them more control over the finished product, salted butter is widely sold in supermarkets and stores, and many home chefs prefer it. If you have a recipe that calls for unsalted butter, but only have salted butter, you can remove most of the salt from the butter following a fairly simple procedure that takes about two hours. Does this Spark an idea?

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1 lb. salted butter
Small saucepan with tight-fitting top
Wooden spoon
Tea kettle (optional)
Butter knife
Platter or cutting board
Sharp knife
Airtight container or plastic wrap

Instructions

- 1
  
  Place the butter in a small saucepan just large enough to hold the entire amount. Heat the butter over low heat, stirring regularly with a wooden spoon until it is completely melted.
- 2
  
  Cover the top of the saucepan with a tight-fitting top and place it in the refrigerator to cool for two hours or until the butter has fully solidified.
- 3
  
  Remove the butter from the refrigerator and allow it warm up at room temperature for 20 minutes, keeping it covered.
- 4
  
  Run hot water from the tap or tea kettle over the edge of a butter knife. Using the tip of the butter knife, go around the inside edges of the saucepan and turn the butter out onto a platter or cutting board.
- 5
  
  Remove the light-colored portions of the butter with a sharp knife; those areas are actually salt solids, and will form mostly in one place. Turn the butter over and check the other side for salt solids, removing and discarding them as you go.
- 6
  
  Store the butter in an airtight container or plastic wrap in the refrigerator. The butter should be used by the date on the package or can be frozen.