I don't have much regular butter on hand to make a roux. Is it a good idea to use clarified butter instead? What could go wrong?
Clarified butter for gumbo roux
roux
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Best Answer
Most chefs use clarified butter for almost everything. It is never in recipes probably because it is not common in home kitchens and a lot more expensive. Easy to make your own and then you can store in fridge for a week. Restaurant kitchens usually make a bowl for the day and then have it next to the stove where it stays liquid and easy to use.
Different types of sauce of course need different type of butter. Generally clarified butter can be used in any sauce that is using butter as a thickener; all cream (or God forbid milk) sauces made with standard butter as there would be milk protein anyway; emulsions with egg yolk are in fact better with clarified butter. The exception would be "beurre blanc": as it is a butter sauce with no other emulsifier, it uses the non-fat milk protein to help the emulsion stay together.
Happy cooking and enjoy the taste!