drawn butter vs. clarified butter?

[Live_to_cook]

Dumb question time.

I thought drawn and clarified were the same thing, i.e. you melt butter and draw off the clear fat while leaving the cloudy milk solids and stuff behind.

There's a difference?

THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME!

[Wambly]

Drawn butter is butter that has been melted, solids left in.

Clarified butter is melted then the solids removed.

Clarified is used when you need a high smoking point. Drawn is used for things like lobster candles and at times emulsification sauces.

Had this discussion more than once over the years, with more than one chef ... seems to come out about 50/50 if it is the same thing or not.

[Greg]

I have to side with Jeff on this one. Also, using melted butter for an emulsified sauce will thin it out; use clarified but keep the solids on the side to use only if your sauce tightens up too much. Then again, I've also had this argument with other chefs, also.

[Live_to_cook]

So... drawn butter is the same as clarified butter or not? Looks like there really isn't a consensus. Help me out here, folks.

[layjo]

Yeah everybody has a different opinion. From my understanding, they are the same thing, but are just called drawn or clarified in different situations or places. A cook knows it by "cooking with clarified butter" and a customer eating a lobster knows they will want some "drawn butter".

[Dlee]

Live to cook, to help in the consensus. If I am going to saute something, I am going to use the clarified butter out of the big pot sitting on the stove. If a guest ask for some drawn butter, that too is comming out of the big pot on the stove.

[shroomgirl]

LOL....big pot on stove!!!!!
Clarified for using when you don't want milk solids blackened in your dish that you further cook
Drawn for anything that is not further cooked
used for dunking

[layjo]

Yup! We also keep are clarified butter and drawn butter in the same big pot on the stove!

[chefjohnpaul]

I have had both opinions insisted upon. One chef I worked with said that drawn butter actually was whisked at melting point of whole butter with a little water to kind of emulsify it, he insisted on this definition. By far though I have heard they are the same thing, and The Food Lovers Companion concures. I hope this clarifies the matter.(yuk,yuk)

[UniChef]

Wambly is right-

Drawn butter is butter that has been melted, solids left in.

Clarified butter is melted then the solids removed.

or not.

[Icedhazelnut]

My grandmother, who was from Syria, taught me how to make the Syrian 'Baklava' (called Bitlawa in Arabic) The first thing she taught me was the importance of using 'clarified' butter. She had me melt the butter in a sauce pan and then pour out the 'clear' or 'clarified' portion of the butter. We set aside the 'residues' that were left behind. Hence, clarified.

[cakerookie]

Originally Posted by Live_to_cook

Dumb question time.

I thought drawn and clarified were the same thing, i.e. you melt butter and draw off the clear fat while leaving the cloudy milk solids and stuff behind.

There's a difference?

Live to cook there are no stupid questions here my friend you do not know unless you ask and your question made perfect sense. Don't be afraid to ask thats what we are all her for to help each other out. Good Luck.

Rgds Rook

[MikeLM]

Well, of course I went to our guru, Harold McGee to try to settle this.

He says, in his section entitled Clarified Butter "...butter whose water and milk solids have been removed..." (page 36)

Unfortunately, I find no entry in his index for "drawn butter." So I guess we're never gonna know for sure.

My own experience inclines me to think "drawn butter" is just melted, for dipping your lobster/crab meat into. Actually, a little garlic and lemon juice doesn't hurt here, either.

Mike