Beurre Manié (pronounced bur-man-yay). This simple recipe of butter and flour is used to thicken and enrich sauces, soups, stews and gravy like my recipe for All-Purpose Gravy, while having the bonus of imparting a velvety richness to your finished dishes.
Manier is the French verb that means to handle, so the literal definition of Beurre Manié is handled butter. Sometimes it's called kneaded butter, whereby you use your hands to manipulate the butter and flour together to form a dough-like paste (though using a fork is perfectly fine too).
Let me explain how to make this recipe and how you can use this simple thickening agent in your kitchen.
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Ingredients
See the recipe below for quantities.
How to make Beurre Manié
Combine butter and flour: In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour. Using a fork or your hands, mash the two ingredients together to form a dough-like paste.
Form into a log: Empty the combined ingredients onto your work surface and shape the mixture into a log. Take the formed log and wrap it in a small piece of parchment paper, twisting the ends of the paper to seal the log on both ends.
How to use Beurre Manié
It's pretty foolproof to use Beurre Manié. To thicken gravy, ensure that the gravy has reached a boil. Next, reduce the heat and simmer it gently in a saucepan over the stove. Add a small piece of Beurre Manié to the hot gravy, whisking in a little more until the gravy has thickened to the consistency you like. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes before adding more Beurre Manié. It's that easy.
The same method holds true if thickening a stew. Start by adding one tablespoon at a time, stir and let simmer for a few minutes, then check to see if your dish has thickened enough. If it hasn't, add more Beurre Manié and repeat the process.
Secret for Success
- Use room-temperature, unsalted butter.
FAQ
A roux is a mixture of cooked butter and flour. Cooking the roux to various stages of darkness (from light to dark) imparts additional flavour to your dish. The longer you cook a roux, the darker it gets, and the less its thickening abilities are. Beurre manié is not cooked before use, and although it may not add more flavour to your dish, it is foolproof as a thickener, especially if you are a beginner in the kitchen.
It translates to handled butter, or the more common meaning is kneaded butter, butter and flour that are kneaded together.
Storage
- Wrap the butter and flour paste tightly in parchment paper or cling wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
- You may divide the Beurre Manié into small portions (as photographed below) and keep these smaller pieces in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Recipe
Beurre Manié
Equipment
- 1 small bowl
- 1 fork
- measuring cups
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Combine butter and flour: In a small bowl, combine the butter and flour. Using a fork or your hands, mash the two ingredients together to form a dough-like paste.¼ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Form into a log: Empty the combined ingredients onto your work surface and shape the mixture into a log. Take the formed log and wrap it in a small piece of parchment paper, twisting the ends of the paper to seal the log on both ends.
Connie says
I didn’t know you could thicken gravy with a butter and flour paste. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks! And it worked!
Donna Poirier says
Perfect, I’m happy to hear.