Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Light-colored skillet or saucepan (stainless steel or enamel)
• •Clean kitchen towels for drying sage
• •Heat-resistant spatula or wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your mise en place

   Before you touch the stove, have everything ready and within arm's reach. This sauce moves fast once you begin. Arrange your sage leaves in a single layer on a clean kitchen towel and blot them bone dry. Any moisture will cause the butter to spatter violently and prevent the leaves from crisping properly. Squeeze your lemon into a small bowl and have your salt nearby.

   Wet sage leaves will never crisp. If you've washed them recently, let them air dry for at least thirty minutes, or pat them repeatedly between towels until not a trace of moisture remains.
2. 2

   Melt the butter

   Place the butter pieces in a light-colored skillet or saucepan over medium heat. A light interior is essential here because you need to see the butter change color. Dark pans hide the browning until it's too late. Let the butter melt completely, swirling occasionally. It will foam vigorously as the water content evaporates, hissing and crackling like something alive.

3. 3

   Brown the butter

   Continue cooking as the foam rises, peaks, and begins to subside. The crackling will quiet. Swirl the pan gently and watch the bottom. You'll see golden flecks forming: these are the milk solids toasting. The butter will progress from pale yellow to golden to the color of hazelnuts. The aroma shifts dramatically, from plain dairy to something nutty, toasty, almost caramel-like. This transformation takes four to six minutes. Stay present. The line between browned and burnt is a matter of seconds.

   Trust your nose as much as your eyes. When the butter smells like toasted nuts, it's ready. If it smells acrid or sharp, you've gone too far.
4. 4

   Fry the sage leaves

   The moment the butter reaches hazelnut brown, add all the sage leaves at once in a single layer. They will sizzle aggressively. Do not be alarmed. Let them fry undisturbed for thirty to forty-five seconds until the sizzling calms and the leaves turn darker green, slightly translucent, and begin to curl at the edges. They should be crisp enough to shatter when cool. Remove the pan from heat immediately.

5. 5

   Finish with lemon

   With the pan off the heat, carefully add the lemon juice. It will sputter and protest as it hits the hot fat, so stand back and avert your face. Swirl to incorporate. The acid arrests the cooking, brightens the sauce, and prevents the milk solids from darkening further. Season with salt and pepper. Taste a drop on a spoon and adjust. The sauce should be nutty, herbaceous, and balanced.

   Adding the lemon off heat prevents dangerous spattering and keeps the acid from cooking out. The sauce should taste distinctly lemony, not just vaguely bright.
6. 6

   Serve immediately

   Spoon the warm sauce over fresh ravioli, gnocchi, butternut squash, or any pasta you please. Distribute the sage leaves so each portion receives its share. If the sauce has cooled and tightened, warm it gently over low heat for thirty seconds while swirling. Add a splash of pasta cooking water to emulsify if serving over pasta. The starch binds everything into a silky coating.

Chef Tips

• •European-style butter with higher butterfat content browns more gracefully and produces a richer sauce. Plugrà, Kerrygold, or any butter labeled 82% fat or higher will outperform standard American butter.
• •Save this sauce for when you have fresh sage. Dried sage cannot be fried crisp and lacks the aromatic intensity that makes this dish sing. The herb should smell peppery and almost medicinal when rubbed between your fingers.
• •If you've burned the butter (and you'll know by the bitter smell), throw it out and start again. There is no rescuing burnt butter. It costs a dollar. Your reputation costs more.
• •This sauce marries beautifully with anything sweet and earthy: butternut squash ravioli, pumpkin gnocchi, roasted parsnips, pan-seared pork chops. Let the seasons guide you.
• •A handful of toasted walnuts or pine nuts scattered over the finished dish adds texture and doubles down on the nutty theme. Toast them separately in a dry pan before you begin the butter.

Advance Preparation

• •Brown butter (without the sage) can be made up to two weeks ahead. Strain out the milk solids through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth and refrigerate in a sealed jar. It won't have the toasted flecks but retains the nutty flavor. Reheat gently before adding fresh sage.
• •Sage leaves can be fried up to four hours ahead and held at room temperature on a paper towel-lined plate. They'll stay crisp. Add them to freshly warmed brown butter just before serving.
• •The complete sauce is best made fresh. If you must hold it, keep it warm over the lowest possible heat for up to fifteen minutes, but the sage will soften. Better to prep components and assemble at the last moment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 35g)