The Two-Ingredient French Sauce Curtis Stone Uses To Elevate Soups, Seafood and More

You know Curtis Stone’s easy smile after 15 years watching him spruik the goods for Coles. But before the chef ever stepped into a TV studio, he trained under the revered Marco Pierre White, going on to run the show at White’s Soho restaurant Quo Vadis. And for the last decade, Stone’s operated Maude and Gwen, his one-Michelin-star restaurants in Beverly Hills and Hollywood respectively.

Given this haute cuisine background, Stone knows his way around foundational French sauces like bechamel, velouté and hollandaise. But we’ve tapped him to chat about beurre monte, a lesser-known, two-ingredient sauce that dramatically improves the texture of butter with some simple chemistry.

Whenever you melt butter (which requires at least 70 degrees Celsius) you’re seeing it break down into its components. The yellow oily part is milk fats (80 per cent) and the white flecks are milk solids (two per cent), with the remaining 18 per cent being water. These three main components are an emulsion, or a stable distribution of two or more liquids that usually separate.

Beurre monte is also an emulsion, but with an important difference – it’s stable up to as high as 88 degrees Celsius. And all you need is extra water. Boil three tablespoons (60 millilitres) of water and reduce the heat to low, so the water is barely simmering and measures 88 degrees or less. Dice 150 grams of well-chilled salted butter. Add the cold butter one or two pieces at a time, whisking vigorously until each piece is fully incorporated, before adding the next. Repeat until all the butter has been whisked through, and season with more salt if you like.

Voila, you have beurre monte, a rich, luxurious sauce that readily clings to all foods. Swirl it through soups, poach meats in it, dip bread it in – whatever you like. Here’s how Stone makes and uses it.

What makes beurre monte superior to just melted butter?
Its texture adds to the already rich flavour and coats the mouth, as opposed to melted butter making things feel a little oily and fatty. It gives butter body and structure in order to coat, as opposed to run off. Also, the ability to support and hold up certain items in a sauce. Caviar is great, for example, also citrus segments and peas.

What are your favourite uses for it?
Elevating a seafood dish, be it scallops, prawns or halibut; slowly poaching lobster or other delicate fish and shellfish for a special occasion; and adding richness to a soup.

What are your top tips for a stable emulsion?
Temperature control. You want the base to be warm, not too hot. A good temperature to aim for would be around 60 degrees Celsius. Always make sure the butter you are adding is cold. Constant and quick whisking is key. Add the butter in small increments and wait until it’s melted in before adding more.

What do you do if the sauce separates?
If you don’t want to make it again, you can add a stabiliser before whisking in the butter, a little heavy cream or xanthan gum can help avoid it splitting.

Does it matter what brand or type of butter you use?
A high-quality butter, one that is rich in flavour, will give you best results.

Does it work with cultured butter?
Absolutely – it will add a different flavour with the natural tanginess that comes with making butter from creams that are lightly fermented.

Curtis Stone appears as guest chef on Masterchef Australia tonight from 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play. The show airs at 7pm on Sundays, and 7.30pm Monday to Wednesday.