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Cut the butter into pieces and refrigerate.
Gently heat water in a small saucepan until steaming over low heat.
Gradually whisk in cold butter pieces, adding the next piece once the first is almost totally melted.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and use it right away or keep it warm until the vegetables are ready.
How to Make Beurre Monté
Cut the butter into pieces and refrigerate. Gradually whisking pieces of cold butter into warm liquid is key to a stable emulsion, so before you get started, slice butter into ½-tablespoon to 1-tablespoon-size pieces and keep them cold. For 2 pounds of vegetables, start with ½ stick (4 tablespoons) of butter.
Gently heat water in a small saucepan. Warm a small amount of water, 1 tablespoon for half a stick of butter is enough, until steaming over low heat in a small saucepan. It’s easier to whisk in a saucepan than a low-sided skillet where the contents might slosh out.
Gradually whisk in cold butter pieces. Once the water is steaming, grab the butter from the fridge and drop in a chunk. Start whisking constantly, adding the next piece once the first is almost totally melted and repeating until all the butter has melted. The liquid will morph from thin and pale to thick, smooth, and soft yellow. If you start to see any bubbles around the edge of the pot, briefly remove it from the heat to prevent boiling while whisking.
Season and keep warm. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, if you like, and use it right away or keep it warm until the vegetables are ready. Toss the sauce with cooked vegetables or spoon it over top of them on a platter. Because it’s essentially just butter, it will solidify as it cools, but if you keep it warm it will stay fluid.
Tips for Making Beurre Monté
You can fix it if it has separated. Ideally, a fully emulsified sauce will stay smooth even as it cools (as long as it doesn’t boil), but a small bit of separation can happen — and it’s totally OK. If the beurre monté is still warm, try vigorously whisking it back together first, as it sometimes just needs a little manual encouragement to stay together. If it has cooled, gently warm it over low heat while whisking constantly, but avoid high heat or boiling which just promotes further separation.
It’s easy to flavor. Although the simplicity of the sauce is partly why I love it so much, you can easily flavor it, just like in my recipe for Caesar butter. For some acidity, add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice with the water at the beginning of the recipe, or stir in some spices, finely chopped fresh herbs, or minced garlic while the beurre monté is warm.
Save any leftover sauce — even if it separates. Because you need enough liquid to properly whisk, it’s hard to make a tiny batch of beurre monté. Because it’s essentially just butter, you can save any extra in a food storage container in the refrigerator. Use it to cook with the same as any other butter (although I would skip baking projects due to the added water).
Salted, unsalted, cultured, or European butter all work. I prefer starting with regular, unsalted butter so I can season it to my own liking, but the technique is the same if you prefer salted butter, the tang of cultured butter, or extra-rich European-style butter.