How to Make Moroccan Clarified Butter (Oudi)
Some of you may be familiar with smen, Moroccan aged butter famed for its powerful, tantalizing aroma. Oudi is a milder alternative to smen prepared in the Berber region of Souss in southern Morocco by clarifying butter in toasted barley and local mountain herbs such as dried thyme (the much-beloved azoukenni of the Berber people) or oregano.
According to cookbook author Paula Wolfert, the use of toasted barley grits to clarify butter is “an old Mediterranean trick, employed to absorb milk solids and other debris and endow the butter with a lovely faintly smoky aroma.”
A little touch of oudi brightens any dish, adding a lovely herb aroma and a faint “aged butter” taste to stews, tagines, couscous, soups and baked goods.
I strained the butter into a bowl for esthetic purposes but using a pitcher is more practical and makes it easier to transfer oudi into jars.
This recipe is from Paula Wolfert’s wonderful new book, The Food of Morocco. Between the recipes and the photos, it is simply enchanting.
MOROCCAN CLARIFIED BUTTER RECIPE
Yield: Makes about 1 1/3 pounds
Total Time: 30 MINUTES
Ingredients:
¼ cup barley grits
1 teaspoon dried thyme or dried Mediterranean oregano
2 ½ pounds unsalted butter, cut into piecesDirections:
Toast the barley grits and thyme (or oregano) in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until light brown and fragrant. Add the butter and let it melt undisturbed. Remove the foam as it appears on the surface. When the butter is clear, remove it from the heat and let it cool.
Pour the butter through a strainer lined with a few layers of damp cheesecloth into a pitcher.Discard the solids. Transfer into glass jars.
Closed jars of Oudi will keep for several months in the refrigerator.
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Monique — 12/07/2011 @ 4:45 pm
This is different than regular clarified butter? I think so w/ the barley?
Love the photo w/ the droplets..Thank you!
Tina@flourtrader — 12/08/2011 @ 4:56 am
Enjoyed stopping by your site and seeing some tasty moroccan cuisine. This particular post is very interesting, I am curious as to the difference in the outcome from standard clarified butter. You have a nice clean blog with some stunning pictures. Well done.
bryan — 12/08/2011 @ 7:09 am
Great pictures, thanks for the new way (for me I suppose) to clarify butter.
Couscous & Consciousness — 12/08/2011 @ 5:24 pm
Wow, I so want to try this – love the idea of the clarified butter fragranced with thyme. I don’t think that I can get barley grits here – we can get barley, but I’m pretty sure not barley grits. Could I substitute something?
Sorry I’ve been such a stranger over the last few months.
Sue xo
Nisrine replied: — December 8th, 2011 @ 7:16 pm
Sue, I think you could make barley grits by chopping pearled barley in a food processor or mortar and pestle but I’m not sure.
Couscous & Consciousness — 12/08/2011 @ 7:30 pm
Thanks Nisrine, I will definitely give that a try :-)
Ann — 12/08/2011 @ 9:35 pm
That is the coolest! It looks amazing and I appreciate the step-by-step pictures (which are beautiful)
Heba @ midEATS — 12/09/2011 @ 3:25 pm
Just came across your blog, and I think I’m in love! Moroccan cuisine is so fascinating to me (I’m Egyptian-American), and I’m trying to learn more about it :) I wrote a post on the blog I co-author, midEATS, about ghee, and the importance of getting ghee from grass-fed cows. Anyway, I will be trying this recipe for Moroccan clarified butter soon and I’ll let you know what I think about the difference it taste! :)
ettie il — 01/16/2012 @ 9:35 am
hi dear…..this butter reminds me yemanite Clarified Butter name “samne” with few changes like toasting “khilbe” with semolina before adding the butter. and before putting it in the jar we Sterilize it with smoke of a burning stick branch of vine which gives it divine aroma…..try it…..