Brown Butter Potato Crunch
Have you ever tossed perfectly good potato peels into the compost with a hint of regret? I certainly have. As a chef, I’m driven by a desire to extract maximum flavor from every ingredient. This led me to develop the Brown Butter Potato Crunch seasoning, a unique blend crafted from often-overlooked potato peels. The result is a flavor explosion that will elevate your dishes.
Crafted from potato peels oven-roasted with duck fat until crisp and golden brown, this seasoning blend incorporates a medley of spices and browned butter fortified with milk powder. The result is a unique depth of flavor that showcases the incredible culinary potential of often-overlooked ingredients
Making your spice blends allows you to elevate your cooking with fresh, flavorful, and uniquely customized seasonings. I find myself reaching more and more for my homemade spice blends, like the Parsley Cilantro Powder or the Porcini Spice Powder and the Brown Butter Potato Crunch is no exception. They all add a rich, Umami punch that elevates the flavor profile of any dish, while also potentially allowing you to reduce your sodium intake.
How to create intensified Brown Butter Flavor:
When you brown butter, the milk solids caramelize and brown, creating that nutty, toasty taste I love. But, butter is only about 1-2% milk solids.
To kick it up a notch, combine milk powder, essentially dehydrated concentrated milk solids with butter. Adding milk powder to the butter as it browns, you can achieve a much stronger brown butter flavor. This concentrated powder can then be used to add those deep, rich nutty flavors to any dish.
Milk Powder and the Maillard Reaction:
By toasting the milk powder, you induce the Maillard reaction which is the same chemical reaction that browns butter. This gives you browned milk powder with a similar flavor profile. If you want to read more about a Maillard reaction visit Serious Eats my favorite award-winning food and drink website.
What is Milk Powder?
Milk powder is produced by pasteurizing milk to eliminate harmful bacteria. Then, through evaporation or spray drying, most of the water is removed, leaving behind a concentrated powder. This powder retains most of the nutrients found in regular milk, including:
- Calcium and Vitamin D: Essential for strong bones and teeth.
- Protein: Important for building and repairing tissues.
- Potassium: Helps regulate blood pressure.
- B Vitamins: Support energy production and metabolism.
Benefits of Milk Powder:
- Long shelf life:
Unlike fresh milk, milk powder doesn’t require refrigeration and can be stored for months or even years under cool, dry conditions. This makes it a great option for emergency preparedness, camping trips, or areas with limited access to fresh milk. - Cost-effective:
Milk powder is generally cheaper than fresh milk per serving, especially when you consider its longer shelf life. - Versatile ingredient:
Milk powder can be reconstituted with water to create a beverage similar to fresh milk. However, its uses extend far beyond drinking. You can add it to baking goods for extra richness and protein, use it to thicken soups and sauces, or even marinate meats for added tenderness. - Fortification:
Many milk powders are fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, like Vitamin D, to further enhance their nutritional value.
What is Nutritional Yeast
Unlike the yeast used for baking bread or brewing beer, nutritional yeast is inactive and cannot leaven the dough. Nutritional yeast is cultivated specifically for its nutritional content and then deactivated with heat. After deactivation, it’s often fortified with additional vitamins and minerals. The result is a deactivated yeast product that’s rich in protein, B vitamins, and other beneficial nutrients.
B vitamins play a crucial role in energy production, brain function, and cell metabolism.
Benefits of Nutritional Yeast:
- A Complete Protein Source, unlike most plant-based proteins, is considered a complete protein. This makes it a valuable protein source for vegans and vegetarians
- Nutritional yeast contains antioxidants and other immune-supporting nutrients, such as selenium. These can contribute to a healthy immune system.
- Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy, umami flavor to dishes, making it a popular vegan cheese substitute. It can be sprinkled on popcorn, pasta dishes, salads, soups, stews, or vegetables.
- It can also be used to make vegan cheese sauces or add a savory boost to dips, homemade seasonings, and spreads.
My Favorite uses for Brown Butter Potato Crunch
Seasoning meatballs for an extra burst of savory goodness.
Adding depth of flavor to pasta dough, resulting in more flavorful noodles.
Enhancing pasta sauces with a touch of earthy, umami magic.
Great additions to breakfast like fried eggs scrambled eggs etc.
Seasoning of vegetables.
The Taste
Brown Butter & Potato Crunch is another easy-to-get flavor booster.
Incorporate the concentrated nutty, brown butter flavor blend to enhance any dish.
The Process
It’s a simple yet powerful way to elevate your cooking.
It’s incredibly easy to make and can be used as a flavor booster, seasoning, or anything else your culinary creativity desires.
The Verdict
Give homemade Brown Butter & Potato Crunch a try!
You might be surprised at how much of a difference it makes.
Brown Butter Potato Crunch
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Potato Peels
- 3 ounze potato peel from about 3 Russet Potatoes
- 1 tsp Duck Fat, Rendered can be subed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Seasoning
- 2.5 ounce butter, unsalted
- 1.25 ounce Milk Powder, Nonfat dry
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 8 allspice berries
- 8 peppercorn white
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/4 tbsp chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp rosemary
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds - white toasted
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp parsley cilantro powder
Instructions
Preheat oven
- Preheat oven to 375°F. If your oven has a convection setting, utilize it for more even cooking and reduced stirring.
Prepare Potato peels
- Soak the potato peels in cold water for at least 30 minutes to remove excess starch, enhancing crispiness. Toss the peels in a salad spinner and dry them, or dry them with a kitchen towel.3 ounze potato peel
Bake the Potato peels
- Toss the peels with the melted duck fat. Spread the seasoned peels in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, for approximately 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Allow the baked peels to cool completely before coarsely chopping.1 tsp Duck Fat, Rendered
Make Brown Butter Seasoning and dehydrate
- Over medium heat, in a small pan melt the butter, and add the milk powder.2.5 ounce butter, unsalted
- Stir frequently and allow to brown for 3 to 4 minutes. The milk powder should show a slightly brown nutty color.1.25 ounce Milk Powder, Nonfat dry
- Reduce oven temperature to 150℉. Spread the brown butter and milk powder mix on a parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan and dehydrate in the oven at 150℉ for about 2 hours.
Make the Brown Butter Potato Crunch
- Grind the Spices Combine the peppercorns, allspice berries, fennel seeds, chili flakes, rosemary, sesame seeds, and coriander seeds in a spice grinder. Process until the mixture is finely ground. Create the Blend In a bowl, thoroughly blend the ground spices with the nutritional yeast, crisp potato peel, parsley, cilantro powder, sea salt, and dehydrated brown butter and milk powder.3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 8 allspice berries, 8 peppercorn white, 1 pinch sea salt, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/4 tbsp chili flakes, 1/4 tsp rosemary, 2 tbsp sesame seeds - white, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp parsley cilantro powder
- Store the spice blend in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for up to 1 month.
Chef Notes
I keep potato peels in cold water in my refrigerator. Once I've collected enough potato peels, I spread them out on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with my favorite seasonings – paprika, garlic powder, etc maybe even a touch of chili flakes.
Feel free to play with different spices and flavors. Then, it's off to the oven for a crispy bake. The result? Crunchy, flavorful "chips" and a fantastic way to reduce food waste! Give it a try – you might be surprised at how delicious these little upcycled potato peel chips turn out.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate