Shake Shake Shake...Shake Shake Shake....Shake Your Butter, Shake Your Butter

Did you know that you can CAN butter?

Well, i didn't either, until Susan Dear Susan taught me how.

This stuff is AMAZING!!! (There's that word, again, Thell.  Guess i am just hopelessly out of date.)

Canned butter has the most rich, wonderful flavor, since it is clarified in the processing.  And it melts like a dream.  It does have a slightly grainy texture if you are, say, putting it on a cracker, but if it is melted into something warm like toast.....Oh My!

And the best part is, it has a 5 year shelf life.

Yes, that was SHELF life. 

As in not taking up space in the freezer.

When i find a good sale on butter, i buy all i can swing at the time, then jar it up.  It is a little time consuming, but oh so worth the effort.  One time i found a close out sale on some really good creamery butter and killed the grocery budget by buying 80 pounds and spending three days working it.  A bunch of my friends laughed at me at the time, but we used that butter for 2 years.  We were still eating butter i paid a buck and a quail a pound for, when they were having to fork over $3.69.  Guess i had the last laugh!  Bwaaa aaaaa aaaaa!

Canned butter is definitely in the top five favored things that i can.  Paul Adeen gets a case for Christmas each year, and if i can't swing the butter, he buys it himself for me to jar. 

I usually can it in pints and quarts, but always do several 1/4 and 1/8 pint jars as well, coz a jar of jelly, a jar of butter, and a loaf of fresh bread makes a fabulous giftie.

A couple of years ago, the City Cousin and a friend came down to spend spring break on the farm (here's some ultimate culture shock for ya...i had them butcher chickens in the freezing rain! Made some REAL memories, there!) (It wasn't out of meanness...they were earning a Girl Scout badge, and they got to take their chickens home to share with their families.)  All week long, i kept trying to cook for the girls, but they were never hungry.  Turns out all they wanted to eat was buttered toast.  Yes, i sent them home with butter, too.

Let's get to it.

First, ya gotta procure the butter.

This is what 24 lbs of butter looks like:

Then ya gotta unwrap it all.  I usually work in 12 - 15# batches in my largest stock pot.  You'll see why in a minute.  This is what a pot of gold looks like:

Turn the stove on medium to medium high to start melting it.  While that is happening, put your washed canning jars in the oven at 250 degrees.  They need at least 20 minutes in there, so if you put them in when you start the butter, they should be in for plenty of time.

Once the butter melts, it will start to get a head of foam as it starts to heat up to the boiling point.  Stir it frequently so it doesn't scorch.

As it starts boiling, it will begin rising in the pot, so keep it moving, and don't walk away from it.  Ya need to let it boil for at least 5 minutes, but no more than 10...if ya do ya get cheese. 
Voice of experience.

When it is just about done boiling, start a pan of water to heat up your lids.  Bring the water to a boil, throw the lids in, put a lid on the pot, turn off the burner, and let the pot sit on the burner.

You are now ready to start jarring it up.

Put a ladle full of butter in each of the jars, but be careful, it sometimes will bubble out of the jar, and it is HOT.  It WILL burn.

Tell me, do you put butter on a butter burn?

Just wondering. 

Every time you dip into the pot, stir the butter from the bottom, to keep all the solids mixed in.  Fill jars to within 3/4 inch of the top.

Wipe the rims very carefully. This is no time to skimp on paper towels.  Lids will not seal on a greasy rim.

Give it a lid and a ring.

Let the jars cool on the counter, and about every 15 minutes, give them each a good shakin'.  Gotta keep the solids from separating.

When the jars reach room temp, put them in the fridge, and shake them every 5 minutes until they solidify.  This part goes pretty fast, so don't forget them, or you will have separated butter.  Which is still usable, but not nearly so lovely.  Speaking of lovely....aren't they pretty?

Once they have solidified, let them sit in the fridge for a couple of hours, then take them out.  Next day, remove the rings, and put them on a shelf.  Like i said, they can relax there for a good five years.

At least that is what i have heard. 

We have never managed to test the theory. 

Butter just doesn't last that long around my house.

Oh, and one more thing.  Once you open a jar, you do not have to put it in the fridge, as long as you use it in a reasonable length of time.  It takes us about 2 weeks to go through a quart, unless i am doing a lot of cooking, and we never refrigerate it, we just put the lid back on.

Now get out there and find yourself some butter!!