Reusing poaching butter

I am planning on making shrimp poached in butter tomorrow. There will be quite a bit of poaching "liquid" left, and I was wondering if I could keep beurre monte in the fridge and reuse it the following day to poach more shrimp or scallops, or it would be unsafe. I have recycled plain beurre monte before, but not after it's been used to poach seafood.

QueenSashy
  • 8904 views
  • 5 Comments

5 Comments

paseo
paseo March 12, 2016
I poach shad roe in butter and reuse it several times in the season. I chill it quickly and keep it cold. Have never had an issue. But when in doubt, throw it out.
 
702551
702551 March 12, 2016
I've recycled poaching liquid from seafood before. The liquid is hot enough to cook the seafood so the microbial dangers are negligible compared to raw seafood.

When I recycle this liquid, I'm more concerned about the freshness and aroma of the liquid. If in doubt, I toss, not for food safety reasons, but for quality reasons.

But that's just me...
 
QueenSashy
QueenSashy March 12, 2016
That's was my other question actually. Does the flavor change a lot? Today I am making dinner for friends, but tomorrow it would be only for us and for sake of not tossing all that butter. If I added lemon and tomato paste on day two, would that be doable?
 
702551
702551 March 12, 2016
I haven't noticed any significant flavor changes the next day or so.

My understanding is that some restaurants make batches of beurre battu for use over a couple of days. That's pretty similar (albeit without the seafood juices).

For certain I've had plenty of seafood dishes, soups, stews, etc. that were refrigerated and consumed over a couple of days. I've also steamed mussels and clams to reheat and consume on subsequent days.

And let's not forget that seafood can be made shelf stable (e.g., cans of clam chowder).

Anyhow, it's really your call how you assess the flavor changes and whether or not you deem them to be acceptable for your table. For sure, there are some things I'd be okay eating myself, but prefer not to serve to guests.

For this particular scenario that you are describing, it would be a suitable experiment for you to learn how this item changes over the course of a day in the refrigerator.

Good luck.
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. March 12, 2016
you'll be fine. just a thought, but if you wanted a change, you could SEAR the seafood- to get a nice crust on it--and serve it over pasta with the beurre monte as sauce, with some additions (shiitakes, lemon, asparagus or Ginger, lemongrass, Thai basil...
 
Recommended by Food52

Popular on Food52