We had a Secret Santa gift exchange with my family this year. We now have 8 adults in the family and one infant. So instead of just buying whatever for each person or couple, we decided to try something more personal. I had gift ideas in mind for just about every possible person EXCEPT the person I drew. Go figure. I know he’s a professional football fan, both my brother-in-laws are, but I did the football thing last year and wanted to be a little more creative. The problem is, if he wants something, he usually just buys it, and I wanted to think of something unique and creative but still practical because I believe in practical gifts. Inspiration finally struck when I was preparing ghee for my upcoming Whole 30 using my crock pot. If things like infused olive oils make a great gift, why shouldn’t infused grass-fed ghee? We also gifted him a pound of coffee from our current favorite local coffee roaster/shop Caffe Amouri… shop local!
I made classic, because everyone needs an all-purpose option, garlic because I love garlic, and hot chili for something different. The whole process took about a total of 20 minutes of active work over two days and I ended up with three lovely ghee options. I’m really looking forward to experimenting with the flavored ghee. The garlic ghee made my house smell like fresh-baked garlic bread and the chili ghee only had a mild kick, perfect for a tex-mex inspired recipe. This morning we made our eggs with garlic ghee and it added a really nice depth. There wasn’t enough for a strong garlic flavor, but there was a “something” that rounded out the flavor of the eggs and made them taste amazing.
The nice thing about ghee is that it doesn’t require refrigeration, making it a great gift if you need to ship or would like to store it in a cool, dark, place for some time. I couldn’t find a website providing an accurate usage timeline, but I usually begin using my ghee immediately anyway and use within a few weeks. I did research the infused ghee safety, and while I didn’t find anything saying it required refrigeration for storage, I will probably use them sooner rather than later. I tried shipping all three and two of the three made it… the third will be shipped when I make the next batch in a few weeks.
You may use your favorite brand of butter, to keep it paleo or clean be sure it’s grass-fed. I always use my small slow cooker to make my ghee so the butter doesn’t get too hot too quickly and I don’t have to worry about making more than a pound at a time since I don’t cook for a lot of people and we have zero storage space in our postage-stamp kitchen designed for people who don’t cook but want a pretty kitchen. Apparently this is a trend in Northern Virginia. This adorable little green crock pot is what I use and I cannot tell you how valuable I have found it to have a small and large slow cooker. I thought I was being silly buying a second, but it’s been one of the most worthwhile kitchen investments I’ve made. I’m sure it would work in my larger slow cooker, but I would probably make 2 pounds at a time instead, not because ghee burns at that low temperature (because it doesn’t), but just because I have a thing about making bigger recipes in the bigger crock pot.
Slow Cooker Ghee
With minimal preparation time and easily available ingredients, making your own grass-fed ghee is a great way to save money while eating healthy.
Ingredients
- 1 lb grass-fed butter
Optional to Make Infused Ghee
- 8 peeled and smashed cloves of garlic
- or
- 6 dried hot chili peppers (I used arbol)
- or
- 2 6" sprigs of fresh rosemary, washed and dried
Instructions
- Place your butter in your slow cooker
- If making flavor-infused ghee, add your ingredient of choice
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours
- Line a kitchen sieve with a double layer of muslin or a layer of cheesecloth and strain out the clumps in the ghee.
- Pour the ghee into sterile jars, cover, and allow to set. Store in a cool dark place up to 6 months.
Sarah
Sunday 19th of November 2017
When canning there is no processing needed post cook time?
Mary (The Goodie Godmother)
Sunday 19th of November 2017
I stored it in jars, but didn't actually can it, so I'm not sure. The jars we're unsealed but kept for the month. I didn't have any past that.
Vicki
Wednesday 31st of December 2014
Hi, does it matter is I use salted or unsalted butter for this. I bake with unsalted but always sauté or cook with salted. So, does the salt make it thru the ghee process?
TheGodmother
Wednesday 31st of December 2014
It doesn't matter one bit! I have used both. The salt will make it through the ghee process, so you won't need to add as much salt to the finished dish. :)