Beurre Manié - The Roux in Your Freezer

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Often when making a soup or stew you may find that you really need to thicken it up a bit so you make a flour slurry or add in a cornstarch mixture.

Clearly, this will thicken the soup or stew but there is a tasty and simple alternative and that is Beurre Manie which is nothing more than equal parts butter and flour by weight and kneaded together. Think of it as an uncooked roux that you use in the final stages of cooking instead of before as with a traditional roux.

Note: In my original posting, I did not mention that you needed to knead the two together simply because there are only 2 ingredients and the pic would suggest that they were combined. Since then I added the word [kneaded] because my favorite x-wife Rita wasn't sure what she should do with the 2 ingredients. Thanks Rita for pointing this out and I'm sure that it will make a meaningful difference in the finished product. LOL

How I prepare it is by spreading 1/4 stick of semi-softened butter on a cutting board so it look similar to a pancake and then sprinkle 4.5 ounces of flour on the top. 

Then with a heavy-duty dough scraper or the back of a broad-bladed knife combine by scraping the butter from the bottom onto the top of the flour and keeping working it. Then simply knead it by hand as if you were kneading dough. This is so much faster and less messy than trying to do it in a bowl with a spoon or knife.

Or, you certainly could put the butter and flour in a small food processor and pulse until blended. 

After it is combined flatten it to about 1/2" thick then cut 1/2" squares and place them in a plastic freezer bag. And yes Rita, this would be the time to put them in the freezer.