Roux and milk - what went wrong?

[seans_potato_business]

I wanted to make a cheese sauce for mac and cheese and so I heated oil in a pan until it was super hot. Then I added my flour and went brown really quickly. Not sure if that's advisable for a cheese sauce... does it matter? Anyway, the real problems came when I added the milk. I was supposed to whisk in a bit at a time but when I added a little it turned to steam so I had to tip the whole thing in, too cool the pan down, you know? So in went all the milk and then the brown roux turned into lots of little brown bits floating around in the milk. I just kept stirring and stirring and eventually they transformed into very small brown bits floating around in the milk. After adding the cheese, things appeared to be more homogenous. I'll be eating my creation shortly.

[auntdot]

The 'super hot' was the problem. In my opinion you basically burned the flour. You need to make a roux on medium heat - it is a gentle process.

[seans_potato_business]

Quote:

Originally Posted by auntdot The 'super hot' was the problem. In my opinion you basically burned the flour. You need to make a roux on medium heat - it is a gentle process.

My macaroni and cheese is brown

[sattie]

Brown your rue on a medium to medium-high temp. Once it reaches the desired color you are looking for, then add cold milk. When I am making gravy or what not, I add the entire measure of milk that I will be using and use a spatula to remove the rue bits from the bottom and sides of the pan. You may see some clumping, but they will break up as the mixture heats through. Bring just to a boil and reduce heat. Did you add cheese to your sauce/gravy?

[Jeekinz]

I add the fat (butter or oil) and the flour to a cold pan, then gently heat it up on medium heat whisking until warm and smooth. Then I have time to cook it to the desired color/flavor or add my milk.

Cold pan first, fat and flour together, whisk.

Also, add more fat if the roux is too thick and clumpy. You want a smooth creamy texture before you add the milk or whatever.

[darlenemt08]

I agree that the oil was too hot. I accidentally get my grease too hot for gravies.

I've never made roux for my mac & cheese. My mac & cheese is fast 'cause I've cooked a lot of it for my nieces & nephews along with babysitting kids in the past. My cheese sauce is Velveeta cheese, milk, & margarine and is melted in the microwave and then poured into the drained mac. Season to taste and add more milk if needed.

Darlene

[Jeekinz]

Darlene, alot of "grown-up" mac and cheese recipes call for a bechamel or something along those lines. Heck, the recipe I have uses $20 worth of different cheeses, shrimp and large shells.

[archiduc]

Hi Sean,

Macaroni and cheese is one of the most beguiling of dishes to make - sounds soooooooooooooooo simple yet is actually very difficult to make well.

You don`t have to make Macaroni and Cheese using a "ROUX" based sauce. You could use an "All-in one" sauce" and this is the method and recipe that I`m going to outline for you.

First a few notes about the cheese you use.

In this recipe, I am going to specify the use of Emmenthal and Gruyere. Now, you don`t need to use these two cheeses, but these cheeses are what are used in the classic "Sauce Mornay". Although the method below is not the classic Sauce Mornay as it is the "QUICK" sauce not the "ROUX" based sauce, the mix of cheeses work very well.

You could use a mature cheddar - use the same quantitites as specified in the recipe and preferably uncoloured. The dyes in a coloured cheese add nothing to the sauce!

You could use a mixture of fresh (and it has to be fresh) Parmesan Reggiano, Gran Padano, Pecorino and you might need less. Buy these cheeses in the block and grate them yourself.

The recipe below call for 4 oz macaroni - in this case I mean 4 oz packaged, dried weight macaroni - not fresh and not from the chill cabinet in the supermarket. this quantity will serve 4 -6 people using the sauce as outlined below.

CHEESE SAUCE / SAUCE MORNAY / ALL-IN-ONE SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:
20

[miniman]

What happened to the recipe????

I teach ten year olds to make white sauce by putting the butter, flour and milk in the pan alltogether. You then whisk this on a gentle/medium heat until the sauce starts to bubble. You then continue as for a roux based sauce - seasoning and adding the cheese if you want to.

[designmea]

I always heat gently, if you burn the flour it spoils the whole thing