How do you make your roux?

[jpinmaryland]

This may sound dumb but I think I have seen it done both ways and want to know what you all think:

1) heat oil, add flour, make a roux, add vegetables; or

2) heat oil, add vegetables, cook them down, then add the flour and make the roux.

I do the order like no. 1 above, I think I've seen or read sautee'ing the vegetables first then adding the flour. Maybe it was Emeril since that's about the only Cajun (creole?) cook I watch.

Are there Cajun dishes that do it in the order veggies first and then flour? I am thinking maybe for an etoufee'??

 

[luvs]

i use butter for roux, but i have done it both ways. mainly, almost always, really, i heat my butter and then dump in some flour till it looks right, then add my liquid, usually milk.
but sometimes i have added the flour after i've cooked my onions or sometimes other veggies down in the butter, then added my liquid.
it works nicely both ways.

 

[jpinmaryland]

does it make a difference? is one technique better for certain dishes?

 

[luvs]

i think you have more control over thickness and lumps if you use just straight fat and flour w/out the veggies. it's easier to whisk smooth and easier to judge the thickness. i don't measure, so i can see much more easily how much liquid i'll have to add if don't add the veggies.
other than that, i don't think it much matters; the basics are there. fat and flour.

 

[Lugaru]

In my own case I use oil with a touch of butter and add my flour. I always fry my flour at least a little bit to get that Louisiana taste and after that the other ingredients start to come in (of course I'll usually add a little water or milk so I can work out the lumps before starting my meal).

 

[Andy M.]

Both methods work. The difference is in the way the veggies cook. If you add the veggie to the oil and saute or sweat them your result will be different from adding the veggies to the finished roux and cooking them.

In Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook, he does both. I suspect the differences are minor.

 

[GB]

I have moved this to the Terms and Techniques forum.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Both methods work. The difference is in the way the veggies cook. If you add the veggie to the oil and saute or sweat them your result will be different from adding the veggies to the finished roux and cooking them.

In Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook, he does both. I suspect the differences are minor.

I have to go with Andy - the difference is going to be the texture of the veggies - which I assume are onion, bell pepper, and celery - since you mention Cajun and etoufee'.

If you're going to make a really dark roux, that might mean high heat for 30-minutes to an hour .... you're not going to have much texture to the veggies when you're done if you start the roux with them. But, if that's the point to the recipe (to reduce the veggies to basically only their essence) then that would be the way you want to do it.

Personally - all of the Cajun and Creole recipes I use follow the Justin Wilson method - "First you make a roux."

 

[kitchenelf]

I have made a roux using oil and butter - it depends on the recipe. Whether or not you add veggies before the flour just depends on the recipe. When I make my cauliflower soup I add the onions and celery before the flour but the roux doesn't cook for more than 3 minutes or so. Like Michael said if you are making a very dark roux then you shouldn't add the veggies. And one more note - you can make a roux and keep it for different uses throughout the week.

 

[Foodfiend]

Different kind of roux problem

Hi,

I'm having a problem making a roux that calls for butter, flour, and milk. The recipes I have call for 2 TBSP each of butter and flour, followed by 1 CUP milk. It says to melt the butter, add the flour, and then stir in the milk. Therein lies the problem. I'll melt the butter, add the flour (and at this point I've heard/read that you're supposed to let the flour/butter mixture cook for about a minute to allow the flour to cook), and after a minute I stir (whisk) in the milk. Is the flour/butter mixture supposed to be gloppy/lumpy looking? And I drizzle the milk in at first while stirring to make sure it all blends in, then add the rest of the milk while steadily/constantly mixing until it thickens. Well, anyway after the 2nd/3rd try I've got little brown lumps in the sauce. Is this normal, or is it something I'm doing wrong? I'm doing this at a med-high heat. Is THAT my problem? Should I maybe use a lower temp? I'm trying out new recipes, and I've never done/made one of these before, so before I pitch the recipe I thought I'd ask you all for your advice in what I'm doing wrong. Thank you.

 

[jennyema]

Your procedure seems pretty spot-on to me.

Yes, the fat/flour mixture looks like a paste, but it helps to smash it with a wooden spoon or spatula while it cooks to smooth it before youincorporate the liquid.

Whisking the liquid into the fat and flour is how you rid yourself of lumps. Whisk and whisk and use an actual whisk.

 

[Sandyj]

After whisking the flour into the butter, I may let it cook a little to get a nutty flavor, but I cheat - I remove from the heat while drizzling in and whisking the milk, (probably very unprofessional) or else I also get lumps. When all the milk is incorporated, I put it back on the heat and watch closely, whisking frequently until the milk gets really hot and the sauce thickens.

 

[Foodfiend]

Thanks for the help, I'll try that the next time and see if it helps any.

 

[Robo410]

wanting nicely caramelized veggies, and a med dark roux without lumps, I always use two pans and combine after brothing. as to the fat, generally a butter canola oil mix 50-50. If it's roux for a gravy then it's animal fat (whatever I'm roasting)

 

[foodaholic]

foodfiend:
Your describing a bechamel sauce,which is a roux based sauce with milk added.You need to scald the milk before adding to the roux.I always use
vegetables,herbs and some nutmeg to flavour the sauce.You need to simmer the bechamel for about 20 to 30 minutes,strain without pushing down on the
veg and then strain through a cheescloth for the best results.

Also the amount of roux your making would be for 2 cups of milk,not 1.Like I said it's important to strain
this sauce,it's the very smooth mouthfeel that you want to achieve,and cheesecloth is definately the way to gf course if it's not a sauce and the bechamel base is for a souffle for example you might not need the cheescloth,but still strain to get rid of any pits of flour or veg.

 

[marmalady]

In addition to the above, med-high sounds a little hot for a roux. You might try turning the heat down a bit.

 

[jennyema]

The amount of liquid depends on what you want the consistency of the final product to be.

2/2/1cup is a pretty basic sauce proportion. 2 cups of liquid would be more like a soup base.

Herbs and such are good, depending on what the final product will be used for.

This was probably the first thing my mother taught me how to make, when I was about 5. I have never strained my sauce. I suppose you could if you really wanted velvety-smooth sauce, but I have never found that necessary when cooking at home.

 

[foodaholic]

No you sure don't have to strain the sauce.I always saute veg and then add the flour so in my case I always strain,and I always have made this for a restaurant kitchen and mouthfeel is important.If I was making a basic
bechamel for home I probably wouldn't go through all that trouble either,but
just in case someone out there would like a different approach,there it is.

 

[Constance]

That's what I call a white sauce, FoodFiend. You should lower the heat before you add the liquid, or even take the pan off the burner, while you stir it in a little at a time. Once it's smooth, put it back on the burner on medium heat and cook, stirring, until thickened.
I use 1 tbl fat/1tbl flour/one cup milk as a basic rule for my sauces and gravies. The mixture will thicken as you cook it. I don't scald my milk, and have good luck, so I guess it's just what you're used to. For soups, I add two cups of liquid.
If I am sauteing vegies, I do that in the fat before I add the flour.

When making a dark roux, though, I brown the roux before I add the vegies. That's what Ms. Bordis taught me, and I don't vary much from her instructions.

 

[thumpershere2]

I let the flour sit in the pan for awhile to get the nutty taste. Don't mix flour until after a couple min. Just let it sit in the pan.