Roux is a French base for gravies, soups, and Cajun dishes that serves as a thickener, binder, and flavoring. It’s made by cooking flour and fat slowly and evenly, with patience and a heavy pot and wooden spoon. A light roux is peanut butter-colored, a medium roux is light brown, and a dark roux is glossy chocolate syrup-colored. A burnt roux cannot be saved.
With cooking shows featuring a wide range of dishes, many people have learned about roux. “Roux” is the French word for “brown” and describes its color. It’s a base for gravies, soups, etouffee, gumbo, and many other Cajun and French dishes. It serves as a thickener, binder and flavoring. Cajun cooking wouldn’t taste right without roux.
Each cook who has made gravy from the sauce, flour and milk has produced a sort of roux. The principles are very similar. With a roux, however, only flour and fat are used. As strange as it sounds, this combination actually works.
The first rule of creating one is patience. A roux can take some time — up to an hour — to reach the desired brown, unburnt stage. Therefore, the cook should have time to kill and replace the arms to the necessary constant stirring.
The second rule is to have a heavy pot and a wooden spoon. The pot can be a dutch oven, deep iron skillet, or any heavy pot, heats well and has no hot spots. A wooden spoon won’t impart a metallic taste, so that’s ideal.
A basic roux can be started with 1 cup (120 g) of flour and 1 cup (240 mL) of vegetable oil. Pour the oil into the pot and heat. When the oil is just below its smoke point, gradually add the flour, stirring constantly. A whisk can be used to incorporate the flour into the oil. When the mixture is smooth, reduce the heat to medium and begin stirring. Stir the mixture from the outside and back, to ensure even heating and browning.
The mixture will be pale at first, but as the flour turns brown, the roux will gradually change the color of peanut butter. This is a light roux. When the mixture darkens to a light brown, you have a medium roux in the pot. When the mixture starts to look like glossy chocolate syrup, it has become a dark roux. When the kneading is done, the cook has two options: start adding cooking ingredients like celery and onion, or take it off the heat entirely. When adding celery and onion in particular, stay away from the pot. These wet vegetables will tend to make the mixture steam and burst, so be careful.
Cooking the roux slowly and evenly is a must to avoid burning. A burnt roux will purge the house with its smell. It cannot be saved. The cook has to start over.
Learning how to cook a roux isn’t difficult. With patience, a cook can produce dishes worthy of great chefs.
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