Ever come across the term “roux” in a recipe? In fact, a roux is a mixture of wheat flour and fat, which can be sourced from animal fat, plain butter, white butter, or cooking oil. Generally, roux is used to thicken gumbo and other soupy dishes to enhance the consistency and taste. Interested in making it? Come on, explore the easy tips in this article!
Ingredients
- 240 grams of wheat flour
- 240 grams fat (such as cooking oil, white butter, regular butter, or animal fat)
Step
Method 1 of 2: Making Roux
Step 1. Select the type of fat to be used
In fact, the type of fat used will greatly affect the taste of the roux. For example, bacon fat can be used as a base for a dish that is salty and has a smoky aroma. In addition, ordinary butter is effective in enriching the taste of dishes while white butter will produce a lighter taste in dishes. Use the fat recommended in the recipe, if any. If not, try considering the following options:
- Use bacon or lard as the basis for dishes where one of the ingredients has a smoked taste and/or aroma, such as sausage, or to make gumbo.
- Use plain butter as the base for a thick gravy dish, such as French chowder. In addition, butter is also suitable for making delicious macaroni and cheese.
- White butter is suitable for use as a base for gratin preparations that have a mild taste, especially because the taste is not prominent.
Step 2. Heat the fat in a frying pan
Place a cast-iron skillet or similar skillet with thick walls on the stove, then put the fat in it and heat it over medium heat. If the type of fat you are using is cooking oil, simply heat the oil for 2 minutes.
Step 3. Add flour
Mix the flour into the fat in the pan, then stir with a whisk until the ingredients are well combined, the fat melts, and there are no more lumps of flour remaining.
- To make a roux with a thicker texture, add 60 grams of flour.
- To produce a roux that is lighter and thinner in texture, reduce the amount of flour by 60 grams.
Step 4. Cook the roux
Keep stirring the roux as it cooks. After a few minutes, the texture of the roux will begin to soften and the color will darken even more. Continue the cooking process until the color and texture of the roux match the recipe requirements.
- Some recipes call for a light-colored roux (blonde roux). In particular, the blonde roux is light gold in color and has a softer taste. Generally, the dough needs to be cooked for 8 minutes to produce such characteristics.
- However, there are also recipes that call for a dark roux, or what is more commonly called a chocolate roux. Usually, it takes 60 minutes to produce a dough with these characteristics. Because it takes a long time to cook, some people prefer to cook the roux for a few minutes on the stove and then finish the cooking process in an oven preheated to 160 degrees Celsius.
Step 5. Turn off the stove
Once the desired color and texture of the roux is achieved, immediately turn off the stove. Roux is ready to be processed into various favorite recipes!
Step 6. Save the roux
If the roux isn't going to be used right away, don't forget to store it in a closed food container and put it in the refrigerator. When refrigerated, the roux will harden in texture so you can easily pick it up according to your recipe needs at a later date.
Method 2 of 2: Cultivating Roux
Step 1. Process the roux into gumbo
Roux is one of the most important ingredients in Cajun recipes. Gumbo, which is a classic cajun preparation, is generally thickened with a light or dark colored roux, depending on the recipe you're using. To make it, you just need to add various ingredients such as okra, chili, sausage, chicken, shrimp, and chicken stock to the roux mixture. Voila, delicious gumbo is ready to eat!
Step 2. Turn the roux into a gratin
Various processed gratins such as potato gratin, cauliflower gratin, or tomato gratin are generally served with a creamy cheese sauce made from a light colored roux. To make it, you just need to dilute the roux with milk, then pour it over the vegetables and sprinkle with as much cheese as possible.
Step 3. Turn the roux into a macaroni and cheese dish
To make a delicious plate of macaroni and cheese, all you need to do is make a roux, dilute it with milk, then pour it over the cooked pasta and add as much cheese sprinkles as you want.
Step 4. Use the roux to make the bechamel sauce
You can use this French-style sauce as a base for various pasta preparations.
Tips
- The appearance of black spots indicates that the roux mixture is starting to burn. Don't use it so that the deliciousness of the dish you make from the roux doesn't diminish!
- The taste of the roux tends to be bland. However, the darker the color, the stronger the taste of the smoke.
- If the dough looks smoked, your roux is burnt! In addition to looking smoky, scorched roux will also solidify and stick to the bottom of the pan faster. Therefore, stop the cooking process when the color of the roux has started to look like dark brown.
- If the texture of the dish is too thick, add enough water to thin it out again.
Warning
- If you are using nonstick Teflon to make your roux, do not stir it with a metal cookware to avoid damaging the nonstick coating.
- Be careful not to get the hot roux mixture on your skin. Besides the risk of causing third degree burns, the roux dough is also difficult to remove until the temperature is not completely cold.
