food Louisiana people and roux

Alynne said:
It takes me at least 4 hours to make a roux I like that isn't burnt. Am I crazy?
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So I guess you are cooking really low to keep from burning?  If so, maybe your pan is too thin and does not heat evenly.  I have a cheap stock pot that I can't use for thicker dishes like stew and chili because it burns too easily. 
 
SavinaRed said:
how is your roux different from this recipe ?
 
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Sauces_Condiments/Roux.htm
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This recipe is wrong.  It states to use "equal amounts" of oil and flour but it should be "equal weights" of oil and flour.  Equal volume is wrong.  Making a roux was easy once I learned that simple little fact.  Too many recipes call for 1/2 c flour and 1/3 c butter, or 1 c flour to 2/3 c oil.  Never the same ratio twice.  A scale makes life in the kitchen so much easier!
 
Ken
 
It should never take 4 hours. It takes me 45 minutes to an hour to make proper roux... you can  do it faster by "flash frying" the roux..... cooking it a higher temp. and stirring like crazy, but it's risky. And never use a thin stock pot. It will burn every time. Magnalite thickness at a minumum.
 
Danielle does that high-heat version, but she's got a sixth sense about it and yanks off the burner early and it finishes while she's stirring crazily and then she places it on the wood block thereafter to stop it from increasing ...
 
grantmichaels said:
Danielle does that high-heat version, but she's got a sixth sense about it and yanks off the burner early and it finishes while she's stirring crazily and then she places it on the wood block thereafter to stop it from increasing ...
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Sounds like you have a seasoned veteran handling the roux duties at home. Pun not intended, but approved, nonetheless!
 
I do the high heat and stir too. I take it off the burner from time to time while I'm doing it. Once it starts to look likes its congealing I pull it. It's dark but not burnt.
 
grantmichaels said:
Danielle does that high-heat version, but she's got a sixth sense about it and yanks off the burner early and it finishes while she's stirring crazily and then she places it on the wood block thereafter to stop it from increasing ...
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This is what I do, use a wire whisk and whisk like mad and lift it on and off the direct heat a little for temp control.  Always with butter not oil, the flavour is so much better with butter.  Looks like the Ozzy and the Aussie are on the same page with technique on this one. 
 
Ozzy2001 said:
I do the high heat and stir too. I take it off the burner from time to time while I'm doing it. Once it starts to look likes its congealing I pull it. It's dark but not burnt.
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Alynne said:
It takes me at least 4 hours to make a roux I like that isn't burnt. Am I crazy?
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how low do you have to cook for it to take 4 hours? I find I'm usually done in 20-30. Sometimes less if I am in a hurry. Turn up the heat a little and keep stirring.
 
With Gas or induction you can control the temps pretty well, if you use resistance heating elements, you'll have to pull it off the burner to keep it from burning.
 
I don't usually take more than 30 minutes. Make sure you keep the consistency of your roux to like melted ice cream. I cook it over medium heat.
 
Think she mentioned in another thread she was making it in the oven? If that's the case I could see it taking longer. In my DO it takes me about 20-30 minutes to get the color I like for a nice etouffee.
 
I burned a roux early on in my gumbo making and have been gun shy since. Love Altons oven method. Do it at 350 stirring every 15 min or so. Seems to take forever but I get great color. I use a la cruset enameled Dutch oven and 50 a 50 oil and flour by volume. Maybe it's time to try stovetop again at higher heat.

I have a great recipe that has you brown skin on chicken first, use the fat and additional oil for the roux. That's the one I burnt. Little bits of chicken stuff burnt before everything else browned.
 
FreeportBum said:
Think she mentioned in another thread she was making it in the oven? If that's the case I could see it taking longer. In my DO it takes me about 20-30 minutes to get the color I like for a nice etouffee.
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I saw that. She also mentioned "alton's" roux in that post. I googled Alton Brown's recipe and sure as heck, that is how he does it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe.html
 
 
Note to Alynne- I've been making gumbo for years and most of the southern guys in this forum have been making it way longer than me. Never heard of doing it in the oven before. We have one weirdo around here who does it in a crockpot,  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl:  but not in the oven.
 
FreeportBum said:
Think she mentioned in another thread she was making it in the oven? If that's the case I could see it taking longer. In my DO it takes me about 20-30 minutes to get the color I like for a nice etouffee.
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My mother who wrote several cook books based on the Pritikin diet plan makes browns her flour in the oven. It can work but it doesn't quite have the flavor when you don't use fat.
 
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