Roux
Roux's are the starting point of all sauces. Knowing how to make a good roux will do wonders for your sauces. It is the basis of three of the Mother Sauces of classical french cuisine:sauce béchamel, sauce velouté, and sauce espagnole.
So what is a roux?
A roux is a basic mixture of Wheat Flour and Fat. It's purpose is to make liquid's thick, whether it's a stew or a gravy.
Most people make roux's with flour and melted butter in a fry-pan. But you can use vegetable oil, pork fat etc. etc.
Here are the basic steps:
- Melt about 1/4 a stick of butter in a small fry-pan
- Start incorporating flour, a little bit at a time until the mixture becomes a paste.
- Keep stirring!
You want to "cook" the roux at least until you get the un-cooked flour taste out. Now the longer you cook the roux(while stirring it) the darker the color you will get. As a rule of thumb, the darker the roux, the lesser the thickening power, BUT the darker the roux, the richer the nutty flavor. So depending on what your dish calls for, you want to make your roux for that!
Different levels of a Roux
- Light
- Blonde
- Peanut-Butter
- Dark
- Chocolate
- Brick
DO NOT BURN THE ROUX!
[...] reducing make a golden roux with a 1/2 stick of butter and enough flour(adding just a little at a [...]
[...] the stew is close to being done, around hour 2 you will want to make the Roux with the stick of butter(yes yes) and flour. I would use a small saute pan and use a stove [...]