Recipe

Making Cajun Roux Recipe

Add Step-by-Step Photos	Oldgringo / All my dishes 7 months, 1 week ago Making a Cajun Roux. The unique flavor of Cajun food is derived from using roux and seasonings. Prep:20m Cook:30m Servings:1	Oldgringo
	roux gumbo

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Ingredients

3/4 cup peanut oil; has a high smoke point

1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Before you make any kind of gumbo, you will need a good Cajun roux. A roux is made of flour and oil. The ingredients are fairly simple. However, it can be kind of tricky if you are a beginner. Remember to always keep an eye on your pot or skillet and stir, stir, stir. Move your spoon constantly to prevent any of the flour from burning. Any burned flour in the roux, makes a very bitter taste and the roux must be discarded.

If this happens just start over from scratch. Stirring and timing are the secrets of a good roux. A word of caution; handle roux carefully. Hot roux can burn, if spilled or spattered. Paul Prudhomme has called roux, "kitchen napalm!"

Use a heavy bottomed pan with room to add some of the chopped vegetables when the roux is ready. Turn the heat to medium; add the oil and heat for a few minutes. Mix the flour into the oil and stir the roux mixture until it is smooth.

Over a low to moderate heat, continue stirring until the flour is the color you desire. Usually dark brown, the color of dark chocolate icing, is the preferred color for gumbo. Roux can be any color from tan to almost black; but never contains burned black flour.

While you are making the roux, already have your aromatic vegetables chopped and your stock heated for the gumbo. If you add roux to cold stock, it may ruin it, so have the stock hot when the roux is ready.

As soon as the roux is ready, stir in a portion of the chopped vegetables and stir until the mixture forms clumps and the pot or skillet is relatively clean then turn off the heat and transfer the roux-vegetable mixture to the boiling stock. The roux should go into solution with a little stirring of the stock.

Excessive oil may be removed from the gumbo's surface after the gumbo has cooked and allowed to set for a while.

Bon chance et bon appetit!

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Comments

minkie 7 months, 1 week ago said:
Wonderful instructions, easy to follow. Thanks for sharing this!

frankieanne 7 months, 1 week ago said:
I love instructional "recipes." Thank you!

linebb956 6 months, 1 week ago said:
Question... How do you know which color to use? I don't care for the dark.. I usually stop where it is the color of a light peanut butter. Do you have to cook it longer?

mishkest 3 months, 1 week ago said:
I have never been able to keep my roux from separating, although I took a Cajun cooking class in New Orleans. But I think your instructions just solved my problem; I never knew my stock had to be boiling--& you use 3/4 oil to 1 flour, whereas my teacher used equal amts flour & oil. Think this will solve my problem. Thanks!

mishkest 3 months, 1 week ago said:
To linebb956, about color---just know that the darker the color, the richer and nuttier the flavor. While you might want a light, peanut colored roux for a chicken or fish gumbo, for sausage or ham, and crawfish gumbos, jambalayas, etc., you might want to go with a richer, darker roux. As long as your flour doesn't burn, your roux will just taste richer the darker it gets.

pats1013 1 month, 3 weeks ago said:
What great instructions. Thank you for sharing. It came out better then I thought I could make it . Again Thank you.

cabincrazyone 1 month, 2 weeks ago said:
Thanks for the great instructions.
In my opinion it's important to use a whisk when making a mother roux. When stirring with a spoon, the flour lumps move around the spoon. A whisk will cut through the lumps, break them up and help them dissolve.

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