Making Roux
- Total Time: 11 minute
- Yield: 1 batch 1x
Description
Roux is nothing more than butter and flour that is used to thicken
soups and sauces. To make and use roux you need to understand the
function of the ingredients. The butter adds flavor, but more importantly
it coats each grain of flour, keeping it from clumping when adding to other ingredients. Flour is the “starch” that will bind the
ingredients together. Cooking the roux takes the raw flour taste and
replaces it with a buttery roasted flavor. The longer you cook roux, the
better the flavor. However, the longer you cook roux, the less thickening
power it will produce. For roux that is for general use, it should be
cooked 5-6 minutes. Additionally, for roux to “work” or thicken there must be a
temperature difference between the roux and the sauce or soup. In most
soups, I recommend adding cold roux to hot soup. Add less roux than you think you need, allow the cold roux to melt then get the liquid to just under the boiling point, this will make the roux thicken your soup or sauce. The roux has to reach just over 200 degrees to thicken.
Ingredients
1 pound butter
4 cups of flour
Instructions
1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add flour while stirring until the proper consistency is
reached. The roux should be the consistency of thick
wet sand. Adjust the amount of fl our to reach the
proper consistency. Remember, you can always add
more, but you can’t take it out.
3. Cook for 5-10 minutes, depending on the desired
flavor and strength.
4. Pour in heat-safe plastic container and place
uncovered into the refrigerator.
5. Chill until solid.
6. Remove roux from the container. Chop into 2 inch /
2 centimeter pieces and use to thicken sauces, soups,
and stews.
Notes
I prefer not to use clarified butter, as there is better
flavor using whole butter.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5-10 minutes
