Microwave FTW. I mix my oil and flour in a large Pyrex measuring cup and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, then stir. Then another 2 minutes and stir. Then in 1-minute increments, stirring after each. Depending on how much roux you’re making, it can be done (I generally take it to “chocolate” color) in 6-7 minutes. Wear silicone oven mitts while handling/stirring it, because the mixture gets as hot as molten lava. But this method works great and is way faster, requires vastly less work, and is less prone to scorching than doing it on the stove.
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I’m thinking gumbo, too, so I want darkness!
Oven as you mentioned is my preference. I think it was Alton Brown who got me doing it. But if I don’t have enough time (like if I decided at 5:30 pm that I want gumbo) then I do it on the stovetop with constant attention.
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A cast iron skillet is key!
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Slow, low and long for dark. My favorite gumbo place goes 18 hours.
For light, e.g., for bicuits and crab gravy, as soon as the flour loses that taste.
Saucepan on the stovetop for me.
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I do the Good Eats version in the oven.
Some of the last few times. I’m rarely brave enough to take it as far as I’d like.
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Not to exactly hijack this thread, but in our house classic roux is a no-no due to my sweet flower’s celiac disease. So I’ve tried using other flours but never had much luck; rice for example will thicken but it doesn’t last long. Has anyone out there cracked the code to get a really useable GF and good-tasting roux?
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Gluten-free flour exists (I have some Bob’s Red Mill brand). Have you tried that?
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I used Glutinous Rice Flour and it worked pretty well for thickening and Taste. I do not remember whether it “let go” when reheating.
It’s biggest issue was not being able to get a good color. Even with a lot of cooking I got to about "Milk Chocolate color.
You may want to move this to “Special Diets” for more expertise.
I’ve had success using buckwheat flour and soy cream to make a gluten-free roux.
a blonde or medium roux is easy enough to do ‘on the fly’ - but dark/brick roux takes more time and attention when done in a fry pan.
on the odd circumstance when I have time to stand&sit a dark roux, I do a big batch, let it cool, then chunk it into ‘cubes’ - which get frozen. since the darker-the-less thickening potential, the ability to pull out another frozen cube of dark roux is - in my world - a big plus.
this batch had a bit more butter than required…
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I just “discovered” a batch of milk to dark chocolate colored roux in my fridge. Probably from January. Anyone willing to say how old they would use it?
long time. fats have a long shelf life.
home made? a year minimum.
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I agree with Tom.
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Same as Kaleo, low and slow for oil and flour gumbo roux and enough to cook off the raw flour taste and barely begin the browning process in butter and flour for Bechamel. Stovetop always. So a gumbo roux takes FFE. Why try an easy hack when you can stand by the stove, stirring and smelling something wonderful and drinking beer?
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Because you could be sitting? Or at least standing someplace else. You can still smell something wonderful and drink.
But I understand; standing by the stove can be rewarding.
Growing up, my dad used to chastise anything that he considered " the easy way out". I can see why it’s not always preferred, but I remember thinking “why would someone want to take the hard way just because it’s the hard way?”.
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I think that often the hard way is part of learning the craft. When you put oil, egg yolks, mustard, lemon, and salt in a jar and pull an immersion blender up through it you have a wonderful jar of mayonnaise. When you sit with a bowl of egg yolk, mustard, lemon, and salt in it and beat the oil in with a fork a drop or two at a time you develop a different sense of how an emulsion comes together, even though the mayonnaise is the same. Slowly stirring a roux as it darkens gives you an appreciation of all the stages, and possibilities, along the way, even if the end result is the same. I am a believer in the educational benefit of doing things the hard way first. Once you have mastered the hard way, take all the shortcuts you want.
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Understood. That is reminding me of my time as an intern and resident in an emergency room in New York in the late eighties. My senior resident praised me for my ability to collect samples, stain, and count bacteria in urine and cerebrospinal fluid.
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This is why I will always use a mortar and pestle over an immersion blender.
And why I will always knead dough by hand, never with an Atta kneader, or any other type of mixer machine.
Plus, you just get better results.
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But maybe don’t expect to get paid for your time? Your intellect?
