No recipe. Light roux, cream, capers, cayenne, and Tabasco.
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Our tuna water/oil goes to the 15+#, black male pussycat. He laps it up and has the most amazing coat and no hairballs.
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Making a roux in the microwave is less conventional, but it can work if you’re short on time. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine equal parts flour and oil. Microwave on high for 1 minute intervals, stirring after each minute, until you achieve the desired color. Be cautious as the mixture can heat unevenly, so stir well and monitor closely.
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Found this while looking up how long it keeps in fridge.
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You can use both together. You can’t make a dark roux with butter, but etouffee doesn’t use a dark roux, so you should be fine.
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I am using this fairly dark roux I made a year ago, stored a few weeks in the refrigerator, before I stored it in the freezer.
Assuming it’s still safe, I’m thinking of adding some white flour when sauteing the veg to up the thickening power as described here.
I’ve read dark roux doesn’t thicken as well, and that has been my experience. Has anyone else found this to be true? Do you feel the need to thicken some other way, other than okra or file?
BTW, I get lots of “hits” when I search gumbo here on HO; restaurants, menus, regional ones, Cajun/Creole COTM, what’s for dinner. Is there a thread dedicated just to making it?
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I’ve definitely found that the darker I make a roux, the less it thickens. I generally account for this by using a lot more flour to start with, or if I haven’t, I either add back a bit of flour very late in the game or use some extra file powder.
I’ve never tried freezing it and am intrigued - yours looks just fine. I think now that I’ll try a double shot next time and freeze the extra.
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That’s a good looking roux. I like a dark roux and usually thicken with some filé powder at the table.
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I do a very dark roux for my gumbo (personal taste) but it thickens as much as it should. The thing with gumbo is, it’s a soup, not a stew. (This is something I only really internalized when I moved to Louisiana.) The liquid should be more of a broth than a gravy. So a dark roux is just fine, because you don’t want it to be too thick anyway.
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I forgot about this because I haven’t done it in a while, but a method for reducing fat content is to make half (or even 1/4) of the required amount of roux with fat/flour in the pan, and meanwhile, shake the other half (or 3/4) of the flour in a jar with whatever your cooking liquid is to be so that it has a chance to fully hydrate. You need to simmer for at least a minute after it starts boiling to avoid the “raw flour” flavor.
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Freezing Dark Roux works just fine.
As said already traditionally Gumbo (especially with a Dark Roux/Cajun) is not very thick at all.
If you prefer it thicker then and some Flour that is not as cooked. I do think that adding raw Flour is not the best. I would give a couple of Minutes of cooking either dry or with the Dark Roux while reheating.
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Thank you. I now understand the sauce should be more like broth than gravy. ETA More like a soup.
What I did last night, before I realized that, was warm the defrosted roux until I thought it was as hot as it would be if made fresh, added the chopped trinity and fried, then added about 1/4 cup raw flour and cooked a minute or two, then some crab stock, and some chicken stock (both homemade, and tasty on their own), and simmered awhile before adding browned andouille. I added the shrimp later.
I thought it tasted a bit “flat”, especially for all the work involved, but husband thought it was great, and it perked up considerably with some “Frank’s” hot sauce. I think it was the vinegar that helped.
FWIW, I am more concerned about the carbs in the flour and rice/potato salad than the oil, so I don’t eat much of it.
Sounds great (Crab Stock!) hope you used your Shrimp Shells as well 
.
The lack of Salt and/or Acid is usually the culprit in tasting “Flat”.
I often add some Worcestershire as well.
You may want to look at some Creole Style Gumbos. They often contain Tomatoes and Okra and are not thickened with Flour (at least not much). Also not Dark
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is there confusion between
how thick is the roux
and
how well will the roux thicken a sauce?
it’s pretty well accepted that dark/brick roux do not thicken a sauce as well as lighter/blonde roux. my understanding the flour’ ability to swell&thicken changes when “browned” to the darker colors.
I do light/blonde roux “as needed” - but the darker roux needs time, so I typically make two (butter) sticks worth, allow it to cool in a shallow layer, chop up the thin roux patties and freeze. that allows me to use as many ‘dark roux chips’ as needed for the volume being prepared . . .
Add images here
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No, I just wanted to check with my fellow onions regarding what I was reading about the thickening ability of a dark roux. In my experience, “pretty well accepted” doesn’t always mean pretty well accepted on Hungry Onion! 
I’ve been working on getting my gumbo like I want it for years, but this is the first time I made such a dark one, and I was so proud I froze some!
OTOH, this is the first time I recall reading the finished gumbo should be “more like a soup than a stew”.
On a recent season of Top Chef the winner mentioned combining a light and dark roux, and that’s what made me think of adding some flour as I was “frying” the veg in the roux.
You are right the high Temp that is needed to caramelize the Starches actually breaks the Chains of Glucose that that are responsible for thickening Liquids.
one of the uttermost valuable “things” about first person instruction/course, is learning ‘what the heck the technique really is!’
when making a roux, it starts out nearly “white” - then tan/blonde, then milk-choclate brown.
and that’s where most stop, and call it ‘dark roux’ - which it ain’t . . .
another 30 minutes +/- and it hits the real gumbo ‘brick’ stage.
in the end, it’s about real experience vs. ‘book/internet learning’ - altho I must say, the internet often presents real life accurate videos by real life genuine cooks… but one has to be curious and persistent enough to research getting to ‘the real thing’
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