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?”.
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.
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.
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.
But maybe don’t expect to get paid for your time? Your intellect?
I don’t expect to get paid for anything I do when I am cooking at home. It’s truly a labor of love.
And no one, even if they had all the money in the world, would ever pay for my intellect. It really is that worthless. Maybe more so.
I’m signing off for tonight.
I’ve made plenty of GF roux for bechamel with rice flour without issue, but not dark roux.
For dark roux, you can add besan / indian gram flour — it becomes nutty and dark as it cooks. You probably don’t want all the flour used to be that as it has a distinct flavor, but a blend of that and rice would work well.
Thanks.
I never thought of using Besan, good idea.
Thanks everyone! I did end up using the oven method and was happy, as usual, with the results. It also have me time to prep the vegetables, sausage, and shrimp. I must admit to a lingering curiosity about the slow cooker method. Maybe I will try that later this summer when I can keep an eye on it all day…
Well, getting the stuff out of the jar is hard work. It calls for a restorative adult beverage.
This is a very highly utilized product here in Louisiana. I don’t think I’ve ever seen jarred roux anywhere else, but down here, people most definitely use it without shame.
Excellent. My mom was from Louisiana, and I spent a lot of time there as a kid, but in the north, so gumbo was something I only had I a restaurant (and i loved it).
Bryant Terry uses millet flour to make roux in his book Vegetable Kingdom, but I haven’t tried any of those particular recipes. Besan flour also sounds good.
Thanks for the thought. I’ve tried Besan roux, but it leaves a “beany” flavor to me, which is OK or not depending on what you’re using it for. Never tried millet though.
I know that some will likely see this as cheating, but I often, even usually, use potato starch to make a roux. I don’t do it because I’m trying to be gluten-free, but because it’s convenient, fast and I’ve never had an issue with lumps/clumps.
In addition to it being gluten-free, I’ve never had a problem with insects getting in it like with flour nor had it go stale or had a raw flour taste in the roux after making it.
When I make tuna gratin (similar to tuna noodle casserole) here in Japan, I will use the oil from the can of tuna instead of butter to make the roux as it’s flavorful and I don’t have to throw away the oil that way.
However, it doesn’t brown all that much so for those who are trying to get a dark roux, it may not be the way to go.
Crab gravy? Is it just white gravy with crab in it? I find this enticing. Biscuits and crab gravy sounds like a hit. Any recipe you go off of?
With you John. CI is roux love.
No recipe. Light roux, cream, capers, cayenne, and Tabasco.
Our tuna water/oil goes to the 15+#, black male pussycat. He laps it up and has the most amazing coat and no hairballs.
