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Cajun Roux


White Roux Is Simply Butter Or Margarine And Flour. This Is The Base Of White Sauces, Cream Sauces And White Or Sawmill Gravy. It Is Made By Melting Butter And Adding Flour And Blending Completely. In This Case There Is Usually More Butter Than Flour. For Every Tablespoon Of Butter You Add 1½ Tablespoons Of Flour.


Tight Roux (light Brown Or Medium) Is Used Primarily To Thicken Although It Is Flavourful As Well. This Is Made With Either Butter Or Oil And Flour (although Butter Is Recommended). Equal Parts Of Butter And Flour Are Used To Achieve This Roux. Melt Butter (or Heat Oil) And Add Flour. Whisk Together And Continue On Medium Heat Until Mixture Thickens And Becomes A Paper Bag Brown Colour.


Dark Roux Is Possibly The Most Used Roux In Cajun Cooking. There Are Several Opinions About The Colour Of A Dark Roux. I Use A Very Dark Coloured Roux (about The Colour Of Dark Chocolate) And Have A Definite Style Of Preparing It. Most Say To Mix Equal Amounts Of Oil (do Not Use Butter, And Use An Oil That Can Stand Up To High Heat, I.e. Peanut Oil Or Canola), And Flour, But As You Become Familiar With The Process I Suggest You Increase The Flour To Oil Proportion By About 20%.

It Is Important That You Understand The Importance Of A Successfully Completed Roux. Since It Is An Integral Part Of A Lot Of Cajun Recipes You Must Not Scorch Or Burn The Roux. When You First Begin To Make Roux You Will Experience A Very Distinctive Smell. In Fact, The Completed Roux Will Have A Slightly Burned Flour Smell. If You Follow The Instructions To The Letter You Will Not Burn The Roux. You Must Use Patience In This Process. If You Are Not Patient You Will Surely Burn The Roux Or Will Not Complete The Desired Colour. Once You Have Mastered The Process This Smell Will Become Pleasant To You And All In Your Household, Because The Smell Means Something Good Is Coming From The Kitchen.

Heat Oil Slightly Hot. Add Flour And Blend With The Utensil Of Your Choice ( Most People Say A Wooden Spoon, Some Use A Metal Spatula, I Use A Wire Whisk). You Must Whisk Or Stir The Mixture, Constantly Scraping The Bottom And Edges Until Roux Is Completed? Keep On High Heat Until Flour Begins To Brown. When The Oil Begins To Smoke You Must Reduce Heat To Medium Or Medium High (depending On Your Skill) And Continue To Whisk Or Stir Until The Roux Gets To A Dark Brown Colour. At This Stage You Can Do A Couple Of Things. You Can Remove The Roux From Heat And Stir Until The Roux Is Cool Enough To Stop Darkening, If You Choose This Process You Must Remove The Roux Before You Reach The Desired Colour. It Will Progress To A Darker Colour Because Of The Heat That Is Retained In The Oil. The Other Option Is To Remove From Heat When The Roux Is Almost The Colour You Want And Add Chopped Fresh Onion To The Hot Roux And Stir Until The Onions Stop Steaming. (caution! The Steam From The Onions Will Burn You If You Are Not Careful). I Use The Latter Method.