This Roux Recipe is a Must for Home Cooks! (2024)

FAQs

What type of roux is cooked just enough to cook the raw taste of flour for 4 6 mins? ›

White Roux:

The lightest and least cooked roux, white roux is made by cooking equal parts of butter and flour until the raw flour taste disappears. It is commonly used as a thickening agent for delicate sauces like béchamel or velouté.

Unlike a cornstarch slurry, roux must be cooked before adding hot liquid (otherwise the dish may retain the taste of raw flour). The longer a roux cooks, the less potent its thickening power, but what develops is a flavorful base that adds nutty, rich dimension to countless stews and sauces.

Two reasons. First, a roux is useful for cooking the raw flavor out of the starch, which leads to better flavor and aroma in the final dish. And second, when you combine the starch with a fat, each starch granule becomes coated in the fat.

White and blond roux are the most common, used to thicken sauces, soups, and chowders. Brown and dark brown roux have more flavor, but less thickening power than white or blond roux.

A roux is a sauce built on a simple ratio of 1 part butter to 1 part flour. You start by melting butter, then add in flour, and cook the mixture over low heat until it's thick and lump-free. At this point, most recipes will instruct you to slowly add a liquid such as broth or milk, and this is where the magic happens.

You're Turning Up the Heat Too Much

There's no coming back from a burned roux—it'll add an acrid, unpleasant note to the dish that you just worked so hard to make.

They may be called "blond," "peanut-butter," "brown," or "chocolate" roux depending on their color. The darker the color, the richer the flavor.

Word to the wise: Butter will almost certainly burn while making a darker roux, so opt for a fat with a higher smoke point, like vegetable oil, and don't stop stirring until you reach your desired color.

Stir: Warm up your arm because a good roux needs to be stirred constantly to avoid burning. You'll be able to smell if it burns and it will need to be restarted. The trick is to keep stirring, and don't turn the heat to high.

What are common mistakes when making roux? ›

Too much flour and your sauce will be too thick. Too much fat and it won't be thick enough. The ratio will depend on what you want to use your roux for, but the classic roux for thickening sauces is a one-to-one ratio of flour and butter.

Cornstarch should not be cooked into a roux. Using flour as a thickener will make the sauce opaque and cloudy while cornstarch leaves a shiny, more translucent finish. This is a desirable feature for fruit pie fillings and certain sauces, especially in Chinese stir-fries.

Word to the wise: Butter will almost certainly burn while making a darker roux, so opt for a fat with a higher smoke point, like vegetable oil, and don't stop stirring until you reach your desired color.

Melt 1 part butter or fat in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Then sprinkle in 1 part flour. Stir the butter and flour constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-eight motion for even cooking. In 3 to 5 minutes, you'll have a light roux that should puff slightly.