Making roux bugs me. I spend the half hour or so stirring and thinking of all the things around the house that are not being attended to because I am stirring. Also that it is a half hour or so of my life that I will never, ever get back.
A recent gumbo test recipe from Cook’s Illustrated included an intriguingly different method: it’s baked, not stirred. No kidding.
This is now my go-to roux.
· Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350º.
· In a Dutch oven over medium heat, toast ¾ cup flour, stirring constantly, until it’s just beginning to brown. This takes about five minutes and when it happens, it happens quick, so you have to watch it like a hawk.
· Remove from heat and whisk in ½ cup vegetable oil until smooth.
· Cover, put it in the oven, and bake “until mixture smells toasty and is the color of an old penny” – 45 minutes. Remove from the oven.
From here, you can either:
· Gradually whisk liquid from a soup or stew into this, until it’s thick but blendable, then add it back into your stew pot; or
· Return to stovetop, whisk to combine, sauté onions/carrots/celery etc. right in the roux, and continue to build your stew from there.
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