Roux and how to use it.

senior chef

Senior Member
Roux, a French name for a cooked mixture of fat (usually butter) and an equal amount of flour.

Let's say, for example, you want to make a sausage gravy to top off your biscuits.
This is actually quite simple.

2 TBLSP butter
2 TBLSP flour
2cups whole milk
4-5 ounces of cooked breakfast sausage, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper (like a hotter sausage gravy ? Just add more pepper.)
1/8 tsp sage
1/8 tsp thyme
I bay leaf
salt to taste.
Over the LOWEST heat, melt butter in a small pan
Add flour and using a wire whip, stir until it becomes a light tan. (you have just made a roux)
Add milk, keep using wire whip
Add remaining ingredients. Continue to whip.
As the sauce/gravy heats up, it will thicken up. Keep heating and whipping until sauce/gravy is completely thickened.
Turn off heat, cover and let the ingredients marinate.
Fish out bay leaf and throw away.
Taste and add more salt if you like
**********************************
Pour sausage gravy on top of hot biscuits.
If there are any Brits reading this, when I say biscuits, I do NOT mean sweet cookies.

Backing up to the 1st step, making the roux. Once made, you can go in many different directions. You can easily make chicken gravy, beef gravy, pork gravy, or a white sauce known as a Béchamel. But those are for a different day.
 

Roux, a French name for a cooked mixture of fat (usually butter) and an equal amount of flour.

Let's say, for example, you want to make a sausage gravy to top off your biscuits.
This is actually quite simple.

2 TBLSP butter
2 TBLSP flour
2cups whole milk
4-5 ounces of cooked breakfast sausage, chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper (like a hotter sausage gravy ? Just add more pepper.)
1/8 tsp sage
1/8 tsp thyme
I bay leaf
salt to taste.
Over the LOWEST heat, melt butter in a small pan
Add flour and using a wire whip, stir until it becomes a light tan. (you have just made a roux)
Add milk, keep using wire whip
Add remaining ingredients. Continue to whip.
As the sauce/gravy heats up, it will thicken up. Keep heating and whipping until sauce/gravy is completely thickened.
Turn off heat, cover and let the ingredients marinate.
Fish out bay leaf and throw away.
Taste and add more salt if you like
**********************************
Pour sausage gravy on top of hot biscuits.
If there are any Brits reading this, when I say biscuits, I do NOT mean sweet cookies.

Backing up to the 1st step, making the roux. Once made, you can go in many different directions. You can easily make chicken gravy, beef gravy, pork gravy, or a white sauce known as a Béchamel. But those are for a different day.
You're most welcome, Becky. I guess not many folks are interested in real cookin'.
 
It may not be lack of interest as much as the audience. Most of us have been cooking for a half century or more.

For sausage gravy I make a rough roux by cooking the sausage and sprinkling the flour directly into the frying pan to absorb the sausage grease and its flavor. Stir, season, cook for a minute or two and gradually stir in milk, stock or water, adjust seasonings and serve.

When I was a kid this type of gravy was usually served over boiled or baked potatoes.

In the winter dried codfish gravy was another inexpensive milk based gravy meal, today the price of dried codfish would put it into the luxury category.

I enjoy your posts about food.

My particular interest is simple inexpensive meals or meal ideas for one or two people.
 

It may not be lack of interest as much as the audience. Most of us have been cooking for a half century or more.

For sausage gravy I make a rough roux by cooking the sausage and sprinkling the flour directly into the frying pan to absorb the sausage grease and its flavor. Stir, season, cook for a minute or two and gradually stir in milk, stock or water, adjust seasonings and serve.

When I was a kid this type of gravy was usually served over boiled or baked potatoes.

In the winter dried codfish gravy was another inexpensive milk based gravy meal, today the price of dried codfish would put it into the luxury category.

I enjoy your posts about food.

My particular interest is simple inexpensive meals or meal ideas for one or two people.
Thank you, Aunt Bea. I appreciate it.
Just for general interest, Cajun/Creole cooks cook their roux until it is a deep , dark brown and then use it in a wide variety of Cajun/Creole dishes, like gumbos and etouffees.
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Thank you, Aunt Bea. I appreciate it.
Just for general interest, Cajun/Creole cooks cook their roux until it is a deep , dark brown and then use it in a wide variety of Cajun/Creole dishes.
Some cooks call that a peanut butter roux because of the nutty brown color.

I haven’t made it in years but I seem to remember that it can be refrigerated for those times when you only need a tablespoon or two.

I’m curious about using potato starch as a thickener but I hate to add another seldom used item to my pantry.

I understand that it is similar to a cornstarch slurry but it thickens soups or sauces on contact with the hot liquid.
 
Some cooks call that a peanut butter roux because of the nutty brown color.

I haven’t made it in years but I seem to remember that it can be refrigerated for those times when you only need a tablespoon or two.

I’m curious about using potato starch as a thickener but I hate to add another seldom used item to my pantry.

I understand that it is similar to a cornstarch slurry but it thickens soups or sauces on contact with the hot liquid.
Yes, using potato starch will thicken most any soup, stew, sauce, gravy etc.
Personally, I don't keep a stock of potato starch. If I need something that thickens but still leaves a slightly clear coating, I use a corn starch slurry.
Potato starch is a gluten free alternative.
Many articles on google about potato starch.
 
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In the winter dried codfish gravy was another inexpensive milk based gravy meal, today the price of dried codfish would put it into the luxury category.
Thanks for the reminder, Aunt Bea. We didn't know about finnan haddie until we moved to New England several decades ago. Creamed finnan haddie quickly became a huge family favorite. At the time it was easy to find and relatively inexpensive. I haven' t seen finnan haddie in the stores for a very long time now.
 
When it comes to making a basic white sauce, a TV chef once suggested 'cheating'. Instead of making a roux, you can simply put milk, flour and a knob of butter into a saucepan and heat it on the hob - stirring all the time. As it nears boiling, it will thicken into a smooth white sauce and you can add other ingredients - cheese, mustard etc as you wish. The only time I use a roux is when I'm filling savoury pies and I want to thicken the sauce.

Some years ago, a baker marketed a brand of flour especially for making sauce this way. It was useless and soon disappeared from shops.
 

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