What Is A Roux And How To Make It?

Roux (ru) is a cooked mixture of equal parts by weight of wheat flour and fat, traditionally butter, cooked for a brief period of time to remove the starchy, raw taste from the flour. It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking such as Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Velouté, and Sauce Espagnole.

Butter, vegetable oils, or lard are the common fats that are used. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. In some production kitchens, large amounts of Roux are prepared and held for use as needed. In smaller kitchens, home chefs may make Roux as required for each recipe.

Roux Recipe

Preparation Time: 2 minutes           Cooking Time: 2 to 3 minutes           Yield:  thicken 4 cups liquid

Ingredients
3.5 oz butter
3.5 oz flour 

Preparation Steps:

The fat is heated in a pot or pan, melt it if necessary, then the flour is added. The mixture is whisked until the flour is incorporated and then cooked until at least the point where a raw flour taste is no longer apparent and until desired color has been reached. The final results can range from the nearly white to brown, depending on the length of time it is over the heat and its intended use. The end result is a thickening and flavoring agent.

Roux is most often made with butter as the fat base but it may be made with any edible fat. In the case of meat gravies, they are often made with rendered fat from the meat. In regional American cuisine, bacon is sometimes fried to produce fat to use in the Roux. Vegetable oil is often used when producing dark Roux as it does not burn at high temperatures like butter does.

When combining Roux with water-based liquids, such as broth or milk, it is important to avoid the formation of lumps that occurs if these liquids are excessively hot. It is preferable to add room temperature or warm liquid into a moderately hot or warm Roux. They should be added in small quantities to the Roux while stirring, to ensure proper mixing. Otherwise, the mixture will be very lumpy, not homogeneous and not properly thickened.

There are three types of Roux: white, blond and brown. (see next)