A roux is one of those handy fix-it tricks that every home chef should have in their back pocket. If you have ever found yourself with a watery sauce, stew, or soup, a roux can save your meal! It is very quick and easy, and uses only ingredients that you almost certainly have in your home anyway. Roux comes from the French, and means, quite simply: fat and flour that are cooked together and used to thicken. For this recipe, I used butter, flour, and chicken stock.
If you need to though, you can substitute other ingredients, like pan drippings from a roast, or chicken, bacon drippings, etc. I always recommend that you use a fat that will become a solid if chilled, so in other words, not vegetable oil! It only takes a few minutes, and it is a great way to add some flavor and richness to your dish, if it needs a little help.
Start by melting butter in a heavy skillet or heavy-bottomed saucepan, over medium heat.
When the butter has melted, add an equivalent amount of flour to the melted butter. (e.g. 4 tbs butter = 4 tbs flour)
Stir, until the butter and flour are totally incorporated.
It will probably look a little lumpy, and kind of messy at this point. Don’t panic, it’s totally fine. The butter and flour are just getting to know each other. Just give it a moment.
See? Much better. Now stir, the roux, and keep stirring it every few seconds, lest it burn. Which would be so very sad. Almost as sad as an undercooked roux, which might thicken your sauce or stew, but won’t give it much flavor.
By giving your roux several minutes to cook on the stovetop, the flour-y taste will cook out of the roux, and you will achieve a depth of flavor that you can’t get with anything else but time. So just keep stirring and waiting until your roux achieves a lovely deep tan to light brown color. You can let it get pretty dark without worrying about it burning, as long as you keep stirring it.
Add your liquid (e.g. chicken stock, beef broth, wine, milk, etc.) to your roux, a bit at a time, whisking constantly to work out the lumps.
Let simmer over medium heat for five minutes or so, and salt/pepper to taste.
Once your roux has finished cooking, you can incorporate it into your dish. Or, keep going with it and add a few more ingredients, because a roux makes a fantastic base for many, many recipes. Gravies, gumbos, bechamel, the sky is the limit. Just whisk it into your sauce or stew and voila, dinner is saved, and you are a culinary hero!
