Instant Roux saves a lot of time and effort
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First, you make a roux.
That's the beginning sentence of the directions you'll see in many southern {especially Louisiana or Creole} recipes.
What's a roux? A roux is a mixture of flour and fat {usually oil, bacon grease, or butter} that is used to thicken a sauce or soup/stew and add flavor. A roux is typically made by stirring flour into the heated fat.
To make gumbo, shrimp creole, or crawfish etouffee, you'll need to make a roux.
And while they aren't that complicated, they can be tedious and time-consuming. They require patience - patience that I don't typically have.
Having to make a roux can be a major deterrent when you want to make a recipe. If you've ever burned a roux, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't then lucky you.
I was at Nan's house this weekend for Easter and we were discussing the cookbook we are creating together. We were talking about roux and the like, and she showed me this jarred instant roux that she had.
Basically, it was just seasoned and cooked flour. This might sound silly or pointless but if you've ever spent 30 minutes constantly whisking your roux to a golden brown color and then walked away for 16 seconds only to have it burn {and consequently have to start all over}, you will understand the beauty that is Instant Roux.
There are store-bought options for roux and instant roux, but I prefer to make it myself since it's much more budget-friendly.
So, I made my own Instant Roux using whole wheat pastry flour, salt, and some spices. It was incredibly simple, but like making a roux, you'll need to stand by your skillet and stir constantly.
The beauty is that you only have to do it once to get enough Instant Roux for multiple uses. I keep the Instant Roux in the refrigerator in a glass jar and it keeps for quite a while.
Whole wheat pastry flour has a higher percentage of starch so it is good for making a roux. I have used regular whole wheat and it wasn't as good. You can also use all-purpose flour.
To use in a recipe, you'll just mix equal parts Instant Roux with water and add to the cooked veggies.
For example, when making gumbo, add butter or other fat and saute veggies. Then stir in the Instant Roux. Slowly incorporate additional liquid as needed.
Remember to stand by your skillet and whisk or stir this constantly. When using the cast iron skillet, I recommend a wooden spoon because I didn't want to scrape the skillet using a wire whisk.
If you use a Dutch oven, you can probably use either. As for size, the bigger the skillet or Dutch oven the better so flour doesn't get pushed out of the pan. For an 8-inch skillet, you don't want to use more than one cup.
This takes about 25 minutes but it's worth every second.
Note: I've seen and heard of people baking their flour in the oven but I can't vouch for that as I have never done it. Let me know if you do and maybe I'll test it out...
Instant Roux
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour *see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
Instructions
- Add flour to a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Turn the heat to medium/medium-low and stir constantly until it turns a golden brown color, should take about 25-35 minutes.
- Stir in salt, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and white pepper.
- Remove from heat and transfer to waxed paper or parchment paper to cool.
- Once completely cool, transfer to glass jars.
Notes
Meme
Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil)
Oh I love everything about this (and need to hear more about this cookbook you're doing with your Nan!) Some of my very favorite foods that you listed - gumbo, etouffee, etc - of course need that roux. Never thought to have some made-ahead!
Meme
Thanks Deanna!! I'll have to do a post on my Dad's amazing gumbo and some other southern dishes using roux for you 🙂
Glenda @ Healthy Stories
I've never heard of instant roux before. What a great idea to make your own. I'll have to give this one a go.
Nina @ Whats for eats
How funny that you have posted a recipe for instant roux! I was just reading up on what makes an authentic gumbo on a website for a New Orleans food joint called Po' Boy Quarter here in Australia (I am not sure how authentic Po' Boy's food is as I haven't been to New Orleans to compare - but I think it is delicious!) I have only made roux when making cheese sauce for my lasagne - I didn't realise you could make it in advance and keep it on hand.
MsGigi
Does this instant roux give you a dark chocolate roux, Please let me know.
Thanks
Meme
I would say that you'd probably want to cook it a little longer in the fat when you are making your dish. It's more of a light brown rue. Hope that helps!
YoNea Cummings
This is also called a dry roux and as with wet rouxs you can bake it till it’s the color you want.. So bake it to dark chocolate stirring every 15-20 minutes so it won’t burn.. This is definitely better than having an oily gumbo or whatever.. Thanks for sharing !