**How to make and use a roux**
Source: [Bon Appetit]( https://video.bonappetit.com/watch/make-a-roux-for-every-recipe)
A roux is **equal parts (by weight) fat and flour**. So for example, 100g of butter + 100g of flour = 200 g of roux. It’s a thickener and can be a flavoring agent, too. If you can make a roux, you will have the foundation for a lot of good things!
How it’s used:
For a béchamel sauce (milk-based sauce thickened with roux) the general rule is 1:1:10. So if you use 100g of flour and 100g of butter you’d then use 1 liter of milk.
But if you’re just looking to make a sauce or gravy, here are the general guidelines for proportion:
For very light sauces, use around 86 grams of roux per liter of liquid
For medium-bodied sauces, use 114 g of roux per liter
And for a thicker sauce, 170 g of roux per liter
Classic “mother” sauces that use a roux:
Brown sauce made with brown stock and mirepoix, thickened with roux
Some versions of **Sauce Tomat** also call for roux
That medium roux in the gif (which I’ve heard called a peanut butter roux and I quite like that) is actually great for etouffée, in my opinion. When judging color, I like to use this [handy roux color chart for reference]
If you don’t feel like standing there for a million years but you want a very dark roux, you can do it in the oven in a Dutch oven. Combine the ingredients well, stick in the oven at 350F and stir every 20 minutes or so. You’ll have a nice deep roux in about 90 minutes.
Note, you don’t have to use butter! You can use oil, you can use bacon fat, it all depends on the flavors you’re working with.
EDIT: And as pointed out, clarified butter (or a high smoke point oil) is better for darker roux because you don’t want the protein in the butter to burn.
Fun facts:
The darker the roux the weaker thickening power.
As roux darkens it gives off a distinct nutty scent.
White roux should be cooked just long enough that it no longer tastes like flour.
For darker brown roux use clarified butter or vegetable oil because whole butter will burn.
To make clarified butter heat whole butter just enough for it to melt and separate. Skim off the floating solids and spoon out the transparent gold colored liquid into a different container. Be careful not to spoon any of the white solids that settle on the bottom. The liquid is your clarified butter which has a higher smoke point than whole butter.
Source: Culinary school 🙂