Roux or not to Roux, what was the question?

Who do roux?  If you can make milk gravy, then you can & have made a roux, it's that easy!

white                   blond

 caramel               dark

There are various grades & uses for roux; there's 4 basic grades "white, blond, brown & black." ( some say "light brown & dark brown ) Above are a fairly good representation of the colors when I make them.  I refer to them as "white, blond, caramel, & dark roux."  The only real difference in making the different colors, is how long you cook the flour & fat base.  Roux is a way of thickening, while controlling & enhancing the flavor as well as adding color.  Basically, roux is made buy cooking ( frying ) equal amounts of flour & fat ( butter, oil or meat drippings ) in our case, veg. oil., unless I state to use another.  Also, if I vary any roux color from above, I'll always associate the color with something like ( tan like a chocolate chip cookie, caramel, or milk chocolate.)  It's usually best to make more than you think you'll actually need, just in case.  If you use as much roux as I do, you can make large batches once a week or so, refrigerate & use as needed.  When you cook the flour this way, you get rid of that pasty raw flour taste & give it a nutty flavor, which enhances as it gets darker.  When to add the roux, depends on various things like, the recipe', cooking technique &/or proteins being used.  A lot of recipe's start with the roux 1st, using butter or oil, then the "Holy Trinity" ( celery, onion, bell pepper ) Usually, fried & roasted protein recipe's, make the roux using the meat drippings after it's done. "example, Chicken fried steak & white 'peppercorn' gravy."  This technique is the easiest; after the protein is cooked (chicken, turkey, steaks, bacon...) just add an equal amount of flour to the meat drippings & cook until you have the proper color roux for the dish.  For a white peppercorn gravy,  thro a few cracked corns in with the flour & cook until blond, let cool a few min.s, add a little salt, & temper in a little cream, then slowly the milk & cook till thickened.

As for my Gumbo, we're adding a ^ modestly dark roux ^ after the trinity & spices, shortly before the protein.  As you can see above, it's a little darker than caramel, but lighter than milk chocolate.   Also, don't let it get hot enough to smoke, making roux over medium-mhigh heat & slower is better, & take into account that you are getting the mix REALLY hot & should pull it off the heat just a little lighter in color than what your wanting, for it will continue to cook a little while & get darker. ( it's best to continue to stir for few min.s after wards.)
 Last, if you make a large batch for a week or 2 supply, let it cool & you'll notice the flour settles to the bottom ( into thick paste ) leaving the oil on top. I drain off the "clearer" excess & mix the rest back up & store in old margarine tub/frig.  For later use, add necessary amount of roux to drippings, or put in glass bowl with a cup of water & heat in microwave to about 200 deg. F, mix well, then use after trinity. 
That being said, below is an instructional video of a Chef showing how to make a roux; you should watch him, he did a good job explaining & showing how easy it is!

Good Luck! &
Enjoy, Todd

Seafood Gumbo w/ smoked Andouille sausage

Here's my Seafood Gumbo recipe.  I put this together about 25 yrs ago, I have tweaked  it very little since then.  I had to lower the pepper content so that my Yankee friends could handle it, lol. It's very authentic & as good if not better that most you'll find.  Cajun food pushes the seasonings to the limit, ensuring to give you the most robust eating experience possible; I get a lot of compliments with this dish!  I hope you enjoy!

Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs raw shrimp (35-40 ct) w/shells (& heads if available), deveined & peeled
• 1/2 lb scallops, marble sized
• 1 can white lump crab meat (or fresh soft shell if available) 
• 5 cups Seafood Stock (instructions below)
• 1/2 lb Andouille smoked sausage (or good smoked polish) sliced & cut into 1/2 moon pieces
• 1 stick of margarine
• 2 1/2 cups diced yellow onion (vadalia if available)
• 2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 tbs minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp red pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 3 tbs gumbo file'
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried sweat basil
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1.5 tbs Garlic powder
• 1.5 tbs Onion powder
• 1-1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 4 tsp Tabasco sauce
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes (canned)
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 4-5 cups cooked rice 
• 6 tbs modest dark roux ( Roux instructions )

Seafood stock;

Using large pot, boil 7 cups of water with shrimp shells (? heads) & all (liquids from canned crab & scallops) for about an hr., boiling down level to about 5 cups.  Strain out shells, & if necessary, may add enough water to bring level up to the necessary 5 cups!

Instructions;

A.) Using at least a 4 qt pot, melt 1 stick of margarine, then add:

• 2 1/2 cups diced yellow onion (vidalia if available)
• 2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 tbs minced garlic

B.) & saute' on high for 10 min.s, then add the following combined spices:

• 1/2 tsp red pepper
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 3 tbs gumbo file'
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 1/4 tsp dried sweat basil
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1-1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp sweet paprika

C.) & saute' on high for 10 min.s, stirring constantly, then add;

• 1 cup crushed tomatoes (canned)
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 4 tsp Tabasco sauce

D) & simmer on medium for 15 min.s, stirring constantly.
E) Add 6 tbs. of a modest dark roux & 1 cup of the seafood stock, stirring constantly until thoroughly mixed; then proceed to step #1 below.
( Roux instructions )

1. Add 5 cups, or the remaining seafood stock "on medium high" & slowly bring to a boil, stirring lightly. 
2. Then reduce heat to low & simmer for 30 min.s, stirring every 5-10 min.s or so. 
3. Next, in a frying pan, brown the smoked sausage, then add it to the gumbo.  
4. Seafood cooks very quickly, so bring the gumbo back to a boil, then add all the seafood & give it a quick stir, then cover & remove from heat.  Leave set for 15 min.s, to poach the seafood!
5. Spoon 1 heaping cup of gumbo over 1/2 cup of cooked rice & serve with lots of french bread! 

Feeds 6 - 8 people when served with french bread; 8 - 10 people when severed with salad, french bread & corn on the cob.  (about 45 min.s prep time, around 2 1/2 hrs total.)

Enjoy!!  Todd