yakima and others…..In a chapter of his book, Paul Prudhomme has instructions for how to make a roux. In it he says to get the oil smoking hot before adding the flour, he says the same thing in his etouffe recipe. I agree that the oil needs to be hot before whisking in the flour, but I don’t agree it has to be smoking hot. I tried that once and found it to be a little nerve wracking when stirring in the flour…the foaming action of the flour and hot oil and the feeling that I had to stir really fast wasn’t for me. I came to the conclusion that it’s just as good for the oil to be about the same temps you use for frying something, 350*-375*. For everyone who’s experienced at making roux, just do it how you always do.
If you’ve already got PP’s cookbook, you might have noticed that I made a couple of changes in his etouffe instructions for making the roux. In his instructions he says to “start with a high heat and get the oil smoking hot”. I changed it to a medium heat. He also says to “continue cooking on high heat until done”. I changed it to….reduce the heat to a low to medium low heat until done. I felt there was no need to do it on a high heat because that could be pretty stressful for someone not as experienced as Paul Prudhomme and to also reduce the chances of someone burning their roux.
The only advantage I can see to making a roux on high heat is that it’s done quicker than at lower temps. Anyway, the small amount of roux that’s required for the etouffe is not going to take that long anyway. If you’re not experienced at making a roux, I promise you it’s not that hard at all! Once you’ve made your first roux you’ll probably wonder what all the fuss was about…..
If you’ve already got PP’s cookbook, you might have noticed that I made a couple of changes in his etouffe instructions for making the roux. In his instructions he says to “start with a high heat and get the oil smoking hot”. I changed it to a medium heat. He also says to “continue cooking on high heat until done”. I changed it to….reduce the heat to a low to medium low heat until done. I felt there was no need to do it on a high heat because that could be pretty stressful for someone not as experienced as Paul Prudhomme and to also reduce the chances of someone burning their roux.
The only advantage I can see to making a roux on high heat is that it’s done quicker than at lower temps. Anyway, the small amount of roux that’s required for the etouffe is not going to take that long anyway. If you’re not experienced at making a roux, I promise you it’s not that hard at all! Once you’ve made your first roux you’ll probably wonder what all the fuss was about…..
There’s other uses for this as well, but don’t spend a lot of money getting one…..it will slowly discolor and turn black. There’s a ton of them on Amazon for around $15. Here’s one I found with a quick search.
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