How's this roux look?

tumbleweed1 · Nov 25, 2015

First of all, if there's a more proper forum for this topic we should move it. I just wasn't sure WHERE to ask this question.

I first attempted a roux a few years ago & to be honest, it didn't turn out. To say I was disappointed is an understatement, as we used to travel to Louisiana at least once a year to see my uncle & his family, who live in Ponchatoula. The wife & I really love the food down there, but for the past couple of years I've been using a dry roux at home (I know, I know....).

So I've been thinking about Jambalaya soon & I'm currently out of the dry stuff. I didn't want to buy any more until I tried making it again. Last night was the night. I used about half a cup of oil & a little more than a cup of flour. I stirred & babysat this stuff for about 30 minutes & did get it to turn darker, but not as dark as I would have liked. The daughter brought 3 little grand kids over & grandpa's time in the kitchen was shortened.

The smell was quite nutty, more so than I remember it being last time, but the consistency was better. I wanted to see what you all thought of the photos & get some input. Also, I've heard that the darker you go with it, the less ability it has to thicken a sauce, requiring using a little more of it than if it was lighter. Can anyone attest to that?

Thanks,

TW

After just a couple of minutes-

Roux 1.jpg

tumbleweed1
Nov 25, 2015

10-15 minutes in-

Roux 2.jpg

tumbleweed1
Nov 25, 2015

What I ended up with after about 30 minutes-

Roux 3.jpg

tumbleweed1
Nov 25, 2015

dirtsailor2003 · Nov 25, 2015

Looks fine to me! Now where's the jambalaya???

tropics · Nov 25, 2015

TW you could make that for me next time I do Gumbo.Looks good

Richie

tumbleweed1 · Nov 25, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
Looks fine to me! Now where's the jambalaya???

Thanks DS.

I'm thinking maybe Sunday on the jambalaya.

tropics said:
TW you could make that for me next time I do Gumbo.Looks good

Richie

Thanks, Rich.

It sounds then like it at least LOOKS right lol.

Now I have a stupid question. Most jambalaya recipes that DO call for a roux call for it to be made right then, the first step in the recipe, then adding the veggies to the warm roux to help cool it AND to flavor the veggies, but I am storing my roux & adding it cold. Well, not cold, as I didn't refrigerate. I understand that refrigeration is only required when the fat was either butter or bacon grease, or the like. Mine was vegetable oil, but I digress. My plan is to cook up my chicken, add the veggies, then the roux & beef stock & then the rice. How does that sound? Sorry for so many questions, but this will be the first time I ever tried the jambalaya using a roux that I made from scratch & I want to do it right.

TW

tropics · Nov 25, 2015

Warm it in another pot,you may even want to try making it darker.Personally I would put it in the fridge.

Richie

boykjo · Nov 25, 2015

Don't know much about roux but Ive seen eman make several roux's and he is a master roux maker and a great Cajun cook I might add........... Shoot bob (eman) a PM..... He'd be more than glad to offer some insight on roux making

Joe

eman · Nov 28, 2015

Looks like a roux to me?

first thing any roux i have made is equal parts fat and flour, 1 to 1

if you cook a roux to the color you have and then toss in a few handfuls of veggie mix . aka the trinity. onions bell pepper and celery. the veggies will caramelize and the roux will darken a good bit without burning. frozen veggie mix works fine if you don't feel like dicing veggies.

the roux can then be cooled and stored in the fridge for a week or so. Roux w/o veggies can be stored for a month w/ no problem.

If you are going to make a roux to cook with then you need to have your water or stock at hand . As soon as the veggies soften start adding liquid and stirring..

remember the darker the roux the more flavor but the less it will thicken.

never try to make a roux if you don't have time.

always use medium heat or less.

Boyko joe watched me make a roux for a gumbo for 100+ people stood at the stove and stirred 10 cups oil and 10 cups flour over low heat for 2.5 hrs.

Last thing i have cooked jambalaya for 4 to 200 folks and i have never heard of a roux being used in jambalaya.???

tumbleweed1 · Nov 28, 2015

tropics said:
Warm it in another pot,you may even want to try making it darker.Personally I would put it in the fridge.

Richie

Thanks Rich.

I went ahead & did put it in the fridge, although I usually don't. I want to see if it makes any difference.

eman said:
Looks like a roux to me?

first thing any roux i have made is equal parts fat and flour, 1 to 1

if you cook a roux to the color you have and then toss in a few handfuls of veggie mix . aka the trinity. onions bell pepper and celery. the veggies will caramelize and the roux will darken a good bit without burning. frozen veggie mix works fine if you don't feel like dicing veggies.

the roux can then be cooled and stored in the fridge for a week or so. Roux w/o veggies can be stored for a month w/ no problem.

If you are going to make a roux to cook with then you need to have your water or stock at hand . As soon as the veggies soften start adding liquid and stirring..

remember the darker the roux the more flavor but the less it will thicken.

never try to make a roux if you don't have time.

always use medium heat or less.

Boyko joe watched me make a roux for a gumbo for 100+ people stood at the stove and stirred 10 cups oil and 10 cups flour over low heat for 2.5 hrs.

Last thing i have cooked jambalaya for 4 to 200 folks and i have never heard of a roux being used in jambalaya.???

Thank you for the tips, eman. I appreciate it.

I found it curious that you hadn't heard of roux in jambalaya. When we come down to Louisiana to visit relatives we usually go into the Quarter, as I like eating at the Court of Two Sisters, the Coffee Pot Cafe & Sammie's on Bourbon. The thing I noticed there is that all the jambalaya around there is what my uncle calls "Creole" jambalaya, meaning it uses tomatoes. I really enjoy it, but then he took us southwest of the city into the more rural areas one year & the jambalaya there was drier, browner & more firm. There were also no tomatoes used in this jambalaya. which he referred to as "Cajun" jambalaya. The cook there said the secret was the roux. When I said that I thought roux was really more for gumbos & stews he told me he NEVER makes jambalaya without a roux because that's how he was taught. This Yankee wasn't going to argue! About 20 years ago, a gentleman from Lake Charles came up here to Illinois working construction & after enough northerners got a taste of his fine cooking, he opened a restaurant in Utica called the Cajun Connection. His technique also involves the roux. When I told him that's how I had preferred it down south, his reply was "you must have been out in boonies", as he says most people up here have never heard of it. I appreciate both with tomatoes & without, but really still prefer without. I'm just tired of using dry roux from Cajun Grocer, where I usually get it online.

Thanks,

TW

tumbleweed1 · Nov 29, 2015

Well today I used the roux & made some jambalaya, the one we refer to as "Cajun". I didn't get out this morning for sausage, but sometimes we just like it with chicken anywho. I add the roux just after softening my veggies. Turned out real good. This one is my favorite (with the roux) while the wife likes both this & what we call "Creole" (with tomato). I'm just happy to have used my own roux rather than the dry stuff.

TW

Cajun Jambalaya 7- done.jpg

tumbleweed1
Nov 29, 2015

b-one · Nov 29, 2015

Looks tasty to me! I prefer no tomatoes.

tumbleweed1 · Nov 29, 2015

b-one said:
Looks tasty to me! I prefer no tomatoes.

Thanks.

I prefer it this way too, but sometimes the wife requests Creole & that's ok, too.

Here's a pic of that one-

Jambalaya 4- done.jpg

tumbleweed1
Nov 29, 2015

TW

b-one · Nov 29, 2015

Tumbleweed1 said:
b-one said:

Looks tasty to me! I prefer no tomatoes.

Click to expand...

Thanks.
I prefer it this way too, but sometimes the wife requests Creole & that's ok, too.
Here's a pic of that one-

Jambalaya 4- done.jpg

tumbleweed1

Nov 29, 2015

TW

Looks tasty as well!

rgdoherty · Nov 29, 2015

That's a good looking "light Roux" I make a darker Roux, black iron on the camp stove, some oil add flower until and stir CONSTANTLY. Get to the color and smell I want take it off heat, still stirring, the black iron is still cooking it, DON'T stop stirring for about 5 minutes then let rest for about 15 minutes, pour off excess oil, spoon Roux that you're needing now for Jambalya or Etouffee or Gumbo, put the rest into a mason jar and refrigerate. It will keep for up to a year.

eman · Nov 29, 2015

What i cook is a jambalaya that is like you had away from the city, it is one where the individual games of rice separate when done right. I have never heard of a roux being used but i will talk to some of my mentors and see what part of the state does this. Lots of local variations in south Louisiana

tumbleweed1 · Nov 29, 2015

b-one said:
Looks tasty as well!

Thank you sir.

It works good.

RGDoherty said:
That's a good looking "light Roux" I make a darker Roux, black iron on the camp stove, some oil add flower until and stir CONSTANTLY. Get to the color and smell I want take it off heat, still stirring, the black iron is still cooking it, DON'T stop stirring for about 5 minutes then let rest for about 15 minutes, pour off excess oil, spoon Roux that you're needing now for Jambalya or Etouffee or Gumbo, put the rest into a mason jar and refrigerate. It will keep for up to a year.

Thanks RG. I would have liked to go darker, but that's when the grand kids popped in & stirring wasn't going to be an option anymore. I was really going to need to pay attention, as the last time I had made it, I burned it after about I had about 45 minutes into it! This time I only got to get about 30 minutes in. I believe I'll use some more of this batch to thicken up some taco soup I'll soon be making again. Being that it's not a real dark roux I assume it will go farther?

eman said:
What i cook is a jambalaya that is like you had away from the city, it is one where the individual games of rice separate when done right. I have never heard of a roux being used but i will talk to some of my mentors and see what part of the state does this. Lots of local variations in south Louisiana

OK, then that is what I know as "Cajun". And it's not like we covered a lot of area down there, so maybe it was regional type thing or something. I'm pretty sure the 6 or 7 places in the Quarter where I've eaten jambalaya over the years would be what I know as "Creole" due to the use of tomatoes & possibly no roux. I have to admit, I haven't been down there now since 2010 I believe. My uncle's been on my butt about it & believe me, I love to get back down there soon. Thanks for the tips again.

TW

eman · Nov 30, 2015

I talked to many folks that i learned from and the only thing we can come up with is 1 they are calling the vegetable trinity the roux which we have heard before

2 they are using a dry roux powder which some say helps the seasoning stick to the rice?

Here is a jambalaya calculator i found that will help on the cajun jam.

http://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2014/09/the_jambalaya_calculator_is_a.html

hamrhead1971 · Nov 30, 2015

Tumbleweed1 said:
Thanks.
I prefer it this way too, but sometimes the wife requests Creole & that's ok, too.
Here's a pic of that one-

Jambalaya 4- done.jpg

tumbleweed1

Nov 29, 2015

TW

I have to add my 2 cents here. That looks tasty, but I have covered the entire state of Louisiana extensively over the past ten years with my work and I have never seen a jambalaya that looks like your picture. Every jambalaya I have ever seen is like what Eman is discribing.

mikey nc · Dec 1, 2015

In my experience I've seen both ,even with enough tomatoes. You'll never see a light roux ,we used 5gal.buckets of roux in carencro,la , & 1200 lbs. Of konrico rice a day

mikey nc · Dec 1, 2015

And it depends on how much you rinse the rice ,beforehand as to what type rice you come out with if it was rice we used from Louisiana

eman · Dec 3, 2015

Never rinsed any rice???

How's this roux look?

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