How to Make Roux for Gravy
With few exceptions, roux (pronounced "ruu") is required to make any gravy and many sauces.
So, what is roux? Roux is a mixture of flour and fat/oil that, after being slowly cooked over low heat, is used to thicken, color, and flavor gravy, soups and sauces.
There are three types of roux: white, blond and brown. The color and flavor is determined by the porportions of flour vs. oil, how long the mixture is cooked and the type fat or oil that is used.
Butter is used as the fat ingredient for making white or blond roux. The color is determined by how long the roux is cooked. White is cooked just until it begins to turn beige and the Blond until pale golden. Both are used to thicken cream and white sauces and light soups.
The bold-flavored brown roux can be made with any type fat/oil, but bacon drippings, pork or beef fat are more common. It's cooked to a deep golden brown and used for rich, dark, gravy, soups and sauces.
The proportion of fat to flour needed will vary, but a starting point of 50/50 can be used. For example: 3 tablespoons oil and 3 tablespoons flour. The basic procedure for making roux is to bring the fat to a slow simmer, then add flour a little at a time while stirring. The secret is in knowing when it "looks right". It just takes a little experience to know when it's right. You are looking for a paste that is colored according to the type gravy or sauce you want (white, blond, brown).
After the roux is made, to make gravy or sauce, some liquid, usually water, milk or stock is stirred into the roux while continuing to cook. The roux must be right before mixing any liquid into it. If it is too thin, thick or wrong color; you can not correct it later by adding oil or flour. After you add liquid to the roux, any flour or oil added at this point will ruin the gravy. Any added flour will become solid lumps of raw flour and any oil added will float on top of the gravy.
Making good gravy or sauce is not difficult, but it does take some practice. Just remember, the secret is in getting the roux right first. Then it's a matter of adding liquid and stirring until you get the perfect gravy.
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