From Wikipedia:

Roux (/ˈruː/) is a cooking mixture of wheat flour and fat (traditionally butter). It is the thickening agent of three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: sauce béchamel, sauce velouté and sauce espagnole. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight.^[1] When used in Italian food, roux is traditionally equal parts of butter and flour.

After that first recipe, I learned what happens when you burn your roux (it tastes just like it looks, BURNT). I also learned what happens when you make too much of it for your recipe.

When you can master the power of the roux, you can make any white creamy sauce (that’s what she said? LOL).

The first thing you need to remember when making a butter/flour roux is that it’s made in equal parts. Which means, if you’re using a 1/4 cup of flour, you should be using a 1/4 cup of butter (4 tablespoons). The ratio is 1:1; one tablespoon of butter to one tablespoon of flour.

The second thing to remember is that if you scorch your roux in even the smallest amount, it’s ruined. Unless you want your sauce to taste like scorched buttery floury goo, you need to get rid of it and start over. I perfected mine by trying it out and timing it perfectly. If you’ve never made a roux before, and you have some butter and flour to waste spare, I’d try it out a few times. Make sure you record your times and what works for you, because everyone’s stovetops cook at different temperatures.

The whisk is your friend. Once your butter has completely melted (right as it starts to bubble), add your flour gradually, remembering to whisk it into the butter as you pour it into the pot/pan. If you dump it all in at once, it starts to burn onto the bottom of the pot, and then you risk ruining your roux. You’re looking for a golden brown color, if you’re using butter.

A good roux courtesy of Sweet Tooth Heaven

As the Wikipedia article states, the main use of a roux is a thickening agent. Most mac and cheese recipes call for a roux as the base, and either cream or milk added to it. The most important lesson I’ve learned through the various recipes I’ve tried thus far is that you should use HOT milk. Not only does it get thicker quicker, but it dissolves the flour better. And I cannot stress this enough: THE WHISK IS YOUR FRIEND. Constantly whisk until it’s thick and bubbly and THEN add the cheese.

So I hope this little post helped clear up whatever concerns or ideas you had about making a roux for your sauce base. Stay tuned, as I will be posting a recipe for mac and cheese (!!) that calls for a roux.

Remember, the secret’s in the sauce!!

Want more? Subscribe to my cooking posts!

recipe secret sauce roux butter flour thickening agent

This post, The Secret’s in the Sauce, was written by phillynikongal, and originally posted on esther fox [DOT] com. If you're reading this on a site other than esther fox [DOT] com, it has been taken and used without permission.