I really need a lot more butter in my diet

August 13, 2009 11:26 AM

Tell me some simple, delicious recipes that are thickened by a roux.

So, I was making a gravy from the pan drippings of a roasted chicken the other day, and I decided to use a roux instead of just flour to thicken it. I was stunned by the depth of flavor that the roux added to the sauce, and I basically wanted to ditch the chicken althogether and just eat a big bowl of gravy.

I am now very curious to find other dishes that employ this wonderful technique, preferabbly ones that involve slightly less commitment than a gumbo. Bonus points for cheap recipes that can be made in large batches and freeze well.

posted by martens to food & drink (22 comments total)

Macaroni and cheese.
posted by rhapsodie at 11:41 AM on August 13 [2 favorites]

Why does gumbo require a huge commitment? No snark, curious. Just use what you got, right?
posted by fixedgear at 11:45 AM on August 13

I use a roux as part of a couple of my favorite dishes: macaroni and cheese is awesome when built from a roux; baked potato soup begs for roux; there are several pasta sauces as well as the usual pan sauces you can make as well.
posted by majick at 11:47 AM on August 13

chicken corn chowder. i can't remember if it freezes well, although it must to have survived my big-batches-of-soup phase.
posted by hereticfig at 11:52 AM on August 13

@fixedgear Well, I don't keep my fridge/pantry well stocked; I generally buy what I need and use it right away. This looks intimidating to me, but if you've got an easier way, don't hesitate to tell me why I'm wrong.
posted by martens at 11:53 AM on August 13

Souffle. Honestly, it's much easier than you'd think:

* You know how to make a roux.
* Do you know how to add milk to that roux?
* Do you know how to add cheese to that roux?
* Can you separate eggs and fold the roux into the yolks?
* Can you beat egg whites until foamy?
* Can you gently fold those beaten egg whites into the yolks and roux?
* Can you let something bake in the oven without peeking in every two minutes?

If your answers to all of the above are "yes", then you've got souffle down.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:53 AM on August 13 [2 favorites]

Alton Brown covered this a couple of times; one of the episodes of Good Eats that dealt with roux was Gravy Confidential. I would link to it but I can't get the Food Network site to work for me right now. If you are interested in roux it is worth looking up. Brown goes into some detail about the different grades of roux from white to dark brown and the relative thickening power of each, as well as the proper proportions of fat, starch, and water. Armed with that you can improvise at will!
posted by TedW at 11:56 AM on August 13

AS for gumbo: The best observation I heard on gumbo was in a cookbook that was "written" by Nanny Ogg (as transcribed by Terry Pratchett): "Gumbo is the kind of thing where it seems silly to have a recipe. You just...make it." In other words, not all of the ingredients in the recipe you're looking at are necessarily....necessary.

Take a look at other gumbo recipes and see what ingredients they have in common; those are the only ones you really "need". Other than that, you can be a little flexible (don't have oysters? No big deal.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:57 AM on August 13

Macaroni and cheese and some of the other recipes mentioned are based on variants of Bechamel sauce, which is very widely used.
posted by TedW at 12:08 PM on August 13

Seconding that gumbo isn't that hard.

1. Make roux.
2. Add celery/onion/pepper and some salt to roux, cook on medium until the vegetables are soft and its a thick mess.
3. Add stock/broth, spices and/or hotsauce, meats, and other vegetables. Stir up good, and simmer for a few hours. Stir some more occasionally.

Use your favorite meats or seafood for "meats", and I recommend okra and/or zucchini as part of your "other vegetables". I also like to add a can of crushed tomatoes, but that's not traditional.
posted by Citrus at 12:10 PM on August 13

Étouffée. It's pretty similar to gumbo, so it might have the same problem, but I like it better. There's a good recipe in this book.
posted by jeb at 12:17 PM on August 13

I use a roux to make cream of mushroom soup. Homemade cream of mushroom soup is amazing, and completely different than the awful grey canned version.

The Joy of Cooking also has a great recipe for goat cheese and walnut souffle that starts with a roux. For some reason, the goat cheese makes the souffle a bit less delicate, so it's a good "starter" souffle.
posted by zombiedance at 12:33 PM on August 13

EmpressCallipygos and Citrus nailed it, but you got the aromatics - onion, green bell pepper, celery, garlic - and just fake the rest. Chicken stock? Canned tomatoes? Chicken, shrimp, sausage? It's not so much a recipe as it is a formula. No brag, but my wife who is a chef says my stuff might be better than hers since I 'cook with abandon.' Just wing it.
posted by fixedgear at 1:17 PM on August 13

Transcripts of the Gravy Confidential (mentioned by TedW above) and Bowl O' Bayou episodes of Good Eats, courtesy of the Good Eats Fan Page.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 1:17 PM on August 13

I thicken my chili with a beer roux. It's scrumpdiddlylicious.
posted by torquemaniac at 1:51 PM on August 13

I like using a roux with cheddar cheese rather than hollandaise sauce for eggs benedict... hmm making me hungry now.
posted by cftarnas at 2:08 PM on August 13

Creamed tuna on rice. Creamed salmon on toast. Chicken à la King. Creamed pearl onions and peas. Turkey tetrazzini.
posted by Ery at 2:14 PM on August 13

Inspired by this question, I just made some and used it to make a cream sauce for sausage, broccoli, onion, roasted garlic and oregano. Added some milk and parmesan cheese, and I am currently bathing in a sea of my own decadence. Yummmmmmmmmm.
posted by nosila at 3:57 PM on August 13

ok, here goes. please don't laugh, ok?

the slovak take on roux is zaprashka (sounds just like it's spelled, accent on the 2nd syllable). one of the simplest things to make with zaprashka is sauerkraut. simply make the zaprashka (flour, fat of some sort--omg is bacon fat good for this!!--maybe some salt & pepper, brown the flour). add water (of course) to make a gravy. dump in a jar of sauerkraut. (you can rinse or not rinse, depending on how tart you like it.) add more water as needed to keep it a little on the soupy side.

now ... add either hot dogs or kielbasa. simmer until the meat is cooked. it's wonderful!

oh ... and if you like, when you're doing the initial zaprashka, throw in some caraway seeds. i'm not a big fan of caraway, but it gives the finished product a distinct taste. (probably caraway-y?) some people brown onions in the zaprashka as well, but i *really* hate onions so i omit those.

the church ladies used to make huge roaster pans of this with hot dogs. serve it up on a bun and you think you've gone to heaven.

here's a link to some recipes that use zaprashka.
posted by msconduct at 4:01 PM on August 13 [1 favorite]

I'm suprised no one has mentioned lasagne, maybe it's just an Australian thing, but we make it here with bechamel sauce inbetween the meat/veges/bolognaise and pasta. Yummmm.
posted by smoke at 4:15 PM on August 13

god i'm old & the mind is feeble. what i described above was my family's version of kapusta. i haven't had occasion to use that word for quite a few years, and i totally spaced it.
posted by msconduct at 4:18 PM on August 13

Beef stew with Guinness, thickened with a roux. Ridonkulously good.
posted by deadmessenger at 6:41 PM on August 13