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How-tos Kitchen

How to make a roux and how to use it

Published: 08.14.2012 » Last updated: 11.03.2022
Making roux: pour liquid slowly into butter-flour mixture

Roux is pronouncedroo. It is a mixture of fat and flour, and is the base for many stews, sauces (including gravy) and soups. Chicken a la King is cooked with a roux.

It is a French thing but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. The process itself is simple and, once mastered, leads to the creation of a lot of delectable dishes.

Let’s make a roux.

Generally, you use equal amounts of fat and flour

Melting butter in pan

Start by melting butter in a pot. The ideal pot should be have a thick bottom because butter burns fast and you don’t want to hasten the burning even more by using a thin-bottomed pot.

Making roux: dump flour in melted butter

Once the butter is hot, add flour. The ratio is 1:1. In short, of you have three tablespoons of melted butter in the pot, you add three tablespoons of flour. That is the general rule. You’ll find recipes where a different ratio is used.

I prefer to add the flour all at once then stir quickly to make a smooth paste.

(Some cooks are more fussy. In Junior Masterchef Australia, one of the chefs made his roux by sifting the flour slowly over the hot butter and stirring as the flour as added. I don’t see the point.Really.)

Making roux: mix flour in melted butter

So, stir the flour into the butter until you have a thin pasty looking mixture. Cook the mixture over medium heat. How long depends on what you intend to use the roux for.

A roux can be white, blonde or brown

A white roux will thicken a dish but not add much flavor. A darker roux will impart a nutty flavor to the dish, the nuttiness coming from the toasting of the flour.

Cooking the roux for two to three minutes will yield a white roux, about five minutes for a blonde roux and a minute or two longer for a brown roux. The length of cooking is, of course, relative. Depending on the heat and the kind of pan you’re using, the cooking time may be shorter or longer.

Adding liquid: broth, milk or cream

Making roux: pour liquid slowly into butter-flour mixture

Once the desired amount of cooking is done, you add liquid. Depending on what recipe you’re following, the liquid may be broth, milk or cream. How much liquid you should add depends on whether you’re making soup, sauce or gravy.

Sauce made with roux and brith

Pour in the liquid slowly and stir as you pour to prevent lumps from forming.

Recipes with roux

Ladling Béchamel sauce into a pan of lasagna with ragu

Béchamel sauce

We rarely make lasagna without Béchamel sauce. I used to prepare it but, these days, my daughter, …

See the recipeBéchamel sauce
Chicken a la king served over noodles

Chicken à la King

Cubed chicken fillets, fresh button mushrooms, bell peppers and sweet peas swimming in a buttery and …

See the recipeChicken à la King
Baked mac and cheese served with focaccia

Baked mac and cheese

Slow cooker beef ragu, pasta and Mornay sauce are assembled in an oven-safe dish and baked until …

See the recipeBaked mac and cheese
Cream of mushroom soup

Cream of mushroom soup

Opening a can is easy and convenient, but once you’ve tried real cream of mushroom soup, it’s hard …

See the recipeCream of mushroom soup
Broccoli and carrot chowder in blue stoneware bowl

Broccoli and carrot chowder

If you’re not a fan of soup with clear broth, you’ll love chowder. It’s thick and creamy, and there …

See the recipeBroccoli and carrot chowder

More How-tos, Kitchen

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What’s the difference between giblets and gizzards?

Newsletter department

  • #18 Cooking for Lent
    03.23.2023
    A few readers have emailed asking me to post recipes for Lent, and I tell them there is NO need for NEW recipes. Instead, they should try digging into the seafood, mushrooms and tofu recipe archives.

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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