Dry Roux

This ought to start a fight!

Recently I made "Lemon Chicken with Sour Cream Sauce" from Lee Bailey's The Way I Cook, a fabulous cookbook. Bailey's recipe calls for "dry roux," which is simply browned flour, or roux without the fat. He points out that it's very handy and can keep for months in a sealed jar. Adding it to recipes with sufficient fat results in that nice nutty flavor associated with roux, and thickens the sauce well.

Dry roux is apparently a fairly common staple of Southern cooking -- try Googling the term "dry roux" or look it up in John Folse's incredible cookbook, The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine, at page 133 (2004 edition). Folse lists five different rouxes, including a dry roux he calls "Oil-Less Roux."

To make it, sprinkle about 1/2 cup of all purpose flour in a skillet (Bailey calls for the traditional cast iron skillet but I cheated and used a Calphalon nonstick skillet, which worked very well) that's been heated over a hot fire, and stir it now and then until it's nicely browned.

I Googled "dry roux" and found one suggestion that was helpful -- it's done when the flour has turned the color of a brown paper bag. The nonstick skillet works well because you can flip the flour as it cooks, minimizing the need for stirring. The result worked well with the chicken recipe.

Here's another comment on dry or "oil-less roux" from Chuck Taggert's The Gumbo Pages:Taggart also has a great discussion of regular rouxes, too, and I love his comment about making roux in the microwave: "Bah, humbug!"

Hi. There are many who will swear that for any of ten thousand reasons that this is not the equivalent. For myself, I will *listen* to anything and give it a chance, and if it appears to work, and I see no distinct disadvantage, I will use the simpler method. Having said that, I have used the method you describe and feel that it works as well and is simpler for me. Many people, especially those a hundred or so miles south of me, swear it is not the same. I cannot tell the difference.

DownByTheRiverSide said:

Hi. There are many who will swear that for any of ten thousand reasons that this is not the equivalent. For myself, I will *listen* to anything and give it a chance, and if it appears to work, and I see no distinct disadvantage, I will use the simpler method. Having said that, I have used the method you describe and feel that it works as well and is simpler for me. Many people, especially those a hundred or so miles south of me, swear it is not the same. I cannot tell the difference.

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DBTRS, I am very disappointed that you agree with me; what fun is that?

Seriously, I respect your judgment about all things Southern, and I do appreciate your comments as it makes me more comfortable about my own judgment. Like you, I found the dry roux to be perfectly fine, as good as the "real" stuff I've made, which is why I started this thread. But I don't have a lot of experience with the subject, so why should I listen to me?

So you guys are saying that the "toasted" flour doesn't clump up when added to liquid? I always thought the role of the fat in a roux was to separate the flour and keep it smooth when incorporating liquids.

UnConundrum said:

So you guys are saying that the "toasted" flour doesn't clump up when added to liquid? I always thought the role of the fat in a roux was to separate the flour and keep it smooth when incorporating liquids.

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The times I used it I made up a small supply of it beforehand to use later. My purpose wasnt to get away from the fat, even though in general I do watch fat, the amount of fat used with the roux is rather negligible.

The reason I was using it was for convenience. For one I didnt have to waste nearly as much time with it, and secondly I felt that I had more ability to guage the degree of browning of the dry ingredient.

When I was ready to use it I put the dry browned flour in the pan and added the fat and heated it up and then slowly added the liquid. I just skipped all that intermediate stirring.

I have also made it in the oven .... I cant remember now exactly ..... but it was easy .... something like put in the oven at 300* and then turn off the oven. It came out very nice that way, too.

In Bailey's Lemon Chicken recipe that I mentioned in the original post, the chicken is floured (using regular flour, not the dry roux) and browned in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter, then set aside; onion and bell pepper are then browned in the same skillet, then garlic, rosemary and the dry roux are mixed in. Three cups of stock is then added and the chicken returned to the pan. There was no clumping at all when I made it.

UnConundrum said:

So you guys are saying that the "toasted" flour doesn't clump up when added to liquid? I always thought the role of the fat in a roux was to separate the flour and keep it smooth when incorporating liquids.

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I feel sure you can make it without any fat, too, you would just have to slowly incorporate the liquid while stirring and be careful make sure it didnt clump up.

Perhaps mixing it with water or stock before adding it would lessen any clumping, and you'd still get the great flavor without the fat.

FryBoy said:

...in the same skillet, then garlic, rosemary and the dry roux are mixed in. Three cups of stock is then added and the chicken returned to the pan. There was no clumping at all when I made it.

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So, acutally, you add the pre-browned flour to the chicken fat and remaining butter and oil, which essentially, makes a roux.


BTW, with my ThermoMix, I can just add flour to the cold liquids, and the TM takes care of the rest. No roux preparation at all... Works really nice too.

UnConundrum said:

So, acutally, you add the pre-browned flour to the chicken fat and remaining butter and oil, which essentially, makes a roux.


BTW, with my ThermoMix, I can just add flour to the cold liquids, and the TM takes care of the rest. No roux preparation at all... Works really nice too.

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Not sure what a ThermoMix is, but unless it roasts the flour to a nice brown before adding it, it's just not the same. This sort of roux is not merely an easy way of blending flour into liquids. The browning of the flour, whether as dry roux or in a traditional roux made with fat of some sort, adds tremendous flavor.

FryBoy said:

Not sure what a ThermoMix is, but unless it roasts the flour to a nice brown before adding it, it's just not the same. This sort of roux is not merely an easy way of blending flour into liquids. The browning of the flour, whether as dry roux or in a traditional roux made with fat of some sort, adds tremendous flavor.

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That is the point that should not be missed that the browning is a major flavoring component of the dish.

I have been reading up on this ThermoMix ... it's quite the machine .... chops, blends, sautes, and weighs among other interesting things. A bit on the pricey side, but most interesting. Considering what else it does, browning flour seems a rather minor accomplishment, so it is entirely possible.

I buy Tony Chachere's Instant Roux and Gravy Mix. The mix is whisked in cool water, and when heated, will thicken. I only use it in gumbo. Very few people could tell this was not the stir for 20 or 30 minutes type or roux.

I don't know how it would work in other dishes - never tried it.