(Compliments of www.cookinglouisiana.com)

Many recipes from South Louisiana start with "first you make a roux". You've heard that before I'm sure. The experienced Cajun cook can make a roux without even thinking about it. The newcomer to Cajun cookery may not be so fortunate, so, I'll explain, to the best of my ability, how to do it. Keep in mind that this is "my" way, not necessarily the right or wrong way. Rouxs are cooked in several fashions and most work just fine. My way is the "old fashioned" way.

Before we get started you need to decide how much roux you need for a particular dish. This depends on a few things, one; do you like a thick or thin gravy, and two; how much are you cooking. I read somewhere a while back where a guy made a 4 cup of flour roux and was asking why the dish tasted so funny when he and girlfriend ate their meal. He cooked enough roux to make eight gallons of gumbo and most likely had a gallon of water in it. Hey, I've got to give it to him for trying!

For a gumbo I use about a 1/4 to 1/3 cup of flour per gallon of gumbo. That's just a general rule of thumb I use to get the consistency I like. Some people like thick gumbo and some like thin. If in doubt, cook more roux than you think you need and take some out before you start putting the other stuff together. You can then add more roux if you want a thicker consistency.

If you are a beginner at rouxs start out with a half flour, half oil mixture. The more oil you use the less likely it will burn too fast. As you get better at it you can use less oil. Add the oil and flour to the pot and set the fire on medium. My best rouxs were made in a cast iron pot or cast iron skillet. Using a spatula, stir the roux scraping the entire bottom of the pot every time. Using a spatula allows you to move all of the mixture around and you don't have to make more than a few passes to do it. Stir the mixture every 15 seconds or so. The roux will bubble at first then will get smooth as it cooks.

WARNING ... Don't be tempted to walk away and do something else, if the roux burns at any point during the process it is no good. Once the roux has turned a medium brown lower the fire just a little. Keep stirring as you were before. You will notice with each stirring the roux gets a tiny bit more brown.

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