Which whisk for roux?

Which whisk for roux?

Sorry for the corny Scooby-Doo sounding subject title. ;)

I am going to be making my first roux. I've familiarized myself with the
method (simple really) except which whisk to use.

My current whisk is a cheap-o with only about 6 wires. I'm eyeing a "piano"
whisk for the task for the great number of wires.

Will this whisk work well in a large Dutch oven (my need) or is it better
suited for shallower pans?

What do you suggest?

Thanks,

Andy

Re: Which whisk for roux?


"Andy" <q> wrote in message news:Xns98E44BF5925ADcotd@216.196.97.136...
> Sorry for the corny Scooby-Doo sounding subject title. ;)
>
> I am going to be making my first roux. I've familiarized myself with the
> method (simple really) except which whisk to use.
>
> My current whisk is a cheap-o with only about 6 wires. I'm eyeing a
> "piano"
> whisk for the task for the great number of wires.
>
> Will this whisk work well in a large Dutch oven (my need) or is it better
> suited for shallower pans?
>
> What do you suggest?

just make sure you can get into the corners of the pot/pan you are using.

Re: Which whisk for roux?


"Andy" <q> wrote in message news:Xns98E44BF5925ADcotd@216.196.97.136...
> Sorry for the corny Scooby-Doo sounding subject title. ;)
>
> I am going to be making my first roux. I've familiarized myself with the
> method (simple really) except which whisk to use.
>
> My current whisk is a cheap-o with only about 6 wires. I'm eyeing a
> "piano"
> whisk for the task for the great number of wires.
>
> Will this whisk work well in a large Dutch oven (my need) or is it better
> suited for shallower pans?
>
> What do you suggest?

I use a small Oxo whisk with good results. The most common application is
making gravy in the roasting pan. For a Dutch oven with high sides, you may
want a longer handle, but I manage fine with the shorter handle. I would
avoid large balloon whisks for roux making, as they may have trouble getting
into the sides of the pan. I don't think this particular task requires a
huge outlay of funds on equipment to get good results.

Remsleep

Re: Which whisk for roux?


"Andy" <q> wrote in message news:Xns98E44BF5925ADcotd@216.196.97.136...
> Sorry for the corny Scooby-Doo sounding subject title. ;)
>
> I am going to be making my first roux. I've familiarized myself with the
> method (simple really) except which whisk to use.
>
> My current whisk is a cheap-o with only about 6 wires. I'm eyeing a
> "piano"
> whisk for the task for the great number of wires.
>
> Will this whisk work well in a large Dutch oven (my need) or is it better
> suited for shallower pans?
>
> What do you suggest?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andy
>
>
I now make all my roux in the microwave using flour and olive oil in a 1pt
flour to .8pts oil. Mix it up in a very small diameter pyrex bowl. Microwave
at a low heat setting[#3 on my old fashioned 750 Watt Microwave] for about
1.5 minutes. Stir and repeat once or twice, depending on to what extent you
want your flour cooked.
Then heat up your braising liquid and put the roux in as it comes to a
simmer and you'll have your roux thickened braising liquid.
This is much easier than the old stovetop method, particularly if you're
wrestling with a braising pan.
Fat absorbs microwave energy much more readily than water.The roux will
simmer at a setting of three so you have to watch it. Sometimes you have to
add a bit more oil than you do if you are making it on the stovetop.
In general any oil is better than butter for making roux because olive oil,
bacon fat, or any other oils don't have the aqueous fraction that butter
does. In theory if you think you have to use butter, you should clarify it
first.

Kent

Re: Which whisk for roux?

Kent said...

>
> "Andy" <q> wrote in message news:Xns98E44BF5925ADcotd@216.196.97.136...
>> Sorry for the corny Scooby-Doo sounding subject title. ;)
>>
>> I am going to be making my first roux. I've familiarized myself with
>> the method (simple really) except which whisk to use.
>>
>> My current whisk is a cheap-o with only about 6 wires. I'm eyeing a
>> "piano"
>> whisk for the task for the great number of wires.
>>
>> Will this whisk work well in a large Dutch oven (my need) or is it
>> better suited for shallower pans?
>>
>> What do you suggest?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Andy
>>
>>
> I now make all my roux in the microwave using flour and olive oil in a
> 1pt flour to .8pts oil. Mix it up in a very small diameter pyrex bowl.
> Microwave at a low heat setting[#3 on my old fashioned 750 Watt
> Microwave] for about 1.5 minutes. Stir and repeat once or twice,
> depending on to what extent you want your flour cooked.
> Then heat up your braising liquid and put the roux in as it comes to a
> simmer and you'll have your roux thickened braising liquid.
> This is much easier than the old stovetop method, particularly if you're
> wrestling with a braising pan.
> Fat absorbs microwave energy much more readily than water.The roux will
> simmer at a setting of three so you have to watch it. Sometimes you have
> to add a bit more oil than you do if you are making it on the stovetop.
> In general any oil is better than butter for making roux because olive
> oil, bacon fat, or any other oils don't have the aqueous fraction that
> butter does. In theory if you think you have to use butter, you should
> clarify it first.
>
> Kent


Kent,

Thanks for the interesting MW method. Moreover, thanks for the settings,
wattage and times that I can easily adjust to my 1100-watter.

I was intending to use peanut oil, since I have 5 gallons of the stuff +
it's high-temp smoke point.

Some homework did mention olive oil makes a terrible roux.

I'll give your MW method a trial.

Thanks for sharing the magic!

Andy

Re: Which whisk for roux?

In article <vYKdnUGPHZ5lPHnYnZ2dnUVZ_revnZ2d@comcast,com >,
Kent <kh6444@comcast,net > wrote:

>I now make all my roux in the microwave using flour and olive oil in a 1pt
>flour to .8pts oil. Mix it up in a very small diameter pyrex bowl. Microwave
>at a low heat setting[#3 on my old fashioned 750 Watt Microwave] for about
>1.5 minutes. Stir and repeat once or twice, depending on to what extent you
>want your flour cooked.

That sounds like a good, fast method.

In a recent Good Eats, Alton Brown makes a roux in a 350F oven, which,
I guess, is the target temperature you're trying to hit for the oil on
the stovetop. His oven cook time was 90 minutes. Here's an article
talking about that episode:

http :// www .czerniec,com /2007/02/19/gumbo-recipe-mardi-gras.html

I'm going to make some sort of gumbo over the weekend, I think. I'll give
the microwave method a try, since it'll only take a few minutes.

Re: Which whisk for roux?


<postmaster@cjc.org> wrote in message
news:12uauqnfc8obf92@news.supernews,com ...
> In article <vYKdnUGPHZ5lPHnYnZ2dnUVZ_revnZ2d@comcast,com >,
> Kent <kh6444@comcast,net > wrote:
>
>>I now make all my roux in the microwave using flour and olive oil in a 1pt
>>flour to .8pts oil. Mix it up in a very small diameter pyrex bowl.
>>Microwave
>>at a low heat setting[#3 on my old fashioned 750 Watt Microwave] for about
>>1.5 minutes. Stir and repeat once or twice, depending on to what extent
>>you
>>want your flour cooked.
>
> That sounds like a good, fast method.
>
> In a recent Good Eats, Alton Brown makes a roux in a 350F oven, which,
> I guess, is the target temperature you're trying to hit for the oil on
> the stovetop. His oven cook time was 90 minutes. Here's an article
> talking about that episode:
>
> http :// www .czerniec,com /2007/02/19/gumbo-recipe-mardi-gras.html
>
> I'm going to make some sort of gumbo over the weekend, I think. I'll give
> the microwave method a try, since it'll only take a few minutes.
>
>
Peanut oil would work fine, but it has a peanut taste.Any oil will work
better than butter because the former doesn't have a water fraction. A nice
clean extra virgin olive oil, as you buy at Costco, works best, I think
because whatever taste it has becomes part of the dish, and the taste effect
is minimal.
The first time you try this, use 1 part oil to 1 part flower; use a low
setting; watch carefully for boiling over until you know your oven and oil;
stir frequently, every minute or so. A good white roux takes 2.5 to 3
minutes.
I recently made crab newberg totally in the microwave. After I made the roux
I added milk to make a bechamel sauce, and then crab stock. It's as good,
and much easier, and less messier to make than on the stove.

Kent