Gravy vs Roux

Both use mainly the same things, both are started basically the same way.

Roux is flour and fat/oil cooked to what ever color wanted with other liquids added for zest.

Gravy is the same, but water or other liquids are added for bulk/volume.

Once a week I make a mess of gravy, usually with hamburger or other diced meats. Mostly white but other times brown, depending on mood. Then I use it in every meal or most of them anyway.

Tho sometimes fat/flour and then milk is added along with ether dried beef and or hamburger for ether SOS or chicken fried steak, with a bunch of pepper corns ground up for a creamy white gravy.

I love a good gravy on dam near anything or everything for my meals.

Neat thing abt gravy it can be scratch made from nothing more than fat/oil and flour, (kinda bland) but then the zing can be added before or after, but before is best. ( I like to cook meat/dried or not with spices right after the flour is added but before the liquid is added but spices are added before the flour is added) so the meat is flour coated and cooked along with the rest of the flour.

For some making a good roux is a challenge and the first time you will burn it, I remember my first try with others at a party, that we had not a clue on what we were doing, way before the internet and web.

We were heating butter and flour highly intoxicated and waiting for magic, and we burned it (roux made by committee is a disaster in the making) Major house smoke out by the time we noticed it.

Lmao, all that got done was the roux was burned and the house smoked up. The next day was a sucksess, because a coonass neighbor was asked to help.

But a good roux is great for dam near anything as a thickening agent for any thing that is watery and can serve as a great sauce base.

Roux and gravy basically the same, but roux is a gravy not completed at the time.

Ether way good eating..

Just a small note about gravy and roux,

Tho depending roux is always something handy in the fridge to add some sparkle to most meals.

I melt a pound of butter and carefully remove the milk solids. I'll put the clarified butter on a stove and whisk in gluten free flour until I get a nice blond roux. I let it cool a little then pour it into a shallow plastic tray and throw it into a freezer. Once it's solid I cut it into tiny chunks and store it ready for use in the freezer like that.

That's how we did it in the culinary industry.

Rice flour not wheat flour.

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Originally Posted by Shami-Amourae

I melt a pound of butter and carefully remove the milk solids. I'll put the clarified butter on a stove and whisk in gluten free flour until I get a nice blonde roux. I let it cool a little then pour it into a shallow plastic tray and throw it into a freezer. Once it's solid I cut it into tiny chunks and store it ready for use in the freezer like that.

That's how we did it in the culinary industry.

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A good roux has many uses, as a quick gravy starter (just add liquid) or a excellent thickener for a sauce, to add to the drippings from any meat cooked.

One of my favorites is chicken fried steak and then in needed add a tad of fat after the steak is done, the drippings/fat will have (scale ? solids) that then the flour is added and cooked, then if mashed taters was also cooked, the tater water from the boiling was added to make the gravy. Or milk added for a white gravy with plenty of pepper or not depending on who is at the table.

A good roux is a must building block for many dishes.

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Originally Posted by hoarder

Rice flour not wheat flour.

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Never tried rice flour, haven't seen it here, but I can see where that can add a great twist and taste that sounds great.

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Originally Posted by Dogman

Never tried rice flour, haven't seen it here, but I can see where that can add a great twist and taste that sounds great.

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Many of the gravy mixes use it. Less clumping and healthier than wheat. You can buy rice flour in health food stores.

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Originally Posted by hoarder

Many of the gravy mixes use it. Less clumping and healthier than wheat. You can buy rice flour in health food stores.

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Set in my ways, tho if I am ever near a health store, I may pick up a bag.

I buy my rice in 20 pound bags, jasmine rice, love it.

But I also use and like flour, both white and whole wheat, and use as needed to satisfy my taste bud cravings.

Have used both making gravy, whole wheat gravy is totally different and not all people like it because of the texture.

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Originally Posted by hoarder

Rice flour not wheat flour.

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Rice flour is too flat. It doesn't mimic wheat flour very well.

I personally use Bob's Red Mill, which is mainly chickpea, potato, and tapioca flour based.

http://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-All-Purpose-Gluten-Free/dp/B000ED7M3Q

When you make roux with it, you have to use a larger ratio of flour to fat than you normally would with wheat flour, just a heads up. Just keep mixing it in till you get the right consistency and stir with a tempered spatula.

The chickpea especially gives you a nice nutty flavor when you brown it up for the blond roux.

I used to be a saucier at a fancy restaurant so I'm a sauce freak. I've also made roux at the industrial scale too to support a large hotel for months of supply. One of the main things I did with it was make Béchamel sauce, which is basically a fake heavy cream where you use roux and milk to get the consistency of heavy cream (thickness and fat levels) without paying extra costs for heavy cream. We'd mainly use that to make New England Clam Chowder and Mac n' Cheese (for the kids menus.)

Here's the 3 types of roux for those who don't know:

White Roux - Blond Roux - Brown Roux
http://theculinarycook.com/wp-conten...roux-types.jpg




White Roux is best with white sauces, like Béchamel, but lacks any deep flavor.

Blonde Roux is somewhat nutty and best for gravies and most sauces. It can also be used in Béchamel if you don't care about having a purely white color as much. Blond is my personal favorite.

Brown Roux is more for dark sauces. So thickening up beef stock with brown roux would give you a nice nutty brown gravy.



Personally I just stick with Blond since I just make it in bulk and use it over time.

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Originally Posted by Dogman

Set in my ways, tho if I am ever near a health store, I may pick up a bag.

I buy my rice in 20 pound bags, jasmine rice, love it.

But I also use and like flour, both white and whole wheat, and use as needed to satisfy my taste bud cravings.

Have used both making gravy, whole wheat gravy is totally different and not all people like it because of the texture.

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I've gone to brown rice exclusively. I also ferment/sprout all my rice before I cook it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYeCjS8MdIU

Brown rice is alive. White rice is dead.

All grains/legumes have this chemical called phytic acid which is an anti-nutrient. It removes nutrients from your body, acts like a mild poison, messes with the digestive tract, and increases chances of flatuence. That's why if you ferment/sprout beans you'll get no gas after eating it.

Oh yeah, if you do fermenting, use a good salt like RealSalt or Himalayan salt. Kosher salt should work too, but most sea salts aren't alkaline so I try to avoid those now.

More on rice (confirms what I said.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQY2F1HVIBg

much respect to anyone that can make the gravies from scratch

for the rest of us.....this is BADASS cream gravy mix (get the biscuit gravy, not the country gravy):

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41V9G4H7E5L.jpg

they have these green pumpkin/squash things (I dont know their name) that are available most of the year here,

I just boil them up a mash them into a gravy with butter and water and pour it over most any other vegetable i can find, broccoli, carrots, green beans over rice with it makes a nice plate

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Originally Posted by Horn

they have these green pumpkin/squash things (I dont know their name) that are available most of the year here,

I just boil them up a mash them into a gravy with butter and water and pour it over most any other vegetable i can find, broccoli, carrots, green beans over rice with it makes a nice plate

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Acorn Squash?

There's a lot of squashes:

http://winedineguide.com/wp-content/...n-ID-Chart.jpg

This is only a tiny percentage of the varieties available too.

looks like this, I pit and peel the meet out. the smaller they are the more better for gravy. Don't steal too much flavor from other things on the plate, kinda enhances everything with the butter. was reading, some look like they do it with butternut also.

Really don't need too much butter only like a couple heavy teaspoons.

http://tierrafertil.com.mx/wp-conten...cruz-copia.jpg