On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 04:12:51 +0000, notbob wrote:

> On 2005-01-02, GregoryD > wrote:
>
>> I cannot fathom why it would take anyone near an hour to make roux for
>> a gumbo. If you have even heat distribution and are stirring it
>> constantly, it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes tops to get to a
>> shade of brown that would be considered the right amount of cooking for
>> a gumbo roux.....
>
> Tell 'em, Greg!
>
> It takes me about 8 mins to make a fudgecycle brown roux cooking at just
> below smoking temps and constantly stirring with a hi-temp spatula in a
> copper bottomed pan. OTOH, I've heard a hands-off approach is to do it in
> the oven for about an hour. I don't recall the temp.

I usually do mine for gumbo on medium-high heat and it usually takes 10-12
minutes to get the color I want. It can be a little more or less brown...
it's not an exact science, but if its dark brown or darker, you're
definitely going to taste it in the gumbo. I prefer to keep my roux a bit
lighter and use smoked meats if that's what I'm going for. Smoked turkey
necks and andouille made locally works great in this instance. Of course,
I live in shouting distance of New Orleans.

My dad thought he'd try since my uncle has gotten into cooking... apparently he
started out alright with the recipe my mom gave him, but the neighbor came
over and added another half cup of flour to it in the middle of his
cooking process... he ended up burning one half and kept the other half
raw. Yuck. Cajun men are normally fabulous cooks because they cook few
things, but cook them well... normally for the big get-togethers. My dad,
on the other hand, is not allowed to touch anything but the barbecue pit.

No two people do it the same. I, for example, have never really enjoyed
okra in my gumbo. I feel it's just filler at best and an unnecessary
thickening agent at worst. I do, however, demand that I make my own stock
before making the gumbo, and I highly dislike anything in there that I
have to pick out. So if I'm making a chicken or duck gumbo, I make a
stock first, then pick the meat off the bones and add them to the pot
later. I also tend to, when using crabs, to put a good bit of lump crab
meat in the pot, use some whole crabs to make the stock, then eat the
whole crabs later.

My mom doesn't use a stock; she adds water and Worcestershire sauce and
something else. My grandmother's is different still (I'm convinced she
adds a hefty portion of tomato paste... there are NO tomato products in
mine or anyone else I know), and my uncle's is like a toned down version
of mine, but he adds bay leaves whereas I tend to add a bit of gumbo file'
at the end just to flavor it up a bit and keep a bottle handy for others.
Some people don't know the difference between gumbo and courtbouillion,
but I'm not going to argue with them.

And here's something for you... next time you make a gumbo after easter
and you have all those leftover easter eggs, try it with shrimp, crab
meat, and hardboiled eggs that you have cut in half... a bit of the yolks
will dissolve into the gumbo, and the whites will soak up some of that
gumbo flavor. It is freaking delicious.

GregoryD