Oven Roux

Serves: Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Hands On Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large cast iron skillet, whisk together the flour and oil to make a paste. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 90 minutes to 2 hours for a dark roux, stirring every 30 minutes. Once the roux has achieved your desired color, transfer to a storage container or a gumbo-cooking vessel and proceed with the recipe.

About the recipe

This is a great hack for taking so much of the stress and guesswork out of making a roux. Instead of stirring constantly on the stovetop, blast it in the oven and only stir it about every half hour. If you only need a blonde roux, cook for less time; if you need a dark roux for gumbo, go the full 2 hours. This recipe will thicken 16 cups of gumbo.