How to Make a Red Roux for Crawfish Etouffee
The basis of crawfish etouffee, like many Louisiana soups and dishes, is a roux. A roux is essentially a mixture of flour and oil (or sometimes butter) that is used to make a gravy or sauce. While some crawfish etouffee recipes call for a darker, almost brownish gravy, many traditional eateries in and around New Orleans use a gravy that is more reddish in color. The ingredients in a red roux for crawfish etouffee are simple, but making a roux is, perhaps, more art than science. If it doesn't come out quite right the first time, give it another go. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Large skillet
- Stick of butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
- 1 cup white wine or cooking sherry
- Plastic whisk
- Water
Instructions
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Heat a skillet on high heat and add a stick of butter. Allow the butter to melt completely. Heat the butter just to the point where it begins to brown slightly, but be careful not to let it burn.
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Slowly add 1/2 cup flour, stirring it briskly into the butter with a plastic whisk. Don't just dump all the flour in at once. Add it gradually as you continue to mix, allowing it to lightly brown into a buttery, dough-like consistency.
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Reduce the heat from high to just above medium, while continuing to stir.
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Add a 6 oz. can of tomato paste. Stir it well, until it's blended completely into the flour and butter mixture. The consistency should be thick and pasty, almost like a dough.
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Add 1 cup of white wine or cooking sherry. Pour it in gradually as you stir it into the mix. This step should transform the dough-like consistency of the roux into more of a gravy-like texture. It is important to continue to stir the mixture throughout this process. If, once the wine is completely stirred in, the mixture is still too doughy, you can add a dash or two of water.
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Tips & Warnings
Once made, the red roux can be used immediately for crawfish etouffee or stored in a container and frozen for later use.
References
- "River Road Recipes 50th Anniversary Edition"; Junior League of Baton Rouge; 2009
- Photo Credit red crawfishes image by Anastacia Gudz from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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if everyone could follow these instructions u would taste what I've been cooking..... oh yeah!
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This is not the way we here in Louisiana make a red roux. To do so, melt the stick of butter with the flour blended thoroughly into it, and cook over medium heat. Be sure to stir constantly until the red color develops....WE don't add tomato paste to make it red.
