Carpenter Family Cajun-Style Roux from Michelle Carpenter (chef/owner, Zen Sushi) INGREDIENTS: Equipment: Carpenter is half-Cajun and half-Japanese and a flour a cast-iron skillet comes from a long line of accomplished cooks. a vegetable oil a wooden spatula According to her brother, Jeffery, who also Generally, use a one-to-one ratio of (optional) loves to cook, a roux can be accomplished only all-purpose flour to vegetable oil. a 1 stool as quickly as one can finish three beers. If you (For gumbo, there is slightly more a 3 beers cook the roux any faster, it simply isn’t done. oil than flour.) Michelle says a proper roux takes at least one hour — it cannot and should not be rushed. Unfortunately for those of us who prefer exact recipes, she never measures when mak- - Use medium-low heat. When the oil heats up, add the flour slowly so it doesn’t ing roux; she always eyeballs it. Nevertheless, immediately start clumping. here is her family’s secret recipe for authentic - Instead of stirring the roux in circles, use a back and forth sweeping motion. (Roux is Cajun-style roux (use dark brown roux for more about technique than it is about ingredients, Carpenter says.) It must be continu- gumbo and medium for étouffée). ous. You cannot leave the roux alone or it will burn. The color of the roux will start turn- ing from blonde to dark caramel to a chocolate brown. - About halfway through the process (when the roux is dark tan), turn down the heat to low. Right before it turns dark brown, remove the skillet from the heat because the iron skillet will continue to cook the roux. If you see black specks, you’ve burned it. It will smell burned, and unfortunately, you will have to start all over. - For étouffée, use butter instead of oil. It takes less time because butter has a lower burn- ing temperature. The color will be medium brown, and you will use only low heat, removing the cast iron skillet from the stove before it turns medium brown. a

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