Oven Cooked Dark Roux Recipes

SHRIMP GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.
• While the roux is baking, de-head, peel and devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in a bowl and set in the refrigerator. Place the heads and shells in a 4-quart saucepan along with the 2 quarts of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour or until the liquid has reduced to 1-quart. Remove from the heat and strain the liquid into a container, discarding the solids.
• Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, thyme, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and sausage and stir to combine. Add the file powder while stirring constantly. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes prior to serving. Serve over rice.

ROUX-OVEN METHOD

Steps:

• PREHEAT OVEN TO 400. Use the proportion of 4 parts flour to 2 parts oil. 2c flour and 1c oil It takes roughly the same time to prepare a larger amount, so I prep a large amount and save it for another use later.
• Mix flour and oil in a round ceramic casserole dish until it is smooth, and no lumps remain. Place on the middle rack in a preheated oven. Set a timer for 30 minutes.
• When timer goes off, stir the roux carefully, making sure to scrape along the sides and the bottom entirely. Reset timer for 30 minutes.
• When timer goes off(one hour now), stir the roux carefully, making sure to scrape along the sides and the bottom entirely. Color should be golden to peanut butter color. For a darker roux, continue cooking. Reset timer for 15 minutes.
• When timer goes off, stir the roux carefully, making sure to scrape along the sides and the bottom entirely. Continue to reset timer for 5-15 minutes depending on the color you are trying to achieve. It will continue to cook for a few minutes after removing it from the heat...and it darkens more quickly near the end, so take care to not let it burn!

DARK ROUX

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 325 degrees. On the stovetop, melt shortening in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Gradually sift flour over shortening; whisk to combine. Mixture will be thick and pasty. Continue to whisk until light brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Transfer skillet to oven; let roux cook until very dark brown, 3 to 3 1/2 hours, whisking every 45 minutes (whisk every 30 minutes if pan is not cast iron).