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| Three types of Roux |
Hello again! Today class was all about ROUX. A roux is a cooked mixture that is made up of equal parts (by weight) of fat and flour. It is used to thicken sauces...kind of like the common cornstarch and water mixture we all use in our Thanksgiving gravy. A roux comes in 3 different forms...Blanc, Blond, and Brun. Or as we like to call it in class oatmeal, peanut butter, and chocolate because of their colors- everything is easier to understand when you reference it to food...no? Anyways, you get the different colored roux by extending their cook times. Each kind of roux is used for a different style of sauce.
We stated off with a demo from Chef Knight. She showed us how to make a fish Fumet (fish stock) and roux. The fish fumet has the same basic ingredients as the chicken stock we made yesterday, but the cooking technique is a little different. Unlike the chicken stock you must "sweat" the mirepoix and bones (just a little bit) before adding the water to the stockpot. The roux is cooked in a saute pan...you add the butter (fat), heat it up and then whisk in the flour (easier said than done). The Blond roux only takes a few minutes until it is done... its the others that are a tad more difficult. They take longer and require constant attention to prevent burning (butter burns very easily if not careful!).
After getting my mise en place, I anxiously started on my tasks at hand. I got my fish fumet in the pot, on the stove and I started on my roux. At this stage in my cooking career I am not too familiar with a commercial kitchen stove (those babies are HOT!), or multi-tasking in the kitchen the way we are supposed too. Needless to say, today I had a little temperature control, and time management problems. I cooked my fish fumet a little to long before adding the water (Hey, its my first time with this recipe...this is hard!), and it was too dark to use :( Chef Sutton was reassuring and told me it was the effort that counted (I hate doing things wrong!). Stressed and feeling the pressure...the Chefs yell out "Ten minutes to get your dished presented!"Oh man! Time to finish my roux! I turn up the heat on my stove and tryed to bust these roux out! In the nick of time I plate my three colored roux and place them on the critiquing table...(dun, Dun, DUN). Standing there eye to eye with my Chef, she takes her spoon and swirls it through my roux. The results weren't too bad...I had a cooked them a little to long, and I needed to add more flower from the get go. Could have been worse.
Tired and a little frazzled its time to go home. Clean up is done and class is over for the day. While walking out the door I make a mental note to myself...tomorrow I will do things right. I will not burn anything and I will get more organized before lighting up that stove! I always hear the phrase "If you cant take the heat, stay out of the kitchen" know I know what that means. This class is going to challenge me...and I like it!
To all my readers out there I bid you adieu!
- Chef Kass In Training
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