I've seen some posts 'why does my roux (rue) break?'. Roux break? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Roux is fat and flour: butter, bacon fat, etc. and flour. The trick is very low heat. I like to melt my butter or warm my bacon fat on very low heat and gradually work in the flour. I like a very loose roux 'cuz it makes it easier to mix in whatever I'm trying to thicken. Roux should be stirred every few seconds for about 7-8 minutes to cook out the raw flavor of the flour. There will be a scent of nuttiness. Remember the longer you cook your roux the more it loses it's ability to thicken. For cajun cooking that requires a 'mahogany' or 'chocolate' roux I keep a 'blonde' or light roux on hand for thickening. You can keep roux refrigerated or frozen for future use. A good way is to buy an ice cube tray from the dollar store and put the roux in cubes, wrap well and freeze then you have pre-portioned roux for whatever need. Zmooch.

With all due respect, I disagree with the cooking technique. At our gumbo cookoffs, we make different batches from blond to chocolate and they all are mostly made over high heat. Yes you can make one over low heat but stirring constantly is a rule for all styles at all times. They usually break when someone stops paying attention and stops stirring or stirs in the same place instead of carefully covering the entire bottom of the pan scraping up each little bit as it is browned. They also break when someone uses a wooden spoon instead of a wisk and doesn't quite know how to scrape the pan with the spoon (it is much harder).

The goal is to attach the fat molecule to the flour particle. The result is fat-carb hybrid which is capable of attaching to fat and water at the same time, which is what gives it the thickening ability and the ability to emulsify fats into a water solution. This technique was used by my mother who always had the "need for speed". Granted this method takes a little practice and skill, but once learned, lends itself to a lifetime of proper gumbos, gravies, sauces, lickity split.

Well truthfully I never heard of roux breaking. And the high heat method is ok for restaurant work but most people at home are going to burn it 'cuz you have to stay on top of it and with the distractions that go on at a home are going to counter that. And the fat-molecule thing is way overkill for a simple cooking thing. That's the rocket scientist stuff that makes the food tv shows annoying for the simple reason that cooking is not rocket science. And I'm sorry 'due respect'? Sounds more like an ego driven dress-down. Try proposing it more like an alternate theory. There's always more than one way to do things.

Roux,, the heart of good gumbo