I craved a shrimp and sausage gumbo yesterday, and went to the market and bought all the ingredients. I was dreading standing in front of the stove stirring a brown roux endlessly, and then I dimly remembered a different method that I saw (I think) on America’s Test Kitchen.
Start about 1.5 hours before mealtime. Turn on the oven to 400, and spread a bunch of flour on a big sheet tray. Bake it in the oven, stirring once or twice, for 1.5 hours or until the flour has become a peanut butter brown color.
Then start sauteing your gumbo vegies, and when they’ve wilted down, add in some of the pre-browned flour, and proceed directly to adding the liquid and building the rest of the gumbo. It works like a charm!
The browned flour will look much darker in color once it hits the oil in the pot, so no need to bake it darker than peanut butter color. I made much more than I needed, so I’m saving the rest for a beef stew once the weather becomes colder.
I have a quick method, though it still involves stirring. But I can make weekday gumbo if I feel like it-- no more than 45 min-1 hour from start to finish.
Chop up all veggies and get all other ingredients ready (mise en place, if you want to get fancy).
I get a small pan, about 6" in diameter, throw in a knob of butter, and turn the burner on high. Meanwhile I get the chopped veggies sauteeing on the adjioning burner.
I add the flour to the small pan when the butter melts and stir vigorously. That keeps the roux from burning, and it browns to the color of an old penny in like 10-15 minutes. If the roux does seem like it’s overheating I just lift the pan off the heat for a little bit.
I take turns stirring the roux and the veggies. When the roux is the color I want, I add it to the veggies and slowly stir in warm chicken stock. Then comes the fun part-- taste, hmmm…a bit more thyme? Taste again-- couple shakes of Tabasco and Worcestershire; taste a few minutes later…
I do the Alton Brown method, mix the oil and flour, then stick it in the oven for 90 minutes. You have stir it a few times, but you get a nice deep-brick colored roux with no fuss.