URGENT COOKING HELP NEEDED: undercooked roux

[Silent1CB]

Is it possible to fix an undercooked roux once the recipe is done? DH just tried his first attempt at making chowdah.

 

[DawnCt1]

Is it possible to fix an undercooked roux once the recipe is done? DH just tried his first attempt at making chowdah.

I am guessing that the chowdah isn't thick enough? If so, mix equal parts cold milk and flour together and pour it in slowly until it thickens to the consistency you desire.

 

[clovergirl5]

Im not sure if this is much help as I have never made chowder, but isn't the roux just flour, butter, seasonings and milk? How can you undercook that?
Im thinking of the roux base I make for homemade chicken potpie.

 

[Silent1CB]

Undercooked roux as in the chowdah tastes very floury.

I've had same problems in my chicken pot pies when I don't cook the roux enough. Tastes floury.

Thickness is not the problem. Its the taste.
Google roux. Its very easy to undercook a roux & to overcook for that matter.

But I can't find anything on how to fix. Only to throw out roux & start again if you burn it.

 

[clovergirl5]

Do you add any soup base like boullion? If it were me, I probably would add chicken soup base or boullion cubes.

 

[Silent1CB]

Do you add any soup base like boullion? If it were me, I probably would add chicken soup base or boullion cubes.

There is nothing like that in chowdah. Your "base" is pretty much all the solids like roux, potatoes, onions, & clams cooked in various stages. Your liquid is your milk product of choice & you add as much as you want for consistancy. Way more steps than that, but that's the easiest way to explain.

It may be a total bust as this point. I've eaten my chicken pot pies when they still tasted floury, but he doesn't like the chowdah this way. Oh well.

I think I need to get a better handle on how long to cook rouxs. Funny, yesterdays episode of French Chef with Julia Child & Jacques Pepin - Jacques said you don't need to cook them, and Julia disagreed saying they taste raw & floury. I agree with Julia.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I know exactly what you mean, and unfortunately there isn't much to do for it now. You can add some butter to try and divert your taste buds LOL but it won't change the rawness of the roux.

When making a roux for chowder cook it until it's a pale yellow/golden color. You definitely don't want it to darken as you would for jambalaya, but it does need to cook for several minutes.

The other option is to make a chowder without using a roux. Those recipes are quite nice too.

 

[Silent1CB]

I know exactly what you mean, and unfortunately there isn't much to do for it now. You can add some butter to try and divert your taste buds LOL but it won't change the rawness of the roux.

When making a roux for chowder cook it until it's a pale yellow/golden color. You definitely don't want it to darken as you would for jambalaya, but it does need to cook for several minutes.

The other option is to make a chowder without using a roux. Those recipes are quite nice too.

Thanks for understanding the problem.

Maybe I need to start tasting the roux since I don't seem to get it right judging by color or time. Does anyone else taste theirs?

 

[pittsburghmarc]

Mix corn starch with water, then slowly add while the chowder is on the burner.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Thanks for understanding the problem.

Maybe I need to start tasting the roux since I don't seem to get it right judging by color or time. Does anyone else taste theirs?

If you need your roux to taste a certain way, I would taste it until it is right.

As far as I know, you mix constantly, until it comes to a boil, lower heat simmer 2 minutes. That is how I do it.

How did you make it?

 

[Magic Mom]

I know exactly what you mean, and unfortunately there isn't much to do for it now. You can add some butter to try and divert your taste buds LOL but it won't change the rawness of the roux.

I agree, the roux is a wash. You can't fix it, so you'll have to try and mask it.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

Next time skip the roux--it's not really needed and a pain to get just right unless you do it on a regular basis.

When I make mine I just use the stock and the potatoes with 1T of flour for the thickness--if it's not thick enough I'll smash up a couple of the potato slices to release the starch and thicken it up

 

[Pamlur]

The next time you go to the store, check the spice aisle to see if they still make Kitchen Bouquet. It's a "gravy browner" and small amounts of that has helped me salvage a "too floury" taste in many gravies/rouxs. It comes in a brown glass bottle with a yellow label.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Just keep cooking it, adding some liquid if needed, the flour taste will go away

 

[Silent1CB]

Just keep cooking it, adding some liquid if needed, the flour taste will go away

I'll give that one a try. In theory it sounds like it should work, right? We put it in the frig & didn't eat it.

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, you can finish the roux by cooking it, but that might turn the rest of the ingredients to total glop. (I don't do chowder, so I don't know what consistency you're going for in the other ingredients.) You will have to get the temp fairly high, so it will have to be stirred continuously so that it neither boils nor burns. nor develops nasty lumps.

You could always add some properly cooked roux if what you need is a flavor fix. Cook the roux separately, then take some of the soup, cool it, and mix about a cup into the roux before you add it all back into the pot.

Getting roux right is a matter of patience, and color is a solid method to gauge doneness. HOWEVER, be sure to look at it in natural light if at all possible -- the wrong kind of artificial light at the wrong angle can easily fool you.