With a little Roux, the Cajun pot thickens.

Roux by flickr

One of the basic cooking elements of Cajun food is learning how to make a roux.  What is a roux, you ask? It's actually quite simple.  A roux is a mix of flour and oil that is "browned" to make a thickening agent.  There are varying opinions on roux.  Some are in favor of browning a roux hot and fast, while others insist on the slow method. This argument also includes the black pot method.  A black pot lends itself to hot and fast so slow roux cookers avoid it at all cost.  Depending on who you talk to a roux needs to be just a little brown in color. While others see the need to have their roux almost black. In any case, you must know how to make a roux to open the door to the world of Cajun cooking.


No matter what side the roux battle you fall on, it is still the key to some of the best dishes in Cajun cooking. The first and most iconic Cajun dish that requires a roux is Gumbo.  Without a roux, gumbo would be nothing more than soup.  But gumbo is so much more than soup.  Most love chicken and andouille gumbo. If you can't get your hands on andouille, then whatever sausage you prefer will do fine. Others are passionate about their seafood gumbo.  I've seen just about every form of seafood know to man put in gumbo.  Some keep it simple with just shrimp.  While others put shrimp, crab, and oysters all in the same pot to make you feel like a rich man.  The different meats put in gumbo is usually a reflection of the individual cook's passion, but it's the roux that binds it all together.  A more traditional dish with a roux is stew.  Obviously the thickening effects of roux lend itself well to making a stew.  Down here you can take just about any meat and make it into stew.  Turkey neck stew is really popular these days.  I'm a big fan of taking the left over Thanksgiving turkey carcass and making a stew.  Especially if it's a colder Thanksgiving.  Some Cajuns still use a roux to make gravy, but more and more are skipping this step.  Another Cajun favorite is Sauce Piquante.  A sauce piquante has a roux and adds some form of tomato paste or tomato ingredient.  Again, most forms of meat work fine with a sauce piquante.  Most make simple chicken sauce piquante on a regular basis.  One of my favorites is very seasonal, that's alligator sauce piquante.  Alligator are only hunted for one month a year so the meat is usually very pricey and sold out very quickly.

Chicken and sausage gumbo courtesy of flickr

So I hope you get a chance to come to Louisiana to eat some good food.  There are so many options to choose from that you are bound to find something you like.  And just remember that if you dish is has a thickness to it, it means that somebody took the time to make a roux. And that means they probably have a story behind their version of roux.  That is the uniqueness of Cajun cuisine.  We all cook similar dishes but we all have our little family preferences that make each dish both Cajun and personal at the same time.

Hope you have a great day and that you eat well today.