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I was talking to a guy I work with and he said to cook the chicken slightly in the skillet, brown the sausage and then use the oil leftover to make the roux. He said that is the best way to capture the flavor which seems to make sense to me. That being said, I feel like it kinda limits the ability to make more if necessary. Is it that big of a deal to use oil that you cooked the meat in. Should I do that at all or is it just kinda to each his own? It sounds like most people just make the roux completely separate from everything else, so I guess there isn't anything wrong with that or am I missing something?

I render the sausage and chicken in a pan, generating a bit of fat. Its not enough to make a gumbo roux.

But I will then remove the meat, and sweat the onions/etc. in this, perhaps adding a little more fat if necessary. When the onions are clear... I sprinkle a little flour on top of this to soak up any fat in the pan, and just lightly brown it.

This is in addition to a regular flour/oil roux that I am making. (and that is done in an iron skillet in the oven.

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Posted by BayouBlitz

Member since Aug 2007

18126 posts

Posted on 12/16/11 at 2:45 pm to HoustonsTiger

I used to brown the chicken in oil and pull the chicken and start my roux in that skillet. Then trnasfer the roux to the gumbo pot (I use a cast iron pot.) IF you do that, I'd strain the oil, as the bits that the chicken leave are very likely to burn while you're making the roux.

This is an old fashioned way and how I learned. But now, I just use chicken stock to get the flavor. And a tblsp of bacon fat in the roux for a little extra depth. Not necessary though.

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