So you want to make macaroni and cheese from scratch at home? Great! If you’re going to make a white sauce, or a cheese sauce, or even gravy, you’re going to want to know how to make a roux.
But what is a roux, you ask? It’s a mixture of a fat and flour that help to thicken your sauces. Use equal parts fat and flour (think butter or lard) and you’re on your way to a thick and creamy sauce. Here, I’ll show you.
Here’s what you need: equal parts butter, and flour, and then whatever other additives you’re using to finish your sauce (in this case, cheese!)
Start by melting the butter into your pan.
When the butter is melted, add your flour, stirring frequently for about two minutes. This helps to get the floury taste out of your roux, so don’t skip this step. Our roux is darker because we used whole wheat flour, so never fear – if you use white flour, your roux will be white.
After two minutes or so, add your milk. We added two cups of milk here. Stir until the sauce thickens, which will kind of happen all at once. You’ll be sitting there, stirring, cursing my name, being like, “Jennie, you’re crazy, this never thickens!” and then it’ll thicken so fast you’ll think it was divine intervention. Trust in the roux.
Next, add in your cheese. How much is up to you – you can add more or less based on taste. Salt and pepper your sauce too, so it’s the perfect mac and cheese sauce!
When your cheese is all melted, and your sauce is properly seasoned, pour over your favorite macaroni of choice, and you’ve got yourself a delicious macaroni and cheese that everyone will want seconds of!
What other cooking techniques do you guys have questions about?
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