Re- SC - chicken on string

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Mark Harris wrote:
> 
> Last Thursday, July 31, Tibor described how to cook a modern roast:
> 
> This sounds wonderful, but I don't understand some of his description.
> 
> >Remove the roast when done, let it stand on the counter for 10-20 minutes
> >while you rescue the pan drippings for gravy, slice at the end of the time
> >period, and serve.  YUM.  Gravy, for me, is taking the pan, deglazing with
> >wine, using a non-period roux and serving.
> 
> Pray tell, what does this last sentence mean? What is deglazing? What is
> a roux?

This is some of that Evil French Culinary Technology at work. When you
cook just about anything by sauteeing, roasting, or boiling, there are
likely to be juices in the pan which cook down to a thick, slightly
sticky glaze or crust at some parts of the pan. Deglazing is the
dissolving and removal of this (usually flavorful) stuff from the bottom
of the pan. Classically, this is usually done with water, stock, wine,
or some combination thereof, but every so often you find fairly odd
things like milk, coffee, or even Coca Cola being used. This deglazed
pan juice can then be cooked down to a uniformly thick, syrupy sauce, or
it can be thickened with roux.

Roux comes in various colors and flavors, but the most common forms are
white, blonde, and brown (in some extreme cases, red) roux. The most
basic roux is made from some kind of fat like butter or oil, heated, to
which flour is added to make a smooth paste. You then cook this paste to
the desired color (which also affects the taste of it), and whisk it
into a liquid to thicken it. It not only thickens this liquid as it
approaches a simmer or a boil, but if you have something like milk which
is liable to curdle, it can help stabilize it and keep it smooth. Roux
seems to have entered the European culinary repertoire sometime in the
17th century. 

One of the things I find especially interesting is the fact that various
sauces and pottages in medieval European cuisines seem almost always to
be thickened with breadcrumbs, although several recipes do call for
other thickeners like rice flour and wheat starch. It's ironic because
today, when people can't be bothered making a roux, they usually make a
slurry of cornstarch mixed with a little water. Full circle, and all
that. 

Adamantius
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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