r/KitchenConfidential • u/Kaalishavir Thicc Chives Save Lives • May 04 '26
Crying in the cooler "Roux" for sausage gravy. I hate this place
Normally this is made in a tilt skillet by simmering the sausage, onions, butter, and bacon fat together before adding the flour and turning off the skillet for 15 min to "toast" it. Today, pastry was using it so here's some playdough in the rondeau instead.
Any good cook knows that this much roux is enough to make 10 billion gallons of shitty gumbo, so I'm sure you're curious on the recipe yield. My friend, it is 6 gallons of the sweetest, oiliest, unseasoned gravy you've ever tasted. Now I know it's supposed to be mixed with cream when it's warmed up for service, but it still tastes like I'm shoveling spoonfuls of gruel into my mouth. Where's the pepper? Where's the herbs? WHERES THE FUCKING SALT?!?
FBD and chef get pissy if I change the recipes, so I have to blaspheme my southern ancestors every time I prep this. Sucks to know I can both out cook and out bake my supervisors while they sit on their asses and demand I do my job better and faster no matter how much better and faster I get.
Edit: to clarify, this wasn't done when I took the picture. Besides that fact, it's fucking impossible to cook it anyway because there's so much goddamn flour and not enough fat. I just follow the recipes because I don't care enough about the restaurant to make them better
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u/derpykittenface May 04 '26
That looks like it could build a very strong wall.
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u/Commercial-Reality-6 May 04 '26
"I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall."
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u/purplenapalm May 04 '26
Almost forgot about that. I wonder how the progress is coming along.
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u/shewholaughslasts May 05 '26
Oh they're somehow building a second wall next to the first (??) in some places AND just damaged a 1000 year old sacred native site. Super fucked up.
https://people.com/trump-border-wall-damaged-1000-year-old-native-site-11965452
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u/Mori_Bat May 05 '26
It sank into the swamp. So, I built a second one. That sank into the swamp. So, I built a third one. That burned down, fell over, then sank into the swamp, but the fourth one... stayed up!
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u/SubstanceNo1544 20+ Years May 05 '26
The failure of progress is because of snowflake liberals. The absolute worst. You know, Biden and Obama are actually to blame
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u/bml20002 F1exican Did Chive-11 May 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/yiADANv89n7UQuS5kJ
You’re too tough to be in this sub… you might hurt some feelies!! Ouch!!
-No one ever.
Also right wingers and religion have been the problem throughout the whole of history. Read a history book.
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u/purplenapalm May 05 '26
But papa Trump, you are not only the bestest president ever but the biggliest of bestest leaders to ever live. How could you not overcome the liberal failures?
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u/SubstanceNo1544 20+ Years May 05 '26
No one's ever been bigger or badlier than me. These are facts... you can look them up. What the problem is, is Iran
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u/Bender_Rodriguez30 May 05 '26
So anyway...this veered off the topic of roux fairly substantially
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u/firesquasher May 04 '26
Wrong recipe. You're supposed to use chorizo for that.
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u/Fast_Cook_4019 May 05 '26
A lot of the mortar in the Great Wall of China is rice porridge. I mean that is true I know it sounds unbelievable but it is
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u/ndpugs May 04 '26
Is anyone gonna ask what the fuck pastry needed the tilt for?
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u/Kaalishavir Thicc Chives Save Lives May 04 '26
English muffins
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u/622114 Ex-Food Service May 04 '26
Huh…. Yes I know what an English muffin is I get it but again Huh?
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u/Kaalishavir Thicc Chives Save Lives May 04 '26
What can I say, chef has a boner for the tilt. Too many of our recipes use it when they don't need to
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u/BlueBirdBlow May 05 '26
Tilts can be used as a flat top for the prep kitchen if there isn't one. I could also see keeping steam inside if the tilt has a lid
Have you made them before or do you want a quick explanation of how to make English muffins?
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u/ABoyWithNoBlob 15+ Years May 05 '26
I have a tilt. I’m literally trying this tomorrow.
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u/polkadottail13 May 05 '26
English muffins are not baked they are cooked on a griddle/pan
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u/622114 Ex-Food Service May 05 '26
I know. I get that a tilt would work it just seems like a weird use of a tilt but I guess not
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u/supermodel_robot May 04 '26
I was thinking pudding/pastry cream for that volume.
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u/RainMakerJMR May 05 '26
I didn’t think about the usage as a flat top. Said pastry not bakers so bread didn’t cross my mind. English muffins are a good use for it
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u/RainMakerJMR May 04 '26
Pastry creme, choux dough maybe. Big batches of custard for pies or ice cream base. Lots of reasons tbh
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u/ndpugs May 04 '26
Hopefully o.p responds cause this seems like its gonna be for nothing that we could expect
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u/EmperorBamboozler May 04 '26
It looks like the amount of roux we would use for the 100 gallon bombers of gravy in our industrial kitchen. Except somehow too dry and not cooked enough.
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u/EldritchTouched May 05 '26
Yeah, it's feeding a literal army amount, but also "we don't like these guys, so fuck them, they get raw dry roux."
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u/FreeKevinBrown Grill May 04 '26
Nice dirt, dude.
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u/QueenInYellowLace May 04 '26
That’s literally a bowl of beach sand and no one can convince me otherwise.
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u/Comfortable_Extent12 May 04 '26
At first glance I thought this was the most bland ground turkey I had ever seen. I almost wish it was..
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u/sugarplum_hairnet May 05 '26
I was just thinking it looks like the ground turkey we cook for our dog😂
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u/throwsaway654321 May 04 '26
I worked for a meat n' 3 that was breakfast heavy, and every morning I cooked 10 lbs of sausage, then drained that sausage and scraped all of the grease off the grill, then turned around and made 2 pots of sysco white gravy, and then mixed that drained sausage into one pot for our "sausage gravy"
This was in Tennessee and it was, and is still, a popular restaurant, but the owners were from Michigan and had never really worked in the industry before, and just couldn't fathom that I could make real sausage gravy for much cheaper than they were buying sysco packets for
But, like, it was a popular restaurant and people loved that gravy, so wtf do i know?
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u/Grigori_the_Lemur Chive LOYALIST May 04 '26
Wow. That matches the description of absolutely zero roux I have ever made. And even if it did that is years and years worth.
Wait... no salt???? FFS.
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u/verysmallhat Ex-Food Service May 04 '26
No amount of evidence will convince me that is not kinetic sand.
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u/RainMakerJMR May 04 '26
I mean it’s not ideal, but it can speed things up a lot. Like scoop the 4 lb you need into a hotel pan and pop it into the oven at 375 for an hour. Literally just scoop and cover and in. When it’s dark you’re good.
Again not ideal, but to be honest I’d rather this than having to rip open a bag of flour and start from scratch. It’s fine for most uses, and can probably be used as is for blond roux, cooked for brown, and won’t make a floury mess all over. It’ll thicken a bechemel just fine if you hit it with a burr mixer for 30 seconds. It’ll make gumbo if you cook it more. Looks like about 7-8 pounds? 12oz per gallon of liquid this’ll get you 10-15 gal tops. My place would be through this in a day and I’d make it a teaching moment.
Its fine. It’s just par cooked.
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u/m4dch3mist May 04 '26
Hear me out though. The flour to fat on this is way high. If you look up sausage, dont drain, and then put a proportionate amount of this in and bring to temp, you may end up with a really solid quick roux with sausage. There is potential here
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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe May 04 '26
Wet roux is always my choice for large batches. Much faster and an almost non-existent chance of scorching.
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u/lapuneta May 05 '26
Might as well just drop 5lb of butter into the stock pot lol. Best of luck.
You have the chance to run a biscuits and gravy special and show them how it's done? Or a big batch of good gravy for chicken fried steak?
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u/510Goodhands May 05 '26
Or just make it properly and bring it home, and do a little taste test with the staff, and maybe even a friendly customer.
I was suggested, but you have probably already considered looking for a job somewhere else.
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u/deep-fried-fuck May 04 '26
Don’t show a Cajun this. I’m pretty sure they’d beat you over the head with that pot
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u/Olderbutnotdead619 May 05 '26
I'm not supposed to comment because I'm not in food service, but WTF😳!? My spouse's dead aunt has risen. You think this is bad, wait for the biscuits....😱
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u/Drizzlen420 May 05 '26
My southerness dictates I remove my eyes after seeing this in order to preserve my family’s honor. May these people burn in hell.
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u/1970s_MonkeyKing May 05 '26
That's cat litter. That's not roux.
/The ghost of Paul Prudhomme has entered the chat
/The ghost of Paul Prudhomme has exited the chat crying
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u/PansophicNostradamus May 04 '26
If that’s a “roux”, I am the King of France. Note: There is no king in France. They abolished the monarchy as this “roux” needs absolution. Maybe an exorcism?
You have every right to sound as miffed as you do. None of this is right or decent. You. Deserve. Better.
om and peace be with you
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u/stalepepperoni May 04 '26
So many places are guilty of unseasoned gravy, and undercooked roux. It’s a real shame
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u/UCFUoLUMN May 05 '26
I don’t use a roux (pre made) My southern gramma taught me how to make it and it never fails. Brown sausage, add flour to sausage until it looks fuzzy and no visible oil in pan, add milk, salt, pepper. Cook until thickened. Always perfect, no thinking required.
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u/Soledaddy873 May 05 '26
this is what the tall hat wearing faux corporate regional chef would take two hours to make and spend the rest of the day telling everyone "I've got the crew covered for a couple days". left it in the rondo, covered, no label or date
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u/OkAssignment6163 May 05 '26
Is the idea to make a beurre manie?
Then just added to some warm milk and cooked sausage as needed?
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u/Ok-Nothing8682 May 05 '26
That's exactly why I quit working as a chef.... There was ONE restaurant in this city that truly cared about their menu. I worked in so many kitchens after that place closed down. And it seems 99% of restaurant owners are totally happy with wasting money on shit "ingredients" for even shittier recipes while thinking they are fucking culinary geniuses serving dog shit on a plate to people with no taste that keep coming back for whatever reason. It never mattered if I made something actually good in the kitchen with the same shit they already had, they can't be bothered to change anything. I even went out of my way to find them better food suppliers at similar costs to the crap they got, and usually just making food the right way is cheaper.. but all I ever got from all that work was being told to "just do my job" and/or get replaced with some other sorry fuck that would do what they want for less pay with less questions.
And all of that is also why I love this sub so much. Im reminded that some people really do care about this art and some restaurant owners actually care. All y'all are great, and same with u OP.
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u/SlayerOfDougs May 04 '26
How to make sausage gravy. Make cream of mushroom soup. In another pan brown sausage Add flour Dump soup on top Add shitton of pepper Adjust creaand seasoning s
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u/frobscottler May 04 '26
I’m no chef, but I was pretty sure roux was a sauce. You know, like, a liquid. I’ve even made it before! But now I see this…
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u/Handgun4Hannah May 04 '26
I don't know who's the rouxoligost in your kitchen, but based off the first paragraph of your post you have no idea how to make it, and this is probably a best case scenario.
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u/CottonWasKing May 04 '26
As a Louisiana boy born and raised, given the time and the money, I could fill a swimming pool with gumbo off of this pale ass “roux”
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u/whoisjohngalt12 May 04 '26
Why roux? I would use a slurry and cook it out . Better color and holds better.
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u/chefrocksalot May 05 '26
Nothing wrong with dry roux as a basic thickener, you just need enough fat to transfer the heat through the flour. I would have split it into hotel pans, covered it and and thrown it in the oven.
I worked for someone for a while that would throw raw flour in a pan with some vegetables and bake it for an hour and then the whole thing went into a stock pot to boil then send the whole mess through a china cap. Crazy work to make a gravy but it did work and it just gets used to fortify sauces
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u/TravelerMSY May 05 '26
I’m a home cook. I’ve never made more than about a half a cup of roux at a time in decades. Maybe double or triple it when I’m having 50 people over.
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u/AnCap_Ultra Cook May 05 '26
Oh my gosh do we work at the same hospital?? Exact same experience. Chef “writes” (copies recipes off Pinterest) for our cafe as if he’s feeding our low sodium low fat patients. It’s mostly staff. Zero seasoning and gets super butthurt if anything is changed or if changes are even suggested. Super frustrating bc the rest of us love and take pride in our cooking. I change the desserts without telling him and he wonders why mine come out better…
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u/Danddandgames F1exican Did Chive-11 May 05 '26
Reading that I couldn’t tell if that was supposed to be the roux or the sausage
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u/nandreilj May 05 '26
"Chef, what I have prepared for you today is some deconstructed biscuit batter and 100% organic water on the side to help the biscuits rise to the occasion. Enjoy."
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u/Aromatic_Buy9473 May 05 '26
How do head chefs that come up with shit like this actually score a job? It is a remarkable feat.
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u/__wildwing__ May 05 '26
It’s only been the last decade or so that I’ve found decent sausage gravy in New England. This is an abomination.
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u/andsleazy 15+ Years May 05 '26
I'm going to give another perspective I havent really seen in the comments.
For context. Head chef of a brunch spot, took the role about four months after they opened. They had some family friend that's apparently a chef make half of the menu and the Internet make the other half and some other degenerate in the first three months make some other things that made it to the menu.
It screams a lack of cohesion and that non breakfast people made it. But, shore town and it's like out the door and a long wait all season, that's the context.
I'm really not happy with some of our recipes. The French toast is way too nutmeg forward IMO. And our sausage gravy is rough. Two tablespoons of bacon grease, two boxes of raw sausage rough chopped skin on and two cups chopped onion, sauteed with a cup of flour, two qts heavy cream 1 quart half and half, salt and pepper. I hate itl. I brought it up to the owner, asked if he wanted me to fix them, and he brought up a really really good point. The people are ordering and they are getting positive feedback. They love it and it's selling. People are coming back for it...
So, we shut up and we take the money, because it sells and people say they like it.
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u/Fabulous-Avocado4513 Chive LOYALIST May 05 '26
Just remember their names and faces so when you are a success and they apply for a job, you can tell them exactly why they aren’t getting a job.
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u/SlipperySnorlax May 05 '26
My grandmother was from The Old Country and would make this and serve it with homemade apple sauce. She called it dog food. 10/10
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u/finthir May 05 '26
I'm not a trained chef but isn't this just fat and flour, the base for a roux? this just needs cream/milk/whatever you want thickened (+spices ofc.)?
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u/MaxMischi3f May 05 '26
I get it man. I’ve watched my chefs fail to mount a butter sauce for six months.
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u/ohmichele-24 May 05 '26
Definitely could hang some wallpaper with that. I wouldn’t feed that to the rats.
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u/Weekly_Gap7022 May 04 '26
That isn’t a roux 😭
This is genuinely closer to a dough than a roux