Alex Rast wrote:

>
> Unfortunately, I've not found the last point to be true. In fact, there
> seems to be to me some "magic" behind getting gravy not to clump that I
> don't understand. I do a roux just as you describe. There's never any
> problem with making it smooth during the roux stage. And then I can brown
> the roux as desired. But then, when I add liquid - usually hot broth,
> occasionally hot water - invariably, the roux clumps badly.

Add the liquid slowly and stir vigorously. The idea is to keep the flour
spread sparsely through the liquid and not giving it s chance to cook together
in a glob. I have a sort of wire whisk that is great for sauces. It is flat
rather than rounded on the action end.




> I can declump
> it, by stirring for about 1/2 hour, carefully pressing the clumps against
> the side and spreading them out, then stirring back in, but this is
> insanely tedious. It doesn't matter how much liquid is added, the result is
> the same, it would seem, every time. Can anyone speculate what I might be
> doing improperly?
>
> --
> Alex Rast
>
> (remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)