When in Doubt, Throw it Out

I'm sure that phrase applies to a lot of things, but in the context of this post, I'm talking about a roux. For those of you that don't know, a roux is a cooked flour and oil mixture and is the base of many Cajun dishes. It takes skill and practice to know when your roux is just right, and takes just a little hesitation to go past the point of perfection.

When Brandon goes out of town, I tend to cook all the things he doesn't like and just completely indulge. Some months ago my brother had given me some fish he caught on a trip and I've been saving it for just the right day. One of my absolute favorite fish dishes is Courtbouillon, I sometimes call it Fish Gravy. I like it best with catfish, but Brandon abhors catfish and so I never buy it. I can usually get him to eat tuna, tillapia, or salmon so that's typically what I keep around.

Like all things delicious, fish gravy starts with a roux, a dark roux. The darker usually the deeper the flavor. As I was making the roux it was coming along quite well. It got the point where my Cajun sense started tingling and I felt very compelled to add the onions yet for some reason I ignored it and my brain said, just a little darker, it'll be more delicious. So I waited just one more minute and I immediately felt like I messed up. It didn't look burnt or smell burnt, but I was sure it wasn't right. Against my Cajun sense again, I went ahead and added the onions and thought perhaps it would all even out ok. I still felt wrong about it, yet again I went ahead and added the V8 juice and seasonings. At this point, it just really didn't feel right, I pressed on hoping with some simmering it would work out. I tasted, it wasn't right. A few minutes later, I tasted again and it wasn't wrong, but it wasn't right either. Mom's words rang out in my head as they had done earlier: "Oil and onions are cheap, seafood is not." I took it off the fire, dumped it all in the sink and started over.

You were probably hoping that I went through with it all and it was delicious, but no, I started over and finally I felt right again. I cooked up the second batch of roux and I listened to when my Cajun sense told me to add the onions and I obeyed. It was worth the extra time, it was worth dumping those ingredients. When I nestled that fish in the gravy and cooked it just to tender, I knew I'd done it justice.

It was SO good. What a reward. The kids gobbled it down too, always a plus.