Or making pan gravy using flour, or making a simple roux

It always comes out with a hint of raw flour taste.  It hasn't always been this way.  When I was young I made the most incredible "Country Style Steak".  I've lost my touch  

My Grandmother could fry chicken, put the biscuits in the oven and have incredible pan gravy before the biscuits were done.  The last time I made gravy I simmered it for 2 hours and it still tasted of raw flour.

I'm not a dumb person.  

I've tried everything I can think of, including self rising, plain and all purpose flour. 50-50 ration flour to fat and other ratios.  I've tried high heat and low heat.  I've tried broth or water, it still tastes like flour.

Making a true roux?  Nasty.  Now occasionally I can make a bechamal sauce.

I'm at a loss.

The kicker is, I enjoy watching Diners Drive-ins and dives.  I can't remember the number of times I've seem a Chef sweat vegetables, add flour (for a thickener), mix a bit and add liquid, simmer.
Now of course we can't taste the finished product but guy never complains of raw flour

It has to be my technique

Anyone care to share their technique?

I miss Country Style Steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and a bean of some sort

Gots to get dat roux boilin', son.

You don't "add flour" - that's for corn starch if you're cheating.

You got to get the roux on the boil to cook the flour you add, and that takes a bit of heat and time.

Could u repeat that in english?

You must heat the roux highly to cook the flour you are adding. Simple boiling liquid will not cook flour added to attempt to thicken a sauce or mixture.

Roux smell like toasted nuts?

Sounds like you,re not cooking the flour long enough.

Make sure the fat is hot before adding the flour.  Stir or whisk until you smell a nutty aroma.  Only then, add liquid.  Keep stirring until a full boil is achieved, the simmer 3 - 5 minutes.

I never add raw flour to a dish as a thickening agent.

Roux should finish to the consistency of wet sand.  Brown roux will need a bit more flour to cook down than a blond roux.  

Ratio of flour to butter is approximately 1:1 that's by weight not volume.

ETA. if you keep pre made roux for sauces etc.  the method is :Hot liquid, hot roux, cold liquid, cold roux.

I've cooked the flour slow at low heat for a long time (maybe 20 min)

And I've cooked on high heat for a short time and I get the same taste.

The last time I made CSS I cooked the flour/oil until they were a bit darker than I wanted.  Still tasted like flour.

So I added water and simmered the gravy for an hour before I put the steak back in. Still had a slight flour aftertaste after cooking the steak for 1/2 hr.  Total of 1.5 hrs.

I've tried more fat, less flour.  That makes greasy gravy

Less fat more flour makes makes gritty flour tasting gravy

And like I said, years ago I made the most spectacular gravy.  I've just lost my touch

Well hell, Dude.  I'm stumped!  Maybe check what kind of flour you're using and/or get fresh flour?  WAG on my part here.  Good luck and let us know if you find the problem.

It's not about the length of time you boil flour and water. It's whether you got the mixture hot enough to actually cook the flour in the oil slurry.

A sure indicator, for me, is if the mixture boils and "foams/fluffs" after you add the flour to the oil.

When I use a slurry to thicken the cheeseburger soup, I always use one of those Tupperware shakers to mix it up real well first, then add slowly to the soup while I'm stirring it.  Never had an issue, it cooks in a crock pot.

I'll keep trying for sure

I'm making a bechamel tonight as kind of a gravy in a chicken and egg noodles dish

That is my problem, I just can't hit that fine line between raw, cooked and burned

Keep on cookin'.

You can throw the burnt stuff away, but you can't serve the raw stuff.

hot fat, add you flour, let it cook for a bit.keep stirring it, don't let it scorch. keep it moving, gradually it will get darker. the longer you let it cook, the more flavor it will impart, but as it gets darker, it loses it's thickening ability. light chesnut is where i usually aim for when making gravy.

Make roux 50/50 fat, flour
Cook to desired color blonde - dark
Add cold liquid to hot roux
Cook until thickened and raw flour taste is gone.

The flour taste is cooked out in the last step. If it tasted like flour it wasn't cooked long enough.

I am guessing you are using too much roux and not cooking the liquid you are trying to thicken long enough. Corn starch is an instant thickener Roux takes time to thicken a sauce.

Hope this helps.

I use one of those too. never had a problem, until this one time...
I was baking this beef roast and drinking beer and by the time the roast was done, I was pretty lit. I decided it would be agood idea to thicken the juices a bit with some flour. I got out my trusty Tupperware gravy mixer and used some hot juices instead of water. Great idea, right? I put the top on and started shaking it up. If I hadn't had my finger on the top while shaking it would have been bad for me. That sucker EXPLODED and sent gravy all over my kitchen. I got some good burns on my arms and chest.
So yeah, don;t use hot liquids in those gravy shakers, kids!!

Only trick I know of to try is to bake the flour in the oven (sprinkle/sift it over a cookie sheet) at 375 for 10-15 minutes until it's a tan/brown color. Removes the "flour" taste, but you can't get a good white or even blond sauce doing it this way, but it keeps you from burning a dark brown roux in the pot trying to get it good and dark from white flour.

Use corn starch instead

Has the flour been changing color when you make the roux? If so, either you've got some funky flour, or you might be imagining the taste, the flour taste is gone pretty quickly when you make a roux, just takes a bit of color change.

As far as using it as a thickener, just use corn starch or something else.

Low and slow, bring to a boil. Cold liquid in hot pan= no lumps no raw flour tastes

Depends what your application is but for any roux always use 50:50. 1 # of roux should thicken 1G of liquid. Once you add your liquid and bring it to a simmer you need to cook it for atleast 25 minutes to remove the taste of raw flour.

The darker you cook your roux at first ( for example with a red roux for Cajun cuisine) the lesser the thickening power.

Hope this helps

Not heating it long enough before adding the liquid .