Au Jus

"With au jus = with the juice"

Au jus is French for "with its own juice." In America it describes a thin sauce for using with beef. It is not thick like many sauces or gravies.

This sauce is sometimes served with (on) the food or placed in a small individual bowl on the side for dipping into. It is sometimes served in a gravy boat, as well.

You can use this sauce for any beef item, including prime rib, roasted New York, tenderloin and it is excellent with French Dip sandwiches. It's great!

The drippings from a roast are ideal for making this recipe because there is usually just enough fat in the drippings to add a good amount of flavor. I suggest you do not use artifically flavored, salty bouillon cubes to make your sauce.

There are some very good organic bouillon products available in more and more grocery stores. Use those for additional flavor if needed.

Beef Au Jus

Preparation time: 15 minutes. Serves 8

Ingredients:

• Drippings from beef roast
• 2 1/2  cups beef stock or brown stock
• 2 1/2 ounces chopped onions
• 1 ounce chopped carrots
• 1 ounce chopped celery
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Drain off all but 1-2 ounces of the fat from the roasting pan being careful to retain any juices in the pan from your roast
• Add the onions, carrots and celery
• Set the pan over high heat and cook until the vegetables are brown and their moisture has evaporated leaving only fat, vegetables and brown drippings and adjust heat so the mixture does not burn
• Pour off excess fat
• Pour 2/3 cup of the stock into the roasting pan to deglaze it
• Stir over heat until brown drippings are dissolved
• Pour the deglazing liquid and vegetables into a sauce pan with the remaining stock
• Simmer until the vegetables are soft and the liquid is reduced by about 1/3
• Strain through a sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean sauce pan
• Skim the fat off and season to taste with salt and pepper

Serve warm in small individual bowls or in a gravy boat.

This delicious beef sauce is as popular an enhancement to certain beef items as is Horseradish Sauce.

Enjoy your beef sauce and the company of those you share it with! - Donna

Did you know? Making this juice (sauce) is more a technique and less a recipe. Don't be afraid to experiment.