''Au jus'' () is a French culinary term meaning "with juice". It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish, or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups ...

gravy Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of meats and vegetables that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with thickeners for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a mix of salt and caramel food ...

, made from the fluids secreted by the meat as it is cooked. In

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

, cooking ''au jus'' is a natural way to enhance the flavour of dishes, mainly chicken,

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

, and lamb. In American cuisine, the term is sometimes used to refer to a light

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

for beef recipes, which may be served with the food or placed on the side for dipping.

Ingredients and preparation

To prepare a natural ''jus'', the cook may skim off the fat from the juices left after cooking and bring the remaining meat stock and water to a boil. ''Jus'' can be frozen for six months or longer, but the flavour may suffer after this time. ''Au jus'' recipes in the United States often use

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

Worcestershire sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...

, salt, pepper, white or brown sugar, garlic, beets, carrots, onions, or other ingredients to make something more like a

. The American ''jus'' is sometimes prepared separately, rather than being produced naturally by the food being cooked. An example could be a beef ''jus'' made by reducing beef stock to a concentrated form (also known as ''Glace de Viande'') to accompany a meat dish. It is typically served with the French dip sandwich. ''Jus'' can also be made by extracting the juice from the original meat and combining it with another liquid e.g. red wine (thus forming a red wine ''jus''). A powdered product described as ''jus'' is also sold and is rubbed into the meat before cooking or added afterwards. Powdered forms generally use a combination of

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, dried

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, and sometimes

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

as primary flavoring agents.

Use as noun

In the United States, the phrase ''au jus'' is often used as a noun, owing to it having been adapted in culinary references into the noun form: Rather than a "sandwich au jus", the menu may read "sandwich with au jus".

References

External links

French dip with au jus
{{French cuisine World cuisine French cuisine Sauces Culinary terminology Types of food

Ingredients and preparation

Use as noun

See also

References

External links