Au jus is a French term, which translates to “with the juice”, where “au” means “with the” and “jus” implies “juice”. The term is basically used to describe dishes served with juice, with the juice or jus referring to gravy or natural juices obtained from meat when cooked. In US, food served au jus refers to ‘served with light broth’, such as dipping sauce. In French cuisine, jus is gravy made with meat juices; however, in American cuisine, jus might be made with only sauces, garlic, onions, and seasonings, without the use of meat juices or meat stock. Jus can either be served as an accompaniment to meat dishes or used as in ingredient of meat based dishes, with the jus primarily acting as a flavor enhancer.
Ingredients and Preparation
In French cuisine, the au jus recipe suggests skimming off the juices of meat, boiling the juices, and adding garlic, onion powder, soy sauce, pepper, and salt to the juices during the boiling process for enhanced savor and flavor. Beef is the best form of meat for preparing jus. French dip sandwiches made with roast beef pair well with this beef based jus.
In American cuisine, jus is prepared with Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, onion, garlic, and meat broth (often beef broth). At times, jus is simply a beef bouillon. Further, in American cuisine lighter jus is quite common, which is made without meat’s juices or stock.
Another recipe for preparing jus suggests combining meat juices with red wine.
Powdered au jus is also available these days, which helps in giving true au jus flavors to the meat. The jus powder is often rubbed onto meat prior to being cooked. However, it can also be added later on when the meat is cooked. The main ingredients of powdered jus include dried onions, salt, and sugar.
Culinary Uses
· In French cuisine, au jus is used with meat preparation, specifically lamb, veal or chicken, while cooking, as a flavor enhancer.
· The Americans savor it as a condiment with meat.
Popular Au Jus Recipes
Prime rib served au jus, roast beef served au jus, and turkey served au jus are a few popular au jus dishes. Turkey served with juice is basically a low calorie food; however, if the jus is made from pan drippings of turkey with skin, it would be quite rich in fat.
Trivia
In U.S., au jus is often used incorrectly, where it refers to “broth” instead of “with the broth or juice”, as in French cuisine. For example, most of the American restaurants’ menus might have “sandwich with au jus” as against the correct French term “sandwich au jus”, with the former implying “sandwich with with the juice” and the latter implying “sandwich with juice”.