Classic Beef Au Jus Recipe

When it comes to great dipping sauces for your meat, au jus is at the top of most people's list, and it really goes hand-in-hand with a French dip sandwich. You get this wonderful sauce from cooking meat and using its drippings, giving the sauce plenty of natural flavor. To add even more flavor to the sauce, you also include a few other sauces like Worcestershire sauce and beef broth to add even more depth and great taste to compliment your meat. 

Recipe developer Stephanie Rapone came up with this tasty dip recipe that is perfect for anything from dipping a sandwich to ladling over your favorite meat. "I love that I can make au jus without making a whole roast or brisket (for drippings)," Rapone shares. "We keep this on hand to enjoy with shaved beef sandwiches, so it's perfect." Another plus? "This au jus doesn't require you to have beef drippings on hand, and instead starts with rendering beef fat — which is simple and really inexpensive," Rapone explains. "That makes the recipe considerably less labor intensive that the traditional method."

This recipe requires a handful of ingredients that you may already have at home. Be sure to get beef fat, water, all-purpose flour, low-sodium beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. "If you do happen to have drippings from a roast, you can certainly use that to make this recipe," Rapone notes. "If you don't want to make the au jus right away, just freeze the drippings until you are ready." 

Take out the beef fat and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Once they are cut, add them to a medium-sized saucepan. Fill the saucepan about halfway with water. "If you have beef dripping from a roast, you can use that in place of the ¼ cup rendered beef fat," Rapone notes.

Turn the heat to medium, and be sure to stir the mixture on occasion. Continue cooking until the fat is golden brown and the beef transforms into crispy brown bits, which should take an hour. "Just make sure you don't cook the beef fat for too long or it will actually start to burn and taste terrible," Rapone warns. "Stop once it gets medium golden brown." 

Once you finish cooking, take it out of the heat and wait 15 minutes before straining and reserving the liquids and discarding the solids.

Measure ¼ cup of the rendered fat and place it back into the saucepan. Once again, turn the heat to medium and heat the liquid until it's hot but make sure to avoid it getting so hot that it begins to smoke. Once hot, you can mix the flour in. Use a whisk to combine the two, so it forms a paste.

There are still a few more things you will need to add into the pan. Start with ½ cup of beef broth. As you add it, make sure to whisk. Once the first ½ cup is incorporated, you can slowly add the rest, again whisking as you go. 

Then, whisk in the Worcestershire sauce and black pepper. Turn the heat down and give the au jus a taste. If necessary, you can always add more salt. "This is a light sauce that is ultra rich in flavor — it tastes like a really great beef roast but in liquid form," Rapone says of the taste. 

Once you remove the sauce from the heat, you can serve and enjoy as you wish. "We love to make quick shaved beef sandwiches and dip them in this au jus," Rapone shares. 

Since this stuff is so good, we don't think you will have any left but if you do, don't sweat it! "You can store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to six months," Rapone says. We hope this classic au jus hits the spot!