Au jus

Au jus (French: [o ʒy]) is a French culinary term meaning “with juice”. It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light gravy, or broth, made from the fluids secreted by the meat as it is cooked.[1] In French cuisine, cooking au jus is a natural way to enhance the flavour of dishes, mainly chicken, veal, and lamb. In American cuisine, the term is mostly used to refer to a light sauce for beef recipes, which may be served with the food or placed on the side for dipping.[2]

In order to prepare a natural jus, the cook may simply 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 flavor may suffer after this time.[3]

Au jus recipes in the United States often use soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, white or brown sugar, garlic, beets, carrots, onions, or other ingredients to make something more like a gravy.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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).[citation needed]

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, dried onion, and sometimes sugar as primary flavoring agents.[4]