Hey Steve. How do I make the right au jus for a good french dip po-boy. I can make a pretty good roast, but my thin gravy sucks.
An au jus is thin. I would take the pan the roast came out of and tilt it while still real hot to pour off the fat and grease. Then deglaze the hot pan with hot water to re dissolve all the solid pan drippings. You can use a little red wine too if you want. Keep scraping the pan bottom with a spoon or spatula and pour off the liquid into a container and that's au jus. If you have a beef boullion cube or some beef base paste. you can fortify the beef flavor by adding some to the au jus. If you want to make a gravy out of the au jus, then make a small bit of dark roux in a sauce pot and have some diced onions handy. When the roux is dark enough, throw in the diced onions and the roux will thicken and become even darker because the acids in the onion are converted to sugars and they, in turn caramelize to darken the roux. This cools down the roux so it doesn't burn. Then just add the au jus to the roux while whipping it into the roux...no lumps. If you portioned everything right the gravy will be just right. If it's too thick, add wine or water (stock). if it's too thin, you can thicken it a little more with a cornstarch slurry. I like to season gravy with thyme, but any herbs will do. Also add lots of garlic to the gravy and cook it on low to medium for at least a half hour. It's like Gumbo... the longer you cook the gravy ,the less the gravy tastes like roux. Taste it from time to time and add more beef base or boullion cubes to it for more beef flavor or add more garlic or dehydrated granulated garlic for a "deeper" flavor. I don't think you can add too much garlic, because as you cook the gravy, the garlic flavor gets diminished. The better gravies or gumbos are ones that are cooked longer and consequently have less roux taste... but some people like the roux taste so taste it and make it to your tastes. A real quickie way to make good gravy and it turns out real good, is to just take that au jus and use it as the liquid to make gravies from the tin foil envelopes you buy at the store. I like to use the pork gravy envelopes with the beef au jus. It's a heck of a lot quicker and very good. By the way, most people don't know this but when you thicken liquids by using a roux, If the liquid is a stock...it's called a sauce; while if the liquid is pan drippings...it's a gravy.
Living off the land today...well mostly. We had a venison meatloaf from one of the deer I shot on our land. We had mashed potatoes (store bought). Sauteed homegrown squash (the first ones of the season) with onions and peppers out of the garden. Washed it all down with some sweet tea. First time doing a garden and it feels good to walk out in the yard and get dinner. Had I had a shotgun with me when i checked the garden this morning, we would have been eating rabbit stew instead of venison.
I cooked up 3 racks of Baby Back Ribs. Went with canned back beans as well. Took about 5hrs but nothing feels better than pulling a bone from the middle of the rack and it comes off clean.
Tomorrow I am headed to N.O. for a bachelor party and my wife is headed to a bachelorette party. We booked a room at the Omni Royal Orleans. My dad is saying they have the best Prime Rib he has ever had at The Rib Room in the hotel. Can anyone confirm? Either way that is dinner tomorrow. I had some meatballs on 5 cheese garlic bread tonight. I was in a hurry.
Smoked a porkloin, marinated it for 2 hours with Tonys, Lawrys 30 minute marinade, garlic, red bell peppers, green onions, and italian parsley. Also grilled chicken breast. Made rice pilaf as well. Had the in-laws over.
Hmmmm...for tonight... Fresh steamed 'chokes - picked up fresh today in the Artichoke Capital, Castroville. Baby collards with turkey bacon in chicken broth. (BRLA roots showing) Fresh steamed string beans. Dessert - fresh strawberries from the Driscoll berry store in Watsonville. Not freakin' bad. Add dessert -small square of TCHO chocolate. The bridequeen is cookoo for cacao.
