I did a Rib Roast on the grill last night for the first time. It came out perfect. I used the "remote" meat thermometer from Bed Bath and Beyond that someone on this site suggested. It sure was nice to have when the temp out there was about 32 degrees and I sat at my bar having a Manhattan! Thanks to the poster who recommended it!

Now for my question. I have searched this site for an au jus recipe. Couldn't find anything, but I may have goofed in my search, I will admit. I want to try to find the taste that you find in almost every restaurant. My neighbor suggested the McCormack "Beef Base" that comes in a small "tub" to make au jus. It was OK, but a bit bland and didn't have that restaurant taste. (I hope you know what I mean, as I cannot describe it any better.) Does anyone have a recipe or know of a commercial product that gives that same taste?

I will say I have not tried this myself but here is one.

Au Jus ( for Prime Rib) Recipe Ingredients:

1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
3 parsley sprigs
4 cups water
4 beef-flavored bouillon cubes

Directions: In saucepan, combine carrot, celery, onion, parsley and water. Bring to boiling; stir in bouillon cubes until dissolved. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Strain broth and reserve; discard vegetables. Pour off and reserve drippings from roast;* pour broth into pan. Bring to boiling; stirring to loosen brown bits; simmer 5 minutes. Serve with prime rib.

Greenmeadow - I also have tried various recipes to make au jus, similar to the one Frankie mentions, and have never been really happy with the results. So I've come to a conclusion based on some things I remember from about 20 years ago when I was a prep cook in a restaurant while in college..and that is: you have to do it the hard way, the way the pro's do. Here's what I remember - our head chef would take some sort of beef bones that have a lot of marrow (he used to say marrow was the secret to a really rich au jus), add a bunch of vegetables, salt, and pepper, and make a stock. He would boil the stock for several hours, then continue cooking it to reduce (thicken) it. What resulted was a very rich broth, just short of being gravy, loaded with flavor, that was so dark you could not see light through it - and every recipe I've tried at home was something you could see light through, that was more like steak juice than true au jus.

Try as I might, I've never been able to reproduce it with bouillon cubes or any other store preparation, and I've never yet gone to the trouble to get a bunch of marrow-rich bones to make it the hard way.

Hope that's not too much of a downer..just thinking I might save you the wasted attempts that I've made..

Yep, that is a bit of a downer (I don't do complex recipes) But, I wonder if I should save the bones from the ribs last night and give it a shot. Do they have a "lot of marrow"?

Bill

Smokinfunk,

I agree with you 100% as to making a beef stock with bone is the best. My Grandma that cooked for fourty men on the farm that my Grandpa ran back during the depression years, taught me more about cooking then anyone else. She would use big beef bones for the stock. I remember her telling me that you have to crack the bones to expose the marrow for really good stock.

It’s hard to find the time to make really good stocks. I normally try and find something that is a good substitute. For beef and chicken I have found Minor’s works well. I find it in the wholesale restaurants supply stores in my area. It is normally in the refrigerated food areas. Here is a phot of the container it comes in.



Eric D

Using the above recipe with the beef base instead of bullion cubes and adding 3 or 4 ounces of dry sherry should do it.