Au jus provides your dish with flavor, moisturizing it in a bid to ensure that you enjoy it very well. It is an extraordinary dish that, however, takes much time to cook well. You have to savor the cooking process to enjoy the meal.
A perfect alternative for Au jus must supplement the flavor, taste, and look of your meal. It must be tastefully attractive, and people should enjoy it. The top 5 Au Jus substitutes are Beef stock powder sauce, Bouillon cubes sauce, Beef broth, Brown gravy and Onion mix soup.
What is Au Jus Made Of?
The first thing to note is that people serve Au jus as gravy to your meaty dishes, and not only will it add more flavour to your dish, but it will also serve as a moisturizer for it. Chefs prepare this gravy by skimming off the extra fat on meat and mixing it with the meat juice.
This mixture is Au jus, and they serve it alongside the meat dish. You can season it with flour, corn starch powder, or soy to make it more delicious. Onions, garlic, ginger, and salt are also some of its famous condiments.
Recommended Au Jus Substitutes
1. Beef Stock Powder Sauce
Beef stock powder sauce is one of the most popular substitutes for Au jus. You can serve it with your meat and not taste the difference if you cook it well. This substitute uses beef stock powder as the main ingredient, alongside some other condiments to make the gravy superb.
How to Prepare This Dish
To prepare the beef stock powder sauce, you will need the following ingredients:
- Beef stock powder
- Onion Powder
- Dried Parsley
- Corn Starch
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
The measurements depend on how large a meal you are preparing. For example, you can use 4 tablespoons of beef stock powder and onion powder, 2 tablespoons of dried Parsley, 3 tablespoons of corn starch, and quarter tablespoons of black pepper and garlic powder.
Mix all of them finely in a bowl, then put about 4 teaspoons into a pan and add water. Heat until the mixture is thick and then serve with your meal.
2. Bouillon Cubes Sauce
In this gravy, the only ingredient that changes is the beef stock powder. You have to make sure the bouillon cubes crumble finely like the other ingredients. When you have achieved a fine mixture, you should then put it in a pan, add some water, and stir until it thickens. Then, you can serve it with your meat.
3. Beef Broth
Beef broth is a perfect dish for grilled steak or any other roasted meat dish. It is very delicious, and with a bottle of wine, you’ve got a great dish to enjoy.
How to Prepare The Broth
To prepare this meal, you will need the following ingredients:
- Meaty beef bones
- Salt
- Pepper
- Onions
- Carrot
- Celery
- Garlic cloves
- Dried herbs
- Water
Get the meaty beef bones, brown them, and season them with salt and pepper. You can use a pressure cooker to prepare it. Chop the onion, carrot, and celery.
Add it to the mix. After this, add water and let it cook for about 50 minutes. After it has boiled, sieve out the liquid and throw away the other ingredients. Your broth is ready to be served.
Looking for beef stock alternatives? See recommended substitutes for beef broth.
4. Brown Gravy
This recipe is another great substitute for Au jus. It is very rich and thick, unlike Au jus, which is lighter than it. You will also use butter instead of the meat drippings to improve the taste of the broth.
How to Prepare
Perfection is key to an Au jus substitute, so you have to be very careful. Brown gravy has a high tendency of forming lumps, which will be bad for your meal. The ingredients you need are:
- Butter
- Beef stock or broth
- Flour
- Salt
- Worcestershire sauce
- Heavy cream
- Bouillon cube
- Pepper
Mix the flour with fat to create a thick paste. Then, cook this paste over low heat to deepen its flavour. This paste is an essential ingredient for your gravy. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour mixture and cook for a minute. Add the beef broth slowly to avoid lumps and stir. Add another cup of the broth and stir again.
The mixture should have thickened and thinned at this stage. Add some pepper, beef, bouillon, and Worcestershire sauce. Add a bit of the heavy cream for the final touch and serve.
5. Onion Mix Soup
This is another recipe that can replace the famed Au jus recipe without any tasteful problems. The ingredients you need are:
- Onion flakes
- Beef bullion
- Dried Parsley
- Onion powder
- Celery seed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Paprika
Mix these ingredients as you want them in a pan, and add a bit of water. Let them cook for about 10 minutes. You can add salt to taste. When it is done, serve with your meat dish. It is delicious.
Why Substitutes?
While it is great to have the real deal with your meaty dish, it is not always possible to get it. Some reasons you might need to go for the substitutes include:
They help you save quality time
Au jus takes a very long time to cook well, and many people do not have the patience to wait for that long. Therefore, using substitutes will allow you to enjoy your gravy without the time loss.
They are healthier than the store-packed ones
Store packed Au jus is an excellent innovation. However, they cannot assure you of quality. Therefore, it is best you prepare your substitute gravy yourself to assure that the ingredients are fresh and of the highest quality.
It is hard to find the ingredients to make quality Au jus
As popular as Au jus is, it is very tough to find all its ingredients. In fact, they might not even sell in stores 10 miles from you. You can overcome this difficulty by using substitutes that are more accessible and readily available.
With these benefits, you can see that substituting Au jus for them is a viable option. You will be able to enjoy your meal tastefully. You also do not have to concern yourself about the health effects of the packeted Au jus, since you get these ingredients naturally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there is a need for substitutes. Not only will these substitutes help you save time, but they will also help you to remove the stress of looking for all the ingredients that make Au jus as perfect as it is. With these substitutes, you can enjoy your beef dish without any culinary problems.
You can use flour as a thickener. Wheat flour will also help you to avoid gluten in normal white flour. Allow the gravy to cook for a bit to remove the flour taste from it.
There are several soup substitutes for Au jus, and they include onion soup mix, brown gravy, bouillon cubes sauce, beef broth, and beef stock powder, among many others. They are a great substitute for Au jus.
Yes, they will taste perfect if you prepare them well.
Conclusion
If you love your meat recipes alongside Au jus, but do not have the time to cook them as you should, you can substitute with those recipes above. They are the perfect replacement, tasting as good as Au jus with a lesser time preparation period.
Also, since you made these Au jus substitutes yourself, you do not have to worry about whether the ingredients are of good quality or not. Artificial preservatives which are not good for your health will also be removed as a possibility.
Thanks for the helpful recipes. I have made some of them and really liked them. For example Onion Mix Soup.