Forget Classic Au Jus – Use This Upgraded Canned Soup For French Dip Sandwiches Instead

Traditional French dip sandwiches are delicious — but they require patience, and the super-lean eye of round, while not the most expensive cut, can get pricey depending on the size of the roast and any special considerations (like if it's organic or grass-fed beef). Then the cook time, to obtain those all-important juices and fond, as well as the cool time for the meat itself, can take hours. To make the classic au jus, too, you'll need a variety of other ingredients, like red wine and beef stock. Sometimes, you just don't have the energy to put all this effort into making a sandwich, and that's okay because there is an easy and quick workaround for the au jus that involves just two cans of soup: beef consommé and French onion.

The French onion soup replaces the caramelized onions so many recipes call for, while the beef consommé supplies a concentrated and savory, meaty flavor you'd normally get from the roasted eye of round. You'll just combine the two cans of soup into a pot on the stove, and add a little water so you have plenty of juice for dipping. Then, because you want French dip on your dinner table quickly, you can use a thin-sliced roast beef, either from your deli counter or the pre-packaged stuff in the refrigerated aisle. That goes into the soup pot to absorb some of the flavor, and everything gets warmed up before assembling the sandwiches with rolls and provolone cheese.

One of the nice things about using two cans of soup to make an au jus for French dip sandwiches is how easy it is to customize it to whatever you like. So, for example, if you find that the water has diluted the soup too much for your tastes, you can just add more beef consommé, or use beef broth or stock instead.

Want to up the umami factor? Adding a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce would certainly do the trick. Tossing in some fresh herbs, like thyme, rosemary, or even sage, will upgrade any canned soup, including these two. Or try adding a glug or two of red wine before you simmer the liquid. And if you just can't do without real, caramelized onions in your au jus, by all means, slice some up, get them soft and golden, and add them into the mix.

Then there's the beef. You're not wedded to using deli-sliced roast beef; if you know you're having pot roast one night, you can plan to use up the leftovers for French dip sandwiches the following day. Or if it's the day after a holiday and you have lots of turkey to use up, you can absolutely substitute that, as the beef flavor will add a hearty meatiness to the poultry.