- Sometimes a sandwich is more than just the sum of its parts, and the French dip is just that. Simple ingredients with a little bit of added
technique along the way elevate this to way more than
just your average sandwich. (smooth upbeat music) Tender beef, bread,
mustard, maybe some cheese, and all of the juices: that's all it takes to make
this delicious sandwich. But there's some crucial
steps along the way to make this sandwich the best it can be. So let's get to those details that take this from a
regular roast beef sandwich to the famous French dip. To make a spectacular French dip, you need to start with
a great cut of beef. In this recipe, we'll use a Certified Angus
Beef top sirloin roast. This cut is perfect because
it's well-marbled, tender, and has a great flavor for
a sandwich application. We'll keep the seasoning simple with some coarse salt and
a nice cracked pepper. No need to go over the
top with seasonings here, the flavor of the beef really needs to shine in this sandwich. Make sure to season liberally. This is a pretty big cut. To build flavor and get a beautiful crust, it's important to sear
the roast in a skillet. This will create a Maillard reaction on the outside of the meat, and also start to build a fond in the pan, which we'll use for the au jus. You can see that it's starting to develop a nice crust all around, and that's what you're going for. Sear on all sides, then put the roast in a sheet
pan fitted with a wire rack and into an oven preheated
to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Pan searing may seem like an extra step, but trust me, the flavor
and the end result will be that much better. While that roasts, you can build a deep and flavorful au jus. This will only take a few
ingredients and a little time. A piece of Certified Angus Beef shank will add viscosity and a deep,
beefy flavor to the au jus. Season with a little S&P and go right into that same pan to sear. Again, we're creating a nice crust and building a fond in the pan. More browning equals more flavor. Sear the halved onion as well. This will help to develop
more flavor on the onion. Getting a nice char on a halved onion is an old chef's technique
for building flavors in soups, so it works great here. Once everything has browned nicely, add to a large sauce pan and it's time to start
building the au jus. Deglaze the skillet with
some low sodium beef stock. Now you can scrape up all those brown bits that you worked so hard to create. Once the fond is deglazed, add the deglazing liquid to the pan along with the rest of the beef stock. Just let that au jus simmer away. You want a good reduction and to let those beefy flavors infuse. Once the beef hits 125 degrees F internally, remove it from the oven for a good rest. It will raise in
temperature while it rests to a perfect medium-rare. Before we get into these important steps, don't forget to subscribe. We want this beef to rest a good while, so in the meantime you
can work on the bread. For this sandwich, you'll wanna use a nice
crusty French loaf, but not a baguette. Baguettes are a little
too crusty and narrow for a bulky sandwich like this. This is a two-foot French loaf that will need to be cut in
half then sliced horizontally, leaving a little crust
attached to create a hinge. You could use four six-inch rolls if you don't wanna mess
with this big of a loaf. Now that the roast has
rested and cooled a little, it's time to slice. You'll wanna cut against the grain, so it's important to
determine which way it runs. To make slicing easier, cut it once with the
grain into two halves. This will give you a flat
surface for the roast, which will make it more
stable when slicing thin. It will also make the face
of the roast half as large so slices won't be large and unruly. Since this beef is for a sandwich, you'll wanna slice it nice and thin. Shave the beef if possible. This is the time to break
out your sharpest knife and go to town. The au jus will simmer
about one and a half hours or until you yield about
two cups of the liquid. Before straining it, make sure to remove that
shank and set it aside. There's plenty of flavor left in it, so throw that in your freezer
for a soup down the road. Remove the large pieces of
onions before straining. You could even chop these up and put 'em back in your
sandwich if that's your style. I like to strain using a fat
separator for easy pouring. You could also use a pint measuring cup since there shouldn't be
much fat floating on top. Now it's time to assemble the sandwich. Pour a little au jus in
the same skillet as before and bring to a simmer. Then add half of the sliced beef. I like to add the beef in a row about the length of one section of bread. This will warm the beef through and help to meld the flavors of the jus plus the sliced beef. Top the slices with cheese and cover. It will only take a few minutes to make that cheese good and melty. The only condiment you really
need is a good spicy mustard. I found one that has a sweet heat that works so well with this sandwich. The acidity and spice of the mustard really helps to make the
rich beefy flavors to pop. Look at that melty cheese. This sandwich is ready to build. Just fill one of those 12-inch loaves with all the juicy and
cheesy slices of beef. If you're using six-inch rolls, this batch will fill two of them. It's a must to pour over
some of that au jus as well. This sandwich needs to be good and juicy. Now that it's built, cut it
in half to serve two people or one hungry person who
loves a beefy sandwich. Repeat this technique with the second batch of beef and bread. Don't forget to serve it with that remaining au jus for dipping. This sandwich is so
simple, so few ingredients, but it's so beefy. This is a next level French dip. Join us next time here
in the Test Kitchen.
