French Dip
This incredible French Dip sandwich combines thinly sliced roast beef and provolone cheese piled onto sub rolls and served with a side of delicious beef jus for dipping.
Servings: 6 sandwiches
Ingredients
For the roast beef
- 1 3-pound (1.4kg) eye of round roast or top round or rump roast
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (15g) Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the jus
- 1/4 cup (60ml) dry sherry
- 4 cups (1L) no-sodium beef stock divided
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
For the subs
- 6 sub rolls
- 1/2 pound (227g) provolone cheese
Instructions
For the roast beef
- Remove the roast from the fridge and place it on a wire rack and baking sheet or roasting pan with baking sheet. Season equally on all sides with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Leave the roast out for at least 90 minutes before roasting. Note: For even better flavor, the roast can be seasoned and refrigerated, uncovered, overnight. Take it out at least 1 hour before roasting.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F. Make sure the fat cap is facing up. Insert an oven-safe digital thermometer into the center of the roast.
- Pat the roast dry of any water that has wicked to the top of the roast. Place the roast in the oven and cook for 15 minutes then drop the heat to 300°F and continue cooking until the center of the roast reaches 110-115°F for rare, 125°F for medium rare, or 135°F for medium. The roast will take another 30-50 more minutes to cook (depending on doneness) after dropping the heat to 300°F. Be aware that the roast's internal temp will increase from carry over heat after coming out of the oven.
- Once the roast has finished cooking, move it to another wire rack (that is not warm) to cool for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour of cooling, I recommend wrapping the roast with plastic wrap and placing in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. The roast will be far easier to slice. Make sure to slice the roast beef angainst the grain. Enjoy!
For the jus
- Place the roasting pan on a burner and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the sherry and a 1/2 cup of beef stock. With a wooden spoon scrape the pan to dislodge all of the brown bits. Turn off the heat and pour the pan's contents into the remaining beef stock and set aside.
- Heat the butter in a saucepot to medium and add the onions. Saute the onions until they begin to turn brown on the edges (about 10 minutes).
- Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to incorporate. Add the beef stock, worcestershire sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and bring to a boil while the scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge any brown bits. Reduce by 1/3.
- Once reduced, taste test and check the beefiness. If the jus needs more beef flavor, dissolve 1 teaspoon of reduced-sodium beef base into the pot and taste again. Once the flavor is to your liking season with black pepper and if needed salt to taste.
- The jus can be served as is or strained to separate the onions. The onions can be served on top of each sandwich.
For the French dip
- Slice the rolls and place onto a baking sheet. If the rolls are cold, they can be warmed up in a 350°F for a few minutes.
- Use roughly 1/3 pound of beef per sandwich. Dip the beef into the hot broth to warm it through and place onto a roll. Lay 2 slices of cheese on top of each sandwich and serve with a side of jus for dipping. Enjoy!
Notes
- Eye of round is recommended but top and bottom round (rump roast) all work very well.
- For perfect roast beef it's essential to refrigerate the whole roast after cooking so that it can be more easily thinly sliced. A 12" slicing knife works well if you take your time.
- Before slicing, you can cut off the top fat cap if you like. Depending on the beef cut and the place it was purchased from, it might not have much of a fat cap to begin with.
- If the jus isn't beefy enough, start by mixing in 1 teaspoon of reduced sodium better than bouillon beef base and test, adding a touch more if needed, until the jus is to your liking.
- Swiss or provolone work well but use any cheese you like.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 743kcal | Carbohydrates: 72.3g | Protein: 67.2g | Fat: 17.8g | Saturated Fat: 6.7g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1237mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 8g | Calcium: 218mg | Iron: 37mg
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