Skip The Au Jus And Dunk French Dip Sandwiches In This Enhanced Canned Soup Instead

The French dip is an iconic, classic sandwich. The components are pretty straightforward: roast beef, French roll, sometimes provolone cheese, served au jus. The sandwich is served alongside the jus, so you can dunk each bite, soaking the bread with the concentrated, beefy flavor as you eat without the whole thing disintegrating into mush. For a handy short-cut, changing out the usual au jus recipe for a combination of canned French onion soup and beef consommé keeps the meal in essentially the same flavor universe, but gives your roast beef a slightly more interesting swimming pool.

A proper, rich au jus can be made by combining those drippings and browned bits left in the roasting pan with stock, then deglazing and reducing everything into an intensely beefy dipping "sauce." That's all well and good when you've made the sandwich step-by-step from scratch, but if you're just trying to make a quick, hot lunch, by assembling it from deli roast beef, you don't have a roasting pan full of fond waiting around to contribute to the jus.

This is where the canned French onion soup starts making a lot of sense. French onion soup is already built from beef broth, then brings deeply cooked onions, and their rich, savory-sweetness, along for the ride. Depending on the brand, there might also be garlic, wine or sherry, and other seasonings adding complexity. The additional can of beef consommé adds more rich, beefy flavor to the dipping sauce.

For better flavor and texture in the jus, start by sautéeing thinly sliced onions in butter or bacon fat, then adding grated garlic. The condensed French onion soup should be prepared by being diluted with the amount of water called for on the label, while the ready-to-serve version can go directly into a saucepan. Stir in a can of beef consommé, then, while it simmers, think about seasoning. 

You can add a dash of Worcestershire to elevate the acidity and fermented savoriness, or stir in a generous pinch of fresh cracked black pepper to give the broth a little bite. Make sure to taste before reaching for salt, since canned soup often comes with plenty. You can simmer it with a splash of dry sherry or red wine if you have some laying around — just make sure to give it enough time on the stove for the sharp edge of the alcohol to cook off.

If you really want to commit to the French-on-French aesthetic, trade the provolone for Gruyère, and melt it over the onions and beef. Horseradish or Dijon, spread on the bread, could bring sharp interplay, and pickled peppers could take the sandwich in an even spicier, more acidic direction. However you dress it, serve the soup piping hot alongside. Then, you're faced with the most important decision: are you a restrained, corner-dunker, or do you go all in?