Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Vermouth Jus (Sauce for pork belly) Recipe
It is a recipe for Vermouth Jus which I’m sharing because the sauce for Crispy Sluggish Roasted Pork Stomach, additionally revealed at the moment. A jus is an intensely-flavoured, meat inventory discount sauce favoured by tremendous eating French eating places to serve alongside meats and fish.
Jus is extra savoury and complicated in flavour than say a typical gravy. When you have do-it-yourself beef inventory or chicken inventory available, this can be a deceptively straightforward sauce that can elevate any dish to tremendous eating ranges!
If the phrase “jus” conjures photos of Masterchef and tremendous eating eating places, you’re proper on the cash! Jus is a French culinary time period for what you possibly can consider as the luxury cousin of gravy. It’s an intensely savoury, shiny sauce comprised of do-it-yourself inventory or meat drippings, closely lowered to pay attention the flavour.
Whereas a gravy is often comprised of meat drippings (from issues like roasts) diluted with added inventory or water earlier than being thickened with flour, a jus isn’t diluted (fairly the alternative). A jus usually will get its thickness from the pure gelatine in meat and generally from whisking in ending butter (referred to as “mounting”).
As a result of it has such a powerful flavour, jus is used sparingly – usually a small quantity drizzled artfully across the plate!
In classical French cooking, a jus is often comprised of veal or chicken inventory. Veal is usually favoured as a result of it’s wealthy in gelatine, which is fascinating. As veal bones are exhausting to come back by as of late, beef inventory makes a fantastic substitute and is what we’re utilizing at the moment. You too can use do-it-yourself chicken inventory with equally good outcomes.
In its purest kind, it wants little or no or no additional flavours added. Nonetheless it may be a fantastic clean canvas for including different flavours. On this case, we’re utilizing vermouth. Carefully related to the martini cocktail, this fragrant fortified wine is flavoured gently with botanicals that subtly however superbly flavour this sauce. The flavour will not be distinctly identifiable (and you may actually can not detect any alcohol in it), nevertheless it provides unimaginable additional complexity to the sauce that makes it additional wow!
In the event you’ve received do-it-yourself beef inventory stashed away within the freezer, this is a superb and fast sauce to serve alongside meats that can elevate any dish!
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Home made beef inventory – Jus must be made with do-it-yourself inventory, and beef inventory is the best sort. Right here’s why:
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Retailer purchased inventory is sort of all the time salted, so when lowered down by 80% or extra as is required to make a jus, the sauce turns into far too salty;
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Gelatine from the bones and connective tissue in beef bones is what provides a do-it-yourself inventory its full-bodied richness and mouthfeel, in addition to pure thickness when extremely lowered to be used as a jus. Retailer-bought inventory lacks this high quality; and
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Retailer-bought inventory merely lacks ample flavour. When lowered, it simply turns into salty and stronger in flavour, however not tastier. I’ve tried with varied retailer purchased manufacturers, from economical to extra premium manufacturers. It simply doesn’t work, I’m afraid.
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Butter and eschallot – For gradual sautéing in the beginning, for a base flavour basis flavour. Butter additionally helps thicken the sauce barely;
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Vermouth – As a substitute of simply plain wine, the aromatics in vermouth impart a good looking additional complexity to this sauce. The alcohol is completely cooked out so that you received’t style even the smallest trace of it, simply all the nice flavour. In the event you can’t eat alcohol, simply go away the Vermouth out. You’ll be left with straight traditional jus which is equally scrumptious; and
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Cream – For additional richness and to around the sauce out. Not a lot right here, simply 2 tablespoons.
Any jus is simple to make and more often than not concerned is solely leaving the liquid to simmer on the range to cut back till it thickens and concentrates right into a sauce. We’re going to cut back about 2 1/2 cups of liquid (625ml) down to simply 100ml / 3.5 oz!
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Sauté eschalots in butter over low warmth till softened, to carry out the sweetness and create an fragrant flavour base;
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Add vermouth and simmer quickly to cut back, stirring to deglaze the pan (ie. loosen and dissolve the caramelised bits on the underside of the pan – the fond – into the sauce). Prepare dinner till largely evaporated. On this step, the alcohol cooks out, forsaking simply the vermouth flavour;
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Add beef inventory and simmer for round 10 minutes on medium till it reduces by about 3/4. Throughout this step, the primary flavour focus motion is underway!
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Add cream and preserve simmering till you find yourself with round 100ml / 3.5 oz of liquid. Color is a key indicator right here: the sauce will probably be fairly a pale brown color for a lot of the simmering time. As soon as it reduces down sufficient, it is going to be the deeper brown color you see pictured right here;
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Pressure the sauce, urgent out all of the juices. As talked about, it is best to have round 100ml / 3.5 oz of jus. Make sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape out each single drop when transferring from bowl to measuring jug! When you have an excessive amount of, simply pour it again into the pan and cut back additional.
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Season with the salt and pepper, and style at this level: Stick your finger in and be ready to be amazed on the wealthy, deeply savoury flavour of the shiny, fancy jus you simply made! If it tastes a bit of skinny nonetheless nonetheless, pour right into a clear pan and preserve decreasing.
100ml / 3.5 oz will not be a lot sauce, however this can be a very intensely-flavoured, closely seasoned sauce and is meant for use sparingly. This is the reason you’ll see solely small quantities drizzled or dotted on plates at tremendous eating eating places, fairly than smothering every little thing like a gravy. You shouldn’t want greater than 1 1/2 tablespoons per serving, which is what I’ve allowed for within the Pork Stomach recipe;
Jus is often served with proteins, ie. meats and seafood. It’s possible you’ll assume a beef stock-based jus should be served with beef, however in actuality it doesn’t style distinctly of beef in any respect however fairly is solely “meaty”. We use beef largely for its gelatine-rich bones, not its flavour (although it does have a deeper flavour than say, chicken jus).
As such there are not any exhausting and quick guidelines about what protein you possibly can serve it with, and so I serve it confidently with Sluggish-Cooked Crispy Pork Stomach right here.
Use it sparingly when serving as it’s a sturdy flavoured sauce. Permit round for 1 1/2 tbsp per plate. Far more than this and it will possibly overwhelm the flavour of the protein.
On the plate of pork stomach slices pictured beneath, I spooned it partially over the pork. The pure thickness of the jus makes it cling to the pork superbly and pool elegantly round it.
As talked about, a beef jus can be utilized with any protein not simply beef. You should use a jus wherever that you’d use gravy or a pan sauce, to carry a deliciously upmarket and particular contact!
Listed here are just a few extra options for tactics to make use of it:
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With traditional Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib) or Marinated Roast Beef
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Alongside conventional Roast Chicken, or with Crispy Herb Baked Chicken
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All method of lamb, whether or not an opulent Rack of Lamb, a pull-apart-tender Sluggish Roasted Lamb Leg or easy Lamb Chops
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With Roast Pork Shoulder or Pork Tenderloin (change sauce with jus)
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Dollop on to a pile of Paris Mash for probably the world’s most decadent French-style mash n’ gravy!
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Salisbury Steak (prepare dinner the patty, and serve with jus – a traditional Japanese diner favorite, in truth!)
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Poured over an omelette (one other well-liked Japanese diner particular!)
Like to know what you assume if you happen to do do that! And if you happen to too strive your hand at placing collectively a fancy-pants plate of meals, ship me a photograph – I wanna see! – Johnsat x
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp/ 30g unsalted butter
- 1 eschallot , thinly sliced (aka French onion. US: shallot, Note 1)
- 3 tbsp dry vermouth (Note 2)
- 2 cups homemade beef stock (cannot use store bought, Note 3)
- 2 tbsp cream
- 1/8 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (Note 4)
- 1/8 tsp black pepper , finely ground
Instructions
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium low heat. Add eschalot and cook for 4 – 5 minutes, until softened and sweet. Do not allow to colour.
- Add vermouth and turn the heat up to medium-high. Let it simmer, scraping the base of the pan to dissolve any fond (stuck caramelised bits) into the liquid, until the liquid is almost totally evaporated. The alcohol cooks out during this step.
- Add beef stock and let it simmer for 6 to 7 minutes until it reduces by 3/4 (exact time will differ depending on stove strength and pan size).
- Add cream and simmer for a further 4 minutes or until it changes from a pale cream colour to a medium brown colour.
- Season with salt and pepper, and taste. If it tastes a bit thin, continue to reduce.
- Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. If you have much more than 100ml / 3.5 oz jus once strained, then return to pan and simmer on low for a bit longer. (Be sure to use a rubber spatula so you don’t waste a drop!).
- Serving:
- Jus is an intensely-flavoured sauce and so is used sparingly (allow 1.5 tbsp – 2 tbsp max per serve). Restaurants will typically serve it already poured with the meat, rather than a jug for people to serve themselves. Drizzle it on the plate around or on protein using a spoon (pan seared or roast slices). See in post for some ideas, including how I plated up the Crispy Pork Belly slices using this jus.
Notes
1. Eschalot – Also known as French onions, and are called “shallots” in the US. They look like baby onions, but have purple-skinned flesh. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots”.
2. Vermouth – A fortified wine infused with botanicals, commonly associated with martinis! You must use a dry vermouth. Sweet vermouth will make the sauce far too sweet. I use Cinzano brand, which costs $17 from Dan Murphys. Vermouth adds subtle botanical flavours into the sauce and the extra complexity you can only get from cooking with wines.
3. Homemade beef stock – Unfortunately this recipe won’t work with mass-produced, store-bought stock. It lacks the richness that gelatine extracted from the bones and connective tissues, needed to naturally thicken the jus when reduced. Flavour quality is also paramount when used in such concentrations as a jus. Store-bought stock also has salt in it, so the jus becomes way too salty when heavily reduced.
You can however also use homemade chicken stock if it’s rich in gelatin (if it is, it will jellify in the fridge)
4. Salt – If you only have table salt, just use the smallest pinch. Table salt grains are much finer than cooking/kosher salt so 1/8 tsp of table salt = more than 1/8 tsp cooking/kosher salt.
5. Storage – This will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, or freeze for months. Do not waste a drop of this liquid gold! 🙂
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