French Dip
intro
Tender thinly sliced roast beef piled on crusty French rolls, served with rich savory au jus for dipping—cozy, hearty comfort food perfect for family meals.
Ingredients
Steps
Sear the chuck roast
Pat the 900g beef chuck roast completely dry with paper towels, season all sides with 1 teaspoon (6g) of kosher salt. Heat 1 tablespoon (14g) of unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once butter is foaming and just starting to turn pale gold, add the roast and sear for 3-4 minutes per side until deep golden brown on all 4 sides, about 15 minutes total. Transfer seared roast to a clean plate and set aside.
Saute the aromatics
Reduce stovetop heat to medium, add the remaining 1 tablespoon (14g) of butter to the same Dutch oven, using the rendered fat and browned bits left from searing. Add the 150g thinly sliced yellow onion, cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add the 12g crushed garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic which will turn bitter.
Slow-simmer the beef
Pour 120ml (1/2 cup) of the beef broth into the pot, scraping up all browned fond bits from the pot bottom with a wooden spoon to incorporate them into the liquid. Add the remaining 880ml (3.5 cups) broth, 30ml Worcestershire sauce, 1g dried thyme, 8 whole black peppercorns, and 1 bay leaf. Return the seared roast to the pot, bring the liquid to a gentle bare simmer (small bubbles breaking the surface every 2-3 seconds), then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes, turning the roast once at the 45-minute mark, until beef is fork-tender but not completely falling apart.
Rest beef, prep au jus
Once the beef reaches fork-tender texture (a fork slides in with gentle pressure and pulls out cleanly), transfer it to a wooden cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 15 minutes to allow juices to redistribute through the meat. Strain the cooking liquid (au jus) through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan, discarding the cooked onion, garlic, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Season au jus with the remaining 0.5 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt, and keep warm over the lowest stovetop heat setting.
Toast rolls, melt cheese
Set your oven broiler to high heat. Split the 4 15cm French rolls lengthwise, leaving a small hinge on one side to hold fillings, and place them cut-side up on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil 10cm (4 inches) from the upper heating element for 1-2 minutes until the cut surfaces are lightly golden and crisp, watching closely to avoid burning. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, place 2 slices of provolone (40g total) on the bottom half of each roll, then return to the broiler for 30 seconds until the cheese is fully melted and bubbly at the edges.
Assemble and serve
After the beef has rested, slice it against the grain into very thin 3mm (1/8-inch) thick slices. Pile equal amounts of sliced beef on top of the melted cheese on each roll, then press the top half of the roll down gently to hold the fillings in place. Divide the warm au jus evenly between 4 small 120ml (4oz) ceramic ramekins, and serve one ramekin alongside each sandwich for dipping.
Tips
2.Always slice the rested beef against the grain as thinly as possible (aim for 3mm thick) — this cuts through tough muscle fibers to ensure tender, easy-to-chew bites, no deli slicer required.
3.Keep the au jus at a very gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, while you prep the sandwiches: rapid boiling will make the broth turn cloudy, overly concentrated, and too salty as it reduces.
OMG this was the star of our Sunday family dinner! I was nervous the au jus would be too bland but it had such deep, rich savory flavor, my husband went back for two extra dips. My teen boys devoured 3 sandwiches between them, total game changer for our weekly meal rotation. No notes, 10/10!
Really solid recipe! The au jus came out perfect, but I will say the 2 hour 15 minute cook time felt a little long for a weeknight — I ended up using my instant pot for the beef to cut it down to 45 minutes and it still turned out great. Brought these to a neighborhood potluck and people were asking for the recipe left and right!
SO good. I’ve tried at least 4 different French dip recipes over the years and this is the only one where the au jus doesn’t taste like watery beef bouillon. Used crusty sourdough hoagie rolls instead of plain white and it was chef’s kiss. Will be making this for football watch parties all fall!
Made these for my partner’s birthday dinner last night and he said it’s better than the French dip we get at our favorite steakhouse! I added a little caramelized onion to the sandwich and it paired so perfectly with the savory au jus. 100% making this again.
Taste was great, but I messed up the first batch of au jus because I didn’t skim the fat off the top after roasting the beef — it was way too greasy! Ended up having to strain it twice, so just a heads up for other new cooks like me to not skip that step. My kids still loved it, though, so that’s a win.
Paired this with a nice amber ale last weekend and it was the perfect weekend lunch. The beef was fall-apart tender, I didn’t even need a knife to slice it. The au jus had that deep umami flavor I’ve been trying to replicate from my favorite diner for years, nailed it on the first try.
First time making French dip ever and I was so intimidated because the recipe says medium difficulty! But the steps were super easy to follow, and my husband was so impressed he asked if I ordered takeout from the fancy sandwich shop downtown. So proud of how it turned out!
Great base recipe! I added a little horseradish mayo to my sandwiches for a kick, and it was chef’s kiss. Only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is I wish there was a note about what cut of beef is best if you can’t find chuck roast — my store only had round roast and it was a little tougher than I wanted.
Made a double batch of this on Sunday for meal prep and it held up perfectly all week for lunches! I portioned out the beef and au jus separately, toasted the rolls fresh each day, and it tasted just as good on Friday as it did on Sunday. Absolute meal prep staple for me now.
Just finished making this for lunch and OMG. The au jus is so flavorful I could drink it straight from the bowl. Toasted the rolls with a little garlic butter before piling the beef on and I will never make a French dip any other way. So so good.
Taste was solid, but my au jus came out really salty? I followed the recipe exactly, used the broth it called for, so I’m not sure what went wrong. The sandwiches were still edible, but I had to water the jus down a lot to make it dippable.
Made this for my roommates and we all ate until we were stuffed. We split the cost of the beef and it was way cheaper than ordering delivery from the sandwich shop by campus, and tasted 10x better. 10/10 will be a regular in our apartment dinner rotation.
Loved this recipe! I swapped the regular hoagie rolls for gluten free sourdough rolls and it worked perfectly, the au jus is naturally gluten free as long as you use GF broth, which was a nice win for me since so many French dip recipes have hidden gluten. Only wish I’d made more au jus because I ran out halfway through dinner!
This is our new go-to for Sunday supper when the grandkids come over! Even my pickiest 7 year old granddaughter ate a whole sandwich without complaining, which is basically a miracle. I served it with crispy oven fries and a side of pickles, everyone cleaned their plates.
I spent 20 years working in restaurants and this is a rock solid classic French dip recipe. The ratio of aromatics in the au jus is spot on, no weird extra ingredients that don’t belong. Great job keeping it traditional instead of adding random gimmicks to make it ‘unique’. Will be making this for my golf group next month.
Made this on this gross rainy Seattle day and it was the coziest dinner ever. The whole house smelled like slow roasted beef and herbs for hours, it was better than any candle I own. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Made these for our tailgate last weekend before the Bulldogs game and they were a massive hit! I kept the beef warm in a slow cooker and set out a little station with rolls, cheese, and au jus so people could build their own. People went back for thirds, will be doing this every home game for sure.
I’ve chased the perfect French dip from food trucks all over LA and this recipe is better than 90% of the ones I’ve paid $15+ for. The key is definitely letting the beef rest before slicing it thin, that’s the trick to keeping it juicy, which so many home cooks skip. Absolute banger of a recipe.
This was so good! The only mishap I had was I sliced my beef a little too thick, so it was a little harder to bite through, but the flavor was still amazing. My apartment smells incredible and I have enough leftovers for 2 more lunches, total win.
Added a few slices of pickled jalapeño to my sandwich and the little spicy kick paired so well with the rich beef and savory au jus. If you love a little heat, don’t sleep on that addition! Game changer.