If you want to get the au jus the day before and dont have a few hours ahead of time to heat it in a crock pot, i would invest in a portable electric burner. They are fairly inexpensive(about $20) and come in handy more than you think. Heat it up in a pot on the burner, add the beef to heat it through, then tranfer it to the crockpot to keep warm during service. Heating up the au jus from being refrigerated in a crock pot would take at least an hour, depending on how much it has to heat up. Or, if you can pick up all the food ahead of time AND set up the crockpot several hours before your gathering that would work. You could put the meat and the au jus together in the crockpot on high for a few hours(again, it depends on HOW MUCH food it has to heat) and turn it to warm when you get there. I have done similar things both ways before since i seem to always end up catering various family events (i have a HUGE family) I personally would not set it in the crockpot ahead of time, because you can never be sure that it will heat through by the time you get there and I dont think i would ever want to eat cold au jus. Just my personal taste, but its almost like eating cold gravy.yuck. (Also..i feel a responsibility to remind you that if you go with the burner method,,PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE heat it in a separate pot, not the crock pot insert..my father did that once on the stove despite my warnings and it was a DISASTER!!!) Good luck!

Debrak, I have one of those big Nesco 18 quart roasters, it's electric. If you could borrow one of those, or if you have one, you could heat the au jus and the beef, then turn it down to warm and keep the au jus at serving temperature much more quickly and efficiently than with a crockpot.

Annie

Is the beef supposed to be hot or cold? If it' supposed to be cold, then no sauce au jus. If you heat it, won't it get overcooked?

I can't pick up everything the day ahead as then it won't be hot. The great thing about this food package is everthing is hot and stays hot for 2.5 hours. The hot foods are BBQ chicken, pasta with meat sauce, and au gratin potatoes. Salad and the beef with au jus is cold.

I have a friend who has a Nesco (I think) that I could borrow.

Around here people like the beef differently. Some like the beef to soak in the aus jus (kept warm) for however long. Some like the beef cold and then they just quickly dip the beef it the hot aus jus. I think I will put some of the beef in the aus jus and leave some out.

I also plan on having some crockpot mac and cheese and a veggie tray. Cake for dessert.

This post was edited by debrak2008 on Sun, Jun 22, 14 at 9:01

Wanted to give an update. The catering place said I can pick up the roast beef and au jus the day before. I also arranged for them to deliver the rest of the meal that day. I will use an electric roaster to heat the au jus. Thank you all!

May I just say something about this that's driving me nuts? Roast beef "au jus" literally means roast beef "_with_ jus (which is French for the meat juice)".
"Au" is French for "with". So the actual stuff that's runny is just "jus", not "au jus".
French lesson for the day over :-)

Colleen, I'm with you on the French (literally, "au" means "with the" in the masculine (root= "a le"), where the "l" in "le" has contracted over time to an "o", which is something that happens in language in general). However, in English, an "au jus" is a sauce that is served along side roast beef, but usually not even made that that beef's juices. It usually is made from consomme or stock, often reduced with wine.

Compare to such things as "a la mode" (of the style), "au gratin" (with the crust), etc., that have become English expressions that mean something specific that isn't particularly French.

Debra, great news on the catering! I think you have everything planned really well. Best wishes for a lovely party!

I was going to mention contacting the catering for information. The whole point of using such a method is to make life easier for service for a crowd. Even if it is a pick-up situation.
And why many lend the use of the stainless pans with lids and the sterno bases to be returned later.
Many dishes and recipes use other languages in their titles. Some have become such well know standards that immediately give a visual of what it will be. Roast beef with a very liquid and flavorful broth. (hopefully using the roasting juices and not from a can but i'm sure a beef broth of some type needs to be used for quantity). Dipped just before or on the side and hot/warm so as not to cook the beef further...
Doesn't bug me as the 'jus' part of the dish is not meant to be so literal. It is the 'au jus' part of the dish. Our country is so young we have many dishes and recipes from all over the world...one would most likely ask if the 'au jus' is served on the side rather than is the 'jus' served on the side... : )

As a French speaker I find the term au jus irritating. It should be as I said above - sauce au jus as it's a sauce made with meat juices. I don't know why you don't make life easier and call it thin gravy! Lol
Whatever it's called I hope it's delicious!

There's a journalist in Los Angeles who used every opportunity to poke fun at The La Brea Tar Pits (world famous dinosaur trap museum). The name is literally "the the tar tar pits". The area is known as La Brea ("the tar") because that's where the tar is. There's a major road called La Brea. Etc. Near by is a road called La Cienega (the swamp--for obvious reasons, though it's all built up and not really swampy anymore). No one thinks you're talking about dying and going to heaven when you say you're going to Los Angeles ("The Angels"). People don't think about actual tar when they say there's a great store on La Brea. It's a name. Like "au jus" is the name of the sauce.

I'm so glad that colleenoz mentioned the "au" thing, as when I initially read this post I immediately did more research on it.

There are many people on the CF I have come to consider pretty good authorities on cooking and food, and also loads of others in the media, for instance, so I couldn't understand why they used "roast beef "with" au jus". Was my high school French teacher wrong? I'm so glad
to know I wasn't wrong. I hope that common useage doesn't come to accept the "with au jus".

Maxmom, you're way too late. Common usage already is "with au jus".

I agree, you're too late, maxmom. It's common. I took one year of high school French a million years ago, and know that "au" means "with", but the use of "au jus" doesn't bother me one way or another.

My pet peeve is the "poisonous snake". So if you bite it you die? (grin) The appropriate term, of course, is venomous snake, it bites you and you die. Still, "poisonous snake" is widely accepted, and so I'm also way too late. (shrug)

Annie

I was taught in French class that "a" meant "in", "to", or "at" and that "avec" meant "with". I always thought that "au jus" meant "in its own juice", but then I tend to be a bit too literal. What does bother me is when people pronounce it "ah zhoo" instead of "oh zhoo". I quickly lose respect for any chef who cannot pronounce French culinary terms correctly. If they cannot pronounce it, they should call it something else!

I had not thought of the "poisonous snake" vs "venomous snake" terms, but Annie is right about that! In a similar vein, it bothers me when people say "desert island" when they really mean "deserted island". The Galapogos are desert islands, and they are also deserted, as far as civilization goes, I think, and so both terms could apply. A tropical island that has lush foliage and no people is not a desert, but it could be considered deserted, if you do not count animals. I've been to several islands that could be considered deserts, but they were definitely not deserted.

Lars

Lars, translating prepositions is never exact. :)

Debra, I'm sending out many wishes for you to have a joyous and calm day, and a lovely party.