Koji Beef Jus Recipe

A shio koji-spiked beef jus that will give your holiday roast a savory kick in the pants.

By
Sasha Marx
Sasha Marx
Senior Culinary Editor
Sasha is a senior culinary editor at Serious Eats. He has over a decade of professional cooking experience, having worked his way up through a number of highly regarded and award-winning restaurant kitchens, followed by years spent in test kitchens for food publications.
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Updated February 10, 2023
Koji Beef Jus

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Beef shins or oxtail fortify the stock with extra meatiness for a full-flavored beef jus.
  • Stirring blended shio koji into the jus right before serving seasons the sauce, and gives it extra savory depth, with a hint of funkiness that echoes the flavor of dry-aged beef.

Prime rib is a classic holiday dish, but dry-brining it with shio koji adds a savory twist. A great roast needs a sauce buddy, so I couldn't leave this koji prime rib hanging without a jus of some sort. So I made a shio koji-spiked beef jus to accompany it.

For the sauce, I adapted Kenji's red wine jus from his perfect prime rib recipe to cook entirely on the stovetop, and then finished it with blended shio koji in place of butter. Moving the jus cooking to the stovetop gives those of us who don't own a roasting pan or V-rack (I have never owned either) options.

Once the jus is reduced and strained, I finish it with blended shio koji (you want it smooth for this application, but if you don't feel like getting an appliance dirty, you can simply strain some of the shio koji liquid into the jus instead of puréeing it with the rice solids). As with the roast, the shio koji provides salinity, umami, and a little background sweetness to the jus, making it the perfect companion to the prime rib.

December 2019

Recipe Details

Koji Beef Jus Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 2 hrs 30 mins
Serves 8 servings
Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil

  • 2 pounds (900g) beef shins or oxtail

  • 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 (750ml) bottle dry red wine

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme

  • 4 sprigs fresh parsley

  • 1 quart (950ml) homemade beef stock, homemade brown or white chicken stock, or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock (see notes)

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) blended shio koji

Directions

  1. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Add beef shins or oxtail, and cook, flipping and stirring pieces occasionally, until well browned on all sides, 12 to 15 minutes. Using tongs, transfer beef to a large plate, and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-high.

    Browning cross-cut beef shin in a Dutch oven.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  2. Add carrot, celery, and onion to now-empty pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to lightly brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine, bay leaves, thyme, and parsley and cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

    Onions, carrots, etc. are browned in Dutch oven

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  3. Add stock and return beef to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a light simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is just tender and liquid is reduced by half, about 1 hour.

    Stock is added and the contents are simmered and reduced.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  4. Using tongs, transfer beef to a medium saucepan. Pour remaining contents of pot through a fine-mesh strainer into saucepan. Discard strained vegetables and aromatics.

    The reduced mixture is strained into a saucier.

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

  5. Using a ladle, skim excess fat off top of liquid and discard. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a light simmer, and cook until beef is completely tender and liquid is reduced to about 2 cups (475ml), about 45 minutes. Transfer beef to a serving plate and tent with foil to keep warm or set aside for another use. Stir in shio koji and taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt and pepper if desired (jus shouldn't need additional salt). Keep warm, until ready to serve with koji prime rib.

Special Equipment

Dutch oven, 3-quart stainless steel saucier, fine-mesh strainer

Notes

A good homemade beef stock is great here, but you can also use homemade brown or white chicken stock. If you buy store-bought stock, we recommend chicken, as most mass-market beef stock has a poor flavor (if you know a source for good quality store-bought beef stock, such as a local butcher, that would work too).

Make-Ahead and Storage

The jus can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week, or frozen for up to 6 months.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
96 Calories
3g Fat
2g Carbs
5g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 96
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 4%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 16mg 5%
Sodium 529mg 23%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 84mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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