Recipes to Use Up Leftover Roast Beef (2024)

FAQs

What to do with over cooked roast beef? ›

There's no magic "fix it" button, but there are ways you can make it better. A simple fix for overcooked meat is to dump it in your food processor with some olive oil, purée it, and use it as a stuffing for everything from hand pies and empanadas to dumplings and ravioli.

Try Beef Stroganoff

Put leftover roast beef to good use and make slow cooker beef stroganoff, as cooking tough meat slowly in liquid tenderizes the tough fibers. To make beef stroganoff, place the tough roast beef in a slow cooker.

USDA recommends using cooked beef within 3 to 4 days, kept refrigerated (40°F or less). Refrigeration slows but does not stop bacterial growth. USDA recommends using cooked leftovers within 3 to 4 days.

Simmer in liquid. Just like for burnt meat, if your meat gets tough and dry then you can simmer it in a little bit of broth for a couple minutes. Don't allow it to overcook again but just allow the liquid to penetrate the meat.

Oven: Cover beef with foil and reheat in a preheated oven at a low heat of around 160C for 5-10 minutes. Microwave: Transfer roast and any juices to a microwave-safe dish. Cover with a microwave-safe steamer, and reheat using 30-second intervals on “reheat” setting.

Of course you can! I love to make meals with leftovers. Whether it's a simple stew, a tasty stroganoff or fun burritos, there's plenty that you can do with leftover roast beef and cooking with your leftovers is one of the best ways to save money and reduce food waste.

Lean Cut of Meat: The cut of meat you used may have been too lean. Lean cuts of meat don't have enough connective tissue, such as collagen, which breaks down during slow cooking and makes the meat tender [1]. Insufficient Cooking Time: Six hours may not have been enough time to fully tenderize the meat.

Why is my pot roast still tough? It's because you haven't let the collagen break down. Extend the cook time, make sure there's enough liquid and keep an eye on the dish.

The meat is still perfectly edible, but it can affect the taste, so you may want to trim off any affected areas. It's fine to freeze cooked meat, including meat leftovers and meals cooked from previously frozen meat. Just let it cool before freezing.

The Two-Hour Rule

Cooked food can only stay in the temperature danger zone for so long before it becomes unsafe to eat. Havern explains: "The maximum amount of time perishable foods can [spend] in the danger zone is two hours. At two hours, the food must be consumed, stored correctly, or thrown away.

Can I eat 5 day old leftovers? ›

Leftovers can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away. Frozen leftovers will stay safe for a long time.

Covering your overcooked steak with a thick sauce or gravy will help balance out the dryness and make up for its lack of flavor. Preferably, the sauce is also warm. Serving the steak warm is important, as cold steak gets even tougher. Warm some water or broth in a pan with some barbeque sauce and let your steak simmer.

Thick-slice the roast (1/4 in thick or so), then cut the slices into bite-sized cubes. Put these in a deep pan and add a can of beef broth (about a cup), a cup of water, and a half-cup of red wine. Heat this to a simmer over low heat and cover the pan, stirring occasionally.

If you take it out and carve it immediately, it will lose all of the juices and will be dryer than if you can wait a little while. I always put meat, which I want to be juicy and tender, in a large glass pan with a lid, and slow roast it at a lower temperature.

While it does take some time for the meat to fall apart on its own, overcooking can lead to a roast that is mushy and overcooked. You don't really have to worry about burning the roast outside of the searing phase.

It takes two hours or less for meat to cool to room temperature, plenty of time for it to cool safely. I don't think any professional chefs put roasted meat in a blast chiller. They put meat on a speed rack to cool then move the meat to the cooler.

Rinse the meat using hot water, "give it a really quick re-grill or sear, let it rest, and then serve," Southern says.