Recipes to Use Up Leftover Roast Beef (2024)

FAQs

What can you do with over cooked roast beef? ›

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.

Beef, veal, lamb and pork roasts, steaks and chops may be kept 3 to 5 days. After cooking, meat, poultry and seafood can be safely stored in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.

One of my favorite ways is to make braised beef. 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.

You can add a little bit of water or broth to a pan and simmer the meat for a few minutes. The goal is to allow the liquid to penetrate the meat without allowing it to overcook even more. This should take a couple of minutes. If you add a couple tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice, this also helps revive 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.

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

To freeze cooked roast beef, allow it to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container or a freezer bag. Label the container or bag with the date and contents. The frozen cooked roast beef can be kept in the freezer for up to 3-4 months without significant loss of quality.

Perishable foods like meat should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours (or one hour if the temperature is above 90°F or 32°C) as bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, leading to foodborne illness. It's best to discard the roast beef to avoid the risk of food poisoning.

The simple answer is that first it becomes tougher then it becomes tender. At first the heat makes the muscles contract, making it tougher. But after time the collagen will break down making it tender, especially if the meat is cooked with moisture.

How do you tenderize an already cooked tough roast? ›

Using a slow-cooker appliance or simmering the beef in a skillet with a lid that fits also works for tenderizing cooked beef. Thinly slicing or shredding the beef helps the meat break down faster. Braise or simmer it for at least two hours.

If you overcook a roast it is going to be dry and crumbly. In order to rescue the meat you've got to get some moisture back into that stuff. I'd begin by shredding the meat. Just pull it apart into bite sized strips.

Overcooked beef

For roasts, place it in the slow cooker with barbecue sauce, and cook on low for a few hours. Shred the beef, and make some tasty barbecue sandwiches. Another idea is to make beef stroganoff. Stroganoff is simply egg noodles, beef chunks and your favorite veggies.

Reheat with a liquid: One way to add moisture back into the beef is to reheat it in a liquid such as broth or gravy. You can do this by placing the beef in a pot or slow cooker with the liquid and heating it until it's heated through and tender.

Again, aluminum foil is the key to reheating your roast without drying it out. Wrap your roast in foil with a 1/4 cup of beef stock added to help retain the prime rib's juicy flavor, and place it in the oven once it has been preheated to 300°F.

Tenderize a tough roast that's already cooked by pounding it, cutting it against the grain, adding some marinade or commercial tenderizing agents or braising the meat.

The meat will just twist off the roast if it's ready. But don't cook it too long, or it will end up too dry. Check your roast to make sure liquid is still in the pot. Depending on how big your roast is, check for doneness after two or three hours.