Use Leftover Roast Beef for This Easy Stroganoff Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What can I do with leftover overcooked 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.

Try Beef Stroganoff

To make beef stroganoff, place the tough roast beef in a slow cooker. Add beef broth to help produce the steam needed for cooking your dish, as advised by the University of Minnesota Extension. Add mushroom soup, instant onion soup mix, sour cream, chopped onions and canned or fresh mushrooms.

Traditionally, tenderloin is the meat of choice for Stroganoff, and after testing out a few alternatives—strip steak and ribeye along with more inexpensive cuts like flap meat, hanger, flank, and skirt—I decided to stick with tradition (flap meat and hanger came in a close second).

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. USDA recommends using cooked leftovers within 3 to 4 days.

High temperatures cause the meat fibres to contract, thus squeezing moisture out of the meat. So, the best way to avoid tough, dry, chewy roast beef is to watch the cooking temperature. Why does meat become tougher the longer it is cooked? Because after a point you have eliminated all moisture.

Soaking meat in a marinade made with lemon or lime juice, vinegar, buttermilk or even yogurt can help tenderize tough proteins. The key is to not leave the meat in the marinade for too long, as acids can weaken the protein structure of the meat too much, making it too soft and mushy. Aim for 30 minutes to two hours.

Gently reheating the meat in the oven allows it to warm up without overcooking, while a minute or two in a hot pan gives it the texture of just-cooked steak. This reheating technique also browned the meat rather than turning it gray, which earned this method extra points in the looks department.

If your crock pot roast is tough, it is possible you didn't use a boneless chuck roast, in which cases some cuts of meat will never become fall-apart tender OR more likely, you did not cook your beef long enough. If your pot roast seems tough, cook on!

How do you fix tough meat in stew? ›

The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.

Add Just Enough Liquid

This doesn't mean the meat should be submerged; a cup or two of liquid will be enough, since the cooker is covered and liquids stay trapped inside. If you want the dish to be saucy, or you're making a beef stew, add enough liquid to come about 1/3 of the way up on the meats in the slow cooker.