The only thing better than a delicious roast beef dinner is the leftovers the day after. But what if your beef is tough? Can you still enjoy a tasty leftovers meal with tough leftover roast beef? 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.
But there’s no denying that cooking with leftovers is easier if your original joint of roast beef was tender, juicy and absolutely melt in your mouth gorgeous.
If your meat was a little tough, fatty or hard to chew in the first place, storing it in the fridge for a night or two isn’t going to make it softer.
So, what can you do with tough roast beef?
What Can I Do with Roast Beef Leftovers?
There’s so much that you can do with roast beef leftovers! Some of my favourite recipes include:
But these options aren’t ideal if you are looking to soften tough leftover beef.
You might find because they are fairly dry, or cook quite quickly, that your beef doesn’t get a chance to soften and is still too chewy.
Why Might Roast Beef be Tough?
There are a few reasons why your Sunday lunch roast beef might be tougher than you’d like it to be.
These include:
- It’s overcooked. Overcooking meat causes it to dry out, and as moisture is lost, the meat gets tougher and so harder to chew.
- It was cooked at too high a temperature. For soft and tender meat, it’s always better to cook it low and slow than to heat it very quickly, which causes the protein in the meat to toughen.
- Some cuts of meat are tougher than others. With beef, these are usually the cheaper cuts like brisket or rump.
- The meat wasn’t very fresh.
The Benefits of Buying Cheap Cuts of Meat
Cheaper cuts of meat are often tougher and chewier because they have more connective tissue.
This is typically because they are from more heavily exercised muscles on the animal.
They are cheaper because the meat isn’t as tender, and there’s less demand for it.
But that doesn’t mean that cheaper cuts aren’t tasty.
While they might need to be cooked for longer, they can be tastier, save you money and make a fantastic stew!
What to do with Tough Steak Leftovers?
Of course, leftover roast beef isn’t the only meat that can be tough.
While your rib-eye might always be wonderfully tender, a rump might be tough, dry and chewy if it hasn’t been cooked very carefully.
If you have any tough steak leftovers, I really recommend something like a stew, slow cooked for a long time.
This will give the meat time to soften, and if you haven’t got much meat, which you might not have from a steak, you can add some diced beef or stewing steak, or just lots of potatoes and veggies to bulk it out.
How to Salvage Tough Roast Beef
If your roast beef is tough, you can usually tell as soon as you start to slice it.
Leaving it to rest for 30 minutes before serving will relax the meat and may soften it slightly.
But to be honest, once it’s cooked and ready to serve there’s little that you can do.
For your Sunday lunch, I recommend slicing your tough beef roast as thinly as you can, to make it easier to cut and chew at the table.
Then, cover it in gravy and serve with all of your favourite veggies and potatoes.
Then, whatever is left, cover and store in the fridge for another meal, just like you would tender Leftover Roast Beef.
How to Make Tough Cooked Roast Beef Tender?
The best way to make tough beef tender is to add more liquid.
It might be too late to do this on Sunday, but when it comes to making another meal with your Roast beef leftovers, cooking the meat slowly in a sauce or gravy is the best way to soften it up.
It’s also a good idea to cut it into small chunks if you know that it’s tough.
Shred Tough Leftover Roast Beef
Another option when it comes to repurposing tough beef leftovers is shredding the meat, like pulled pork.
To shred beef roast leftovers, I wait until the meat is cool, before literally ripping it apart, going with the grain with my hands.
You can use forks to shred meat, but I find it easier to just get my hands dirty.
Shredded leftover roast beef is perfect for cooking in a sauce, like for burritos or chilli or baking in a cottage pie.
Really I think anything that you’d make with minced beef. You can also make with shredded beef.
Making Soup with Leftover Roast Beef
Soup is a fantastic option for using leftover beef, and adding barley is a great option if you want to bulk it out.
Beef and Barley Soup is great if meat is tough, but it’s also a fab way to cook on a budget.
Just make sure you cut your beef up small.
What is the Best Thing to Cook with a Leftover Roast Dinner?
There’s so much that you can do with leftover roast beef or leftover pot roast. There’s absolutely not a best option.
For me, it depends on the circumstances.
If I haven’t got much beef, and it’s super tender and already thinly sliced, I don’t think there are many better options than a nice beef sandwich.
If your beef is tough, shredding it and making burritos or slow cooking in a stew or chilli are perfect.
Beef Goulash
My recipe for beef goulash uses fresh beef, but you can easily swap it for leftovers.
Just skip the browning of the meat part and make sure it’s piping hot before you serve.
Chop your meat up small if it’s tough and cook it in this yummy goulash sauce.
This kind of slightly spiced stew is perfect for giving tough leftover beef new life!
Beef Stew
A stew is a perfect way to use tough leftover meat, whether it’s beef, pork or lamb.
Dice your meat into small chunks and let it slowly simmer in a stew for at least an hour!
Cottage Pie
I love a cottage pie with leftover beef. I prefer the chunks of meat to using mince. It’s a much better texture.
If your beef is tough, chop it small or dice it and it will soften in this thick gravy topped with mashed potato. Leftover lamb is also great for a shepherd’s pie.
Burritos
For burritos with leftover beef that’s tough, I’d shred the meat or cut it into thin strips before simmering in a chilli sauce.
This one is ideal if there’s not much meat left because shredding it makes it go further, and the rice and veggies in the burritos mean that you won’t miss more meat.
Curry
Curry sauce is the perfect way to cook tough leftover roast beef. It will soften it while adding some extra flavour.
You can even marinate the meat overnight so that it’s already softened before you start to cook.
I love both my leftover beef curry and beef and sweet potato curry recipes for cooking with tough leftover beef.
Ragu
A ragu is perfect if you want to cut your meat up really small.
You’d usually make it with minced beef, so it doesn’t really make much difference, and simmering it in a thick sauce like this means that it softens and stops being so dry.
You can also make ragu with leftover turkey or leftover lamb.
Chilli
Chilli, like curry, is ideal for leftovers because you can cook it for a long time.
If your beef is still too chewy you can always add extra liquid and simmer for a little longer.
Just make sure you stir occasionally to stop your leftover beef from sticking to the bottom of the cooking pan.
If you are making chilli with tough leftover beef, either shred the meat or dice it into small chunks.
Hotpot
I love hotpots. They are perfect for leftover beef or lamb, or even with sausages and baked beans for a budget dinner.
Hotpots are great for tough meat, but you can also use leftover veggies and potatoes.
Casserole
A beef and red wine casserole is perfect for chewy leftover beef.
Simmer your meat in this rich red wine gravy until it’s soft, and then serve with mashed potatoes or bread for a super yummy dinner.
Pie
Pie is another option where you can cut the meat small and leave it to cook in the gravy.
The only difference is you can’t taste a bit during cooking to see how soft it easy.
You can make my lamb and potato pie with beef, just skip the mint sauce.
These leftover roast beef recipes are just a few of the ways that you can use up tough beef, giving it new life as part of another filling family meal.
Usually, your beef will soften as it cooks in a sauce or gravy and will be much more tender the second time you eat it.
