You’ve just made a big pot of delicious beef stew and you’re left with some tough pieces. What should you do? You can eat it in its current form, or make something else out of the scraps. Here’s how to use your leftover steak to create new dishes!
If you have leftover steak that is too tough to eat, there are a few things you can do with it. You can make a sandwich, use the meat in another dish, or freeze it for later.
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It’s pointless to throw away leftover tough steak or feed it to your dog when there are so many cuisine inventions you can make with it. This article covers numerous dishes that you may try using leftover tough steak, ranging from a great stir fry to a delicious Steak and Salad.
Let’s have a look at several techniques to make already-cooked, tough steak more soft before we get into the recipes.
How to Make Cooked Steak Tender
There are a few techniques you may use to make your leftover steak less tough. The first thing you may do is chop the steak up in general, but if you slice it against the flesh fibers, the fibers will loosen up and the steak will become more soft.
Many people believe that tenderizing meat using a tenderizing mallet can only be done before it is cooked, but this is not the case. After the steak has been cooked, you may use a mallet to soften it up, so you can use this approach to make your leftover steak less tough.
Adding a marinade or tenderizing sauce to your steak is another technique to soften it up. Furthermore, putting your meat to a stew or braising it may help it become more soft by submerging it in fluids and adding moisture to the steak.
Using Leftover Steak in Recipes
You may try one or more of the recipes below to use up that leftover meat now that you know how to make that tough, leftover steak more soft.
Stir-fried steak
There aren’t many people on this planet who don’t like a nice stir fry. You may reheat leftover steak in a pan or wok with vegetables and soy sauce (or another Asian-inspired sauce) and serve over rice or noodles.
Carrots, snow peas, mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, yellow and red peppers, broccoli, onion, and a few garlic cloves are a popular combo.
You may use any or all of these veggies in your stir fry, or create your own. One of the best things about this recipe is how adaptable it is.
Cheesesteak in Philadelphia
You just can’t go wrong with a Cheesesteak in Philadelphia sandwich. Since leaving Philadelphia, it has reached all regions of the United States because it is simply that scrumptious.
This popular sandwich has just a few ingredients. You’ll just need a few pieces of provolone cheese (or whatever cheese you choose), chopped onion and green pepper, and a hoagie bread apart from the leftover steak.
You can also include some jalapeños on your Cheesesteak in Philadelphia if you want some extra heat.
If you want to make the onion and green pepper slices more soft and add a burst of flavor to the sandwich, you may caramelize them. You may stack the steak on the hoagie bun by cutting it into small slices.
Place the pepper and onion slices, as well as jalapeos if desired, on top of the steak pieces, and finish with a few slices of cheese.
To melt the cheese, place the sandwich in a preheated oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately five minutes, or microwave it for a few seconds.
Quesadillas de Steak
Making a quesadilla of any type is so easy, so why not use your leftover steak for one? The fact that the steak is already cooked cuts down on the time it takes to assemble a quesadilla, making this a very simple supper to make.
To begin, chop your leftover steak into thin strips and toss them in a dish with a little of chili powder and a pinch of red cayenne pepper. Cut up a quarter of an onion and a jalapeo into small pieces.
Then, in a frying skillet over medium-low heat, toss a flour tortilla. To help the pan brown and prevent it from sticking, add a little butter or oil before you start cooking.
Toss the tortilla with the steak strips, chopped onion, and diced jalapeo, then top with a generous quantity of shredded chihuahua cheese. Cover the pan with a cover and let aside for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Place a second tortilla on top of the quesadilla and push it down to adhere to the cheese. Before setting the quesadilla down, flip it over and add extra butter to the pan.
After both sides of the quesadilla are crispy and browned, you can remove it from the pan. Quesadillas de Steak go great with lettuce, sour cream, and salsa.
Stroganoff Steak
Although stroganoff is best when the meat is partly cooked in the stew, leftover steak may simply be used in this recipe. It should help the steak become more tender as it sits in the sauce.
The following are the components you’ll need for this dish:
- Steak weighing 1.2 pounds
- sliced mushrooms (ten ounces)
- 1 onion, sliced
- sour cream (around 2 to 3 cups)
- 2 c. beef stock
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- flour (two tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon)
- salt & pepper to taste
To begin, pound the leftover steak as flat as possible using a tenderizing mallet before cutting it into strips. The mallet will assist in softening the tough meat.
In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the chopped onion and simmer for about a minute.
Then add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until they’ve become a lovely golden color. After that, add the flour to the mushrooms and onion and stir for approximately a minute.
Whisk in half of the beef broth while continuing to stir. Pour in the second half of the broth once it has been well mixed.
After you’ve finished mixing the second half, add the Dijon mustard and sour cream and stir them in. Then reduce the heat to medium-low and bring the mixture to a simmer.
The mixture should have thickened to the consistency you want after three to five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the remaining steak to the mix.
Allow the mixture to simmer for one minute before removing it from the heat. It’s time to eat your beef stroganoff.
Choose a short noodle, such as egg noodles, or make a couple of serves of mashed potatoes to serve with the stroganoff. Freshly cut chives may also be added to your dish.
Stew with Steak is a hearty stew.
Although many people purchase stew meat expressly for stew, you may just as easily create this substantial meal using leftover steak.
This is what you’ll require:
- 2 pound steak scraps
- 8 oz. mushrooms, halved
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- bay leaves (two)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 1/2 quarts beef broth
- 1/2 cup red wine, dry
- flour (three tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 tblsp parsley leaves, chopped
The first step is to heat the olive oil in a big saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are golden brown, approximately three to four minutes.
Add the garlic and mushrooms next, and continue to sauté the veggies until the two new components have browned. This should take three to four minutes more.
After that, stir in the tomato paste and flour with a whisk for about a minute, or until the mixture is somewhat brown.
Then pour in the red wine, scraping off any particles from the bottom of the saucepan. After mixing the ingredients, add the bay leaves, beef stock, and thyme to the saucepan and heat to a boil.
After the mixture has reached a boil, reduce the heat to a low heat and cook for a half hour.
After that, add the potato chunks and steak strips to the saucepan and cook until the potato pieces are soft and the stew’s fluids have thickened. This should take around 20 minutes to complete.
Finally, remove the thyme and bay leaves, add the parsley and any salt and pepper you would like to incorporate, and enjoy your Stew with Steak is a hearty stew..
Breakfast Hash with Steak and Eggs
You can make a fantastic breakfast hash with the tough meat you have left over. It’s on par with, if not better than, the hash served at breakfast joints.
The following are the ingredients:
- 1 pound of steak that was left over
- 4 eggs
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 onion (yellow)
- a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika (smoked)
- salt & pepper to taste
The first step is to place your chopped potatoes in a medium-sized saucepan with enough water to cover them.
Bring the water to a boil, then lower to a low heat and cook the potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are soft. Remove the potatoes from the saucepan once they are soft, put them aside to cool, and discard the water.
Then, on the stovetop, heat a large iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, red peppers, and mushrooms in the skillet until the mushrooms have softened, approximately 5 to 6 minutes.
After that, add the cooled potatoes, the smoked paprika, and a salt & pepper to taste to the mix. Cook the food until the potatoes begin to turn brown, which should take five minutes or so.
Next, cut the remaining steak into 1-inch cubes, cutting against the grain of the flesh to help tenderize it. Cook for a few more minutes to ensure that your steak is well warmed.
Allowing the leftover steak to come to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before cooking it is one technique to speed up the process. While you wait for the steak to warm up, this will help you prevent scorching the veggies.
Make four indentations with the back of a spoon in the hash that’s cooking in the pan, then break each of your eggs into one of them, seasoning them with salt and pepper afterward.
Cover the pan with a cover and cook the hash until the eggs are done to your liking. It should take between four and seven minutes to complete this task.
Steak and Salad
Use your leftover tough steak in a salad as one method to integrate it into something healthful.
Use arugula and spinach as the foundation of a salad that’s fresh and flavorful, then top it with slices of leftover steak. Then, toss in half-cut cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and slices of avocado, which lend a creamy texture to the salad.
Balsamic vinegar is an excellent option for the dressing since it pairs nicely with the salad’s elements. However, you may be as creative as you want with the dressing and the veggies you use.
Since steak is involved, you probably can’t go wrong with whichever salad you choose.
Last Thoughts
It should be clear at this point that repurposing your tough leftover steak is simple and tasty. After trying out the dishes in this article, you could find yourself wishing you had more leftover steak all of the time.
“What to do with leftover london broil that is tough” is a question that has been asked before. There are many options for what to do with leftover steak. Reference: what to do with leftover london broil that is tough.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I do with tough leftover beef?
A: You could use this beef to make a sandwich, or you can save it for later and cook with it when you have more time.
How do you tenderize reheated steak?
A: You need to use an electric mixer or a food processor, then add some salt and pepper. If you dont have one of these in your kitchen, try using the side of a chefs knife with its blade inserted into hot water for about 20 minutes before slicing.
Can you tenderize beef after it is cooked?
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