The Best Way to Save Overcooked Steak (2024)

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The Best Way to Save Overcooked Steak? ›

One of the most suggested ways to salvage beef that has been cooked to death is to shred it as thinly as possible and slather it with sauce. While the meat itself will still be dry, the abundance of surface area will enable it to suck up much more moisture (via Food Network).

One of the most suggested ways to salvage beef that has been cooked to death is to shred it as thinly as possible and slather it with sauce. While the meat itself will still be dry, the abundance of surface area will enable it to suck up much more moisture (via Food Network).

Pound or Cut It Up

The basic methods for tenderizing beef make meat more tender — even cooked beef. Pounding the beef with a meat mallet can tenderize steak as it helps to break down the muscle fibers to make them softer.

Drizzling a sauce (chimichurri, bearnaise, jus) or allowing the meat to sit in a marinade might do enough to disguise a slightly overcooked filet, but gray and bone-dry steak needs a stronger intervention. In this case, it's best to simmer steak in broth and let time work its magic.

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.

Cut it into 1-inch pieces, toss into the food processor with a drizzle of olive oil and turn it into a semi-pureed beef filling. You can use it in pies, add it to pasta sauces, or turn it into savory dumplings. Do not try to save overcooked steak by adding it to soup.

Bake at a low temperature. Heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit—the lower, gentler temperature will help reheat the steak from the inside out while maintaining the juices. Reheat the steak for about 20 minutes.

In order to tenderize a cooked steak, you just need to leave the meat to stand for 5 minutes after cooking, until the juices flow back towards the outside. Then you'll be able to serve perfectly juicy meat. For a roast beef you'll need to wait longer — about 20 minutes .

Use a Meat Mallet

Before cooking, place the steak between two sheets of plastic wrap to prevent it from tearing, then gently pound the meat with the mallet. Be cautious not to overdo it—you're aiming to soften the muscle fibers, not obliterate the steak. A few light taps should suffice.

Can you eat overcooked steak? ›

The dangers of overcooking meat

Turns out, undercooked meat isn't the only hazard. Meats cooked at a very high temperature can also cause problems. Researchers have found that high consumption of well-done, fried or barbecued meats is associated with an increased risk of colorectal, pancreatic or prostate cancer.

If you add a couple tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice, this also helps revive the meat. If things get way too overcooked, one solution for meat is to toss it into a food processor with a drizzle of olive oil and puree it. This meat paste can be used for a ton of different things.

Ways to restore

To use this trick, you may want to start by chopping up the overcooked meat so your jaw doesn't have too much of a workout. You'll then add a little olive oil to your meat to restore some of those juices that escaped. To tenderize it while adding a bit of that bright citrus flavor, use some lime juice.

Place the steak in the oven and let it reheat slowly, until the steak reaches about 100°F — the time will vary depending on how thick the steak is, but plan on this taking about 20 to 30 minutes.

It's OK to send back food when…

“When it does not taste good to you, or made not to your standard, like the meat is overcooked or the veggies are too raw, or if the food is contaminated in some way, then you should definitely send it back,” she says.