3 Delicious Ways To Use A Roast That Came Out Too Tough

You set out to make a deliciously tender pot roast to serve for tonight's dinner and lost track of time. Unfortunately, now you're left with a tougher piece of meat that has you feeling less-than-confident about placing it onto the table. Thankfully, all hope is not lost when it comes to that sturdy roast you're now faced with. We spoke to Kevin Chrisman, the executive chef at Golden Hour in North Carolina for tips on how we can quickly remedy such a seemingly dire situation.

With a bit of culinary creativity, you can restructure your planned meal and make use of the overcooked meat. From satisfying plates filled with tacos to comforting bowls of pasta, the roast you originally intended to serve can be sliced and diced and made anew. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention, and Chrisman has given us full permission to get steam straight ahead into the next meal, unfazed and unbothered by any tough chunks of meat.  

Whether it is Tuesday or not, get your favorite taco shells ready. Using the cooked meat to fill tacos is a quick and easy redirect that will make good use of your attempted roast. "Sear it and baste it with butter," instructs Kevin Chrisman. With the butter incorporating some much-needed moisture, these flavorful morsels can be stashed into hard and soft shells and crowned with all of your favorite toppings. 

This tasty presentation will have no dinner table missing the roast you had envisioned, and the flavorful, meaty tacos will be devoured by diners without hesitation. Top plates of corn tortillas with cotija cheese and freshly chopped cilantro and serve with a batch of fried potatoes. Presented alongside sides of tortilla chips, homemade guacamole and salsa, a quick squeeze of a lime, and drizzles of your favorite hot sauce, your almost-disaster will be directed towards an instant hit. Alternatively, you can choose to lean dinner into a brunch category by pairing meat with scrambled eggs and shredded cheese. 

If you're craving a more comforting recipe, Kevin Chrisman encourages any disgruntled at-home cook to look to replicate a simple shepherd's pie with the meaty mishap. Packed with veggies and meat, this filling dish is ideal to feed to a hungry group. Better yet, the large number of juicy mix-ins and protective cover of mashed potatoes helps keep the dish from tasting even remotely dry. 

With the meat already prepped and cooked, you can simply sauté veggies and add the meat to a skillet before layering mashed potatoes and the meaty mixture into a dish to bake. You can adjust the cooking time of the pie since the meat will already be cooked prior to being packed into the baking dish. Upgrade your homemade pie by making a shepherd's pie poutine or make individual pies in muffin tins to help with portion control for your party. This aesthetically pleasing and delicious dinner option can be enjoyed alongside a rich glass of Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, and that tough roast you were initially faced with will quickly become a memory of the past.

If tacos and meat pies aren't your fancy, Kevin Chrisman offers one more option for a reliable recipe that can be served with confidence. "Put it in a super creamy and rich pasta dish," he advises. Add cream, mushrooms, and grated parmesan to make a sauce that will result in a decadent dish that is sure to delight your dinner guests, or lighten the richer flavor of meat with a quick squeeze of lemon and freshly cracked black better.  

If you're feeling ambitious, you can channel the flavors from your favorite bolognese recipes by combining pieces of that rough roast with extra virgin olive oil, an assortment of diced vegetables, and plenty of spices. This is a plated meal that can be presented with crusty pieces of garlic bread that can be used to sop up every last morsel. Thanks to Chrisman's smart directions, any kitchen mistakes that result in tougher slabs of meat can be comfortably converted to gold.