5 Ways to Rescue a Ruined Meal
Whether you’re a novice cook or an experienced at-home chef, mistakes in the kitchen happen. And, when they do, you might declare your dinner a culinary catastrophe, and dump it straight into the wastebasket. But, before you give up on your dish, consider the following ways you can rescue a ruined meal, and save the day – or at least save dinner.
No need to be ashamed, we have all been there! Read on for some tips on how to help a ruined meal.
1. Bake your charred meat.
If you regularly grill without a good thermometer, you’re playing with fire. And, if you’ve burnt the outside of your steak or burgers, but the insides are still red, you may worry that your meal has gone to waste. Fortunately, you can still salvage the meat.
First, quickly take the meat off the grill, and tent it in aluminum foil to help retain the heat. Then, preheat your oven to 300° Fahrenheit. After that, just place your meat in an oven-safe pan, and simmer it to achieve your desired doneness.
2. Dilute the salt content.
You may have gone years with a light salting hand, but then, the worst happens. You over-salt your dish, and now it’s as briny as the Dead Sea. Don’t panic – you may still be able to save your meal.
First, try diluting the flavor by adding more of each ingredient in the recipe minus the salt. If you’re cooking a soup or stew, you could also try mixing in some extra water. Another common fix involves adding a starchy ingredient, like a potato, to the dish. Simply throw in some potato chunks to help absorb the salt, and remove them once the flavor is just right.
3. Fix your gluey pasta mess.
We’ve all been there. You’re 100% committed to making dinner, and then something else catches your attention. You find yourself whipping up homemade meatballs, stepping away to catch the latest news on TV or tending to your little one. Then, it happens. The pasta you left on the stove turns into soggy mush. Now what?
First, grab a pan or wok, add in some oil and heat it on the stove. Once the pan’s nice and warm, add in your pasta and swirl it around until it becomes less glue-like. If you’ve allowed the pan to preheat properly, your pasta should be revitalized in just about a minute.
4. Give new life to soggy veggies.
Overcooked vegetables are the opposite of appetizing. However, you can’t un-cook them. Before you get flustered, there are a few tricks that can turn those soggy veggies into the delectable side dish they were always meant to be.
First, try blanching the veggies by dunking them in ice-cold water. This helps stop the cooking process. If they’re still unpalatable, it may be time to rethink your side dish. For example, you can take soggy cauliflower, and throw it into a food processor to make cauliflower rice. Cauliflower can also be made into creamy mashed cauliflower – a mashed-potato-like dish. Depending on the vegetable, you can also throw the veggies on a baking sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and broil them until they’re brown and crispy.
5. Head to Adam’s Taphouse and Grille.
Even the world’s best chefs aren’t immune to cooking disasters. If you’ve tried the tricks as mentioned above and can’t rescue a ruined meal, there’s no shame in tossing the overcooked mess down the garbage disposal and driving down to Adam’s Taphouse & Grille. The ribs were calling your name anyway. And, be sure to check out our Fab 5 specials, available Monday through Friday.
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