What to Do with Leftover Pot Roast Juice
Leftover pot roast is already an incredibly delicious and versatile dish. But what about the robust juices that collect in the roasting pan? Those juices are a valuable flavor ingredient in their own right, and there’s a number of ways to use them to enhance the flavor of other dishes. Here are a few ideas to get started:
1. Gravy Enhancer
Making a gravy from the pot roast juice is an obvious choice, as is adding some of it to an already-prepared roux or flavored based gravy. The pot roast juice will add a fullness of flavor that no powdered gravy mix can replicate.
2. Reduced Sauce Base
Reducing the pot roast juices can help create a full-bodied and concentrated flavor that can stand on its own as a sauce, or be incorporated into other dishes as a flavor-enhancing condiment. The juices can be added to the regular ingredients you might use to create a standard sauce, such as butter, wine, heavy cream, stock, and herbs.
3. Vegetable Braising Liquid
One of the most under-appreciated culinary techniques is braising. Braising involves slowly cooking vegetables in a flavorful liquid, combining the best of both wet cooking and dry cooking. The pot roast juices provide an ideal flavoring for vegetables, creating a beverage effect and adding a robustness that you don’t get from other cooking techniques.
4. Soups and Stews
The rich, robust flavor of the pot roast juice has a place in almost any type of soup or stew recipe. Whether it’s adding a splash of flavor to beef-based broths like French onion soup, or adding flavor to vegetable-based stews like black bean chili, pot roast juice enhances the flavor of soups and stews just as it does with the braised vegetables.
5. Salad Dressing
For something a little more unique, pot roast juices can be used as a base for a vinaigrette-style salad dressing. Adding some mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and herbs can really bring out the flavor of the pot roast juice, making it a delicious and welcome addition to any salad.
Conclusion
The next time you make a pot roast, don’t throw away the cooking juices—they’re just as delicious and flavorful as the pot roast itself. From gravy to salad dressings, there’s a number of ways to make the most of the pot roast’s flavorful juices. So why not give it a try?
