Kitchen tips: How to save overcooked meat, too-salty gravy, and other common kitchen mistakes

We can't all be Gordon Ramsay, and kitchen disasters happen from time to time. It's terrible to waste food though, so don't throw out your overcooked veggies just yet. 

The food is too salty (or spicy)

Depending on the dish, you can add more rice, pasta, canned tomato puree or even some chopped up boiled potato to soak up the excess seasoning.

If it's the gravy that's too salty, you can also use it to sauce a noodle or pasta dish!

The meat is burnt outside

Remove the skin, then pan-fry the meat briefly to give it an appetising colour.

The turkey's undercooked

Ideally, you would have a meat thermometer or a turkey cooking tab to help you prevent the issue... but if the turkey really turns out undercooked when you bring it to the dinner table, swop your plans for an impromptu grill fest with an electric grill. 

Just carve it up into even slices, bring out dips (mustards, sea salts will do the trick, but you can consider lime-juice-and-salt or even chicken rice chilli sauce for turkeys with Aisan marinades!) and let everyone cook their own meat.

The meat is overcooked

Shred it up and toss it with salad, or turn it into a sandwich with some cheese and caramelised onions. 

The veggies are overcooked

Turn them into a colourful mash with some butter, cream, and a dash of fresh herbs. 

Or go a step further and turn them into a creamy soup. Sweat some onions, add the veggies and saute, add some stock, then pulse in the blender with a bit of cooking cream and butter.

The gravy is lumpy

Put it into a blender and try to blitz it out. You might need to add a splash of stock/water to aid the blending process. Alternatively, slowly pour the gravy over a spider strainer (set it over a pot), and use chopsticks to whisk out the lumps. 

The pasta is overcooked

Shock it in ice water to stop the cooking process, drain, then turn it into a cold pasta salad or minestrone soup.

The potatoes are too mushy

Instead of a mash, try making some homemade gnocchi. Mash up the spuds, mix in plain flour, salt and pepper until you get a malleable dough. Knead that into a rectagular log, slice into 3cm-long pieces, then use a fork to create a pattern on each. Cook in salted boiling water until they float, and dress with a cream- or tomato-based sauce.

This article was first published on Simply Her.