I put too much rosemary and thyme in my pot roast and it's overwhelming. How do I mellow out the flavor? my husband isn't fond of too much herb taste

how to fix the problem

shahira
  • Posted by: shahira
  • December 1, 2015
  • 74562 views
  • 10 Comments

10 Comments

AntoniaJames December 2, 2015
I agree with Nancy's suggestion but would simply add, use a good strong red wine - one that will stand up to the herbs.

A hearty Chianti would be my choice. I'd add quite a bit of it, and cook it down (without the roast in the pan, of course).

I'd also add some thinly sliced onion at the same time. I might add a touch of tomato paste as well.

Remember, too, that the leftover pot roast and its sauce, can be used to make a marvelous beef stew. You can further tame the herb flavor with more onions, carrots, celery, lots of mushrooms, and chicken or beef stock that you thicken with a dark-ish roux.

We had pot roast the night before Thanksgiving, cooked in Chianti with rosemary, onions and fennel; I used the leftover meat and sauce on Saturday night for a stew like the one I just described. So delicious! ;o)
 
Inky January 7, 2024
I Cannot use liquor,my partner doesn’t drink AT ALL,he’d notice it and it might affect him
 
HalfPint December 2, 2015
This is just a theory but try freezing it and then thaw and reheat. Freezing tends to deaden flavors of food.
 
LeBec F. December 2, 2015
p.s. sieve the juices to remove the herbs if necessary.After removing the herbs, if the juices taste overwhelmingly herbal, put them aside and add all fresh beef stock and wine per my other post.
Best of luck!
 
nancy E. December 2, 2015
Both those herbs are the strongest flavored you can use. I do not believe you can fix this.
 
creamtea December 1, 2015
After the ingredients have spent a little time and gotten to know each other better, the flavors may mellow out. Pot roast, stews, etc. are always better the next day. This may be one of those cases.
 
amysarah December 2, 2015
This is a good point. A day in the fridge may get the rosemary to calm the hell down a little.

Otherwise, I'd also be inclined to cook down some wine and stock - along with sauteed onions/garlic, and probably some tomatoes (canned is fine here.) Then add it to the sauce to dilute the rosemary flavor. The liquid/meat ratio will probably end up too high this way, but nobody ever turned up their nose at leftover pot roast scraps/sauce over pasta the next day.
 
Nancy December 1, 2015
a few ideas - use singly or more than one:
1) remove all the sauce and make a new one without herbs. (save the old sauce for another use)
2) add more meat or vegetables if you have them around
3) if you like, add some milk or cream or butter to dilute the sauce and make it smoother
4) add some wine to the pot
5) serve the pot roast in some other dish - not plain slices, but some composed dish like a steak and kidney pie or shepherd's pie where the other ingredients (pastry crust, potatoes, etc) can temper the strong herb flavor
 
LeBec F. December 2, 2015
Without seeing the recipe and knowing what you put in, I would riff on nancy's list, and advise:
remove and wipe down the pot roast and pick out/discard ALL the herbs. add alot of beef broth and some optional wine and bake/cook down til wine has lost its raw alcohol flavor.add cut up potatoes and sauteed mushrooms and carrots around the roast for the
last 40 min of baking. De-fat your juices. Optional: whisk in some dijon mustard or cream to the juices/sauce before serving.
 
Inky January 7, 2024
Of course we have to add these vegetables anyway to a stew,,,maybe not always the mushrooms. I’ll try those,Thanks.
 
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