Use Up Leftover Prime Rib In Your Favorite Stir-Fry

Prime rib is a decadent cut of beef that's usually quite pricey, and is sometimes hard to find at your local grocery store or butcher. For those reasons, the tender cut is typically reserved for special celebrations like the holidays, but you might feel inclined to make it on a whim. It's delicious when cooked for a couple of hours with fresh herbs and paired with sides like mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. 

However, prime rib can be sold in rather large pieces, so if you have leftovers and don't want to eat them in their current form (again), consider incorporating them into a stir-fry. As a refresher, stir-frying involves cooking ingredients in a small amount of oil for a short period of time at a high temperature. The tender meat complements an array of veggies like carrots, peppers, and mushrooms plus other leftovers like rice from that takeout order, so there are no limitations on what kind of stir-fry you can make with the ingredient. 

The essential first step is knowing how to reheat the meat so it doesn't turn out tough and dry. There are different ways to reheat prime rib, but to match the technique of stir-frying, it's best to also heat it quickly over a high temperature so you don't have to pull out multiple pans or preheat the oven.

To reheat leftover cooked prime rib in a stir-fry, slice the meat into thin pieces rather than keeping it whole so it will reheat thoroughly but quickly. You'll want to cook the vegetables first, then add the sliced prime rib toward the end and continue to cook for a few minutes until it's warm. You can also place your steamer basket over the stir-fried veggies and warm the meat that way. It should be warm in 6 minutes or less. 

Either way, don't leave the meat in the pan for too long or it will turn out dry and tough, which won't be a pleasant way to eat the pricey meat. One of the perks of making a stir-fry, other than it being easy and quick, is that it allows you to use all sorts of leftovers and vegetables that might be going bad in the back of your fridge. So, you can get creative with the sorts of vegetables, grains, and sauces you use in your prime rib stir-fry. 

And if you need some culinary inspiration, we have a few recipe suggestions. Our recipe for vegetable stir fry with bell peppers, carrots, and cremini mushrooms can easily be spruced up with your leftover prime rib. For more of a crunch, swap the chicken with the beef in this recipe for chicken almond gai ding. And our final suggestion is to use the leftover prime rib in a spicy beef stir fry with red chilis if you appreciate a kick of heat.