How To Reheat Fried Chicken- 2 Easy Ways To Use

How To Reheat Fried Chicken Using 2 Amazing Methods

Even though you should eat fried chicken when it is hot and fresh, you should still be knowing how to reheat fried chicken at home in case you have leftover chicken that you couldn’t eat because you already had enough.

It would be great if you will be able to reheat the chicken without losing its actual flavors and crispiness. After all, this is what we want when we reheat the fried chicken. While you are reheating the chicken, you need to avoid certain mistakes that are very common and most people end up making them.

These mistakes will end up leaving your chicken soggy and soft. If you use an oven or a fryer you can bring the chicken’s quality and texture back to being hot and fresh. You will be able to enjoy it the second time you eat it.

Let’s see what are the three ways using which you can easily learn how to reheat fried chicken.

How To Reheat Fried Chicken

Use these amazing methods to reheat the fried chicken and bring back the crispiness.

1. How To Reheat Fried Chicken Using An Oven

Using the oven to reheat the chicken is a great idea. If you have an oven in your house, do not look for other methods. Just follow these steps and reheat your fried chicken.

1. Take your chicken out from the fridge or wherever you have kept it. Remove it from the container it was kept in and let all the pieces of fried chicken sit evenly on the platter or plate for few minutes. You do not have to do anything with the chicken pieces until they come to room temperature if they were too cold. This should take nearly half an hour.
2. While the chicken is coming back to normal or room temperature, in the meanwhile you can do the other work like preheating your oven or preparing side dishes, or setting the table for everyone to enjoy the crispiness of the fried chicken.
3. Now, place the chicken on a baking sheet once it has come to room temperature. The baking sheet should be oven-safe in case you are new to using the oven. If you wish to get an easier clean-up without making a mess, you can use an aluminum foil or sheet to cover the platter. It is not highly necessary that you grease your platter but it won’t do any harm either, if you wish to do so, go for it.
4. Try to avoid keeping the pieces of chicken inside the oven or preparing them to be kept unless they have come to normal temperature because cold meat on the inside is most likely to interfere with the crispiness of your chicken. This will make your chicken not so delicious and it is not likely to get as crispy as t was before.
5. Set your chicken inside the oven. Place the plate or pan having chicken pieces inside the oven mainly in the center rack and allow it to be there for 10 minutes, always set a timer for 10 minutes. You can try spritzing the chicken pieces using a small amount of water for preventing to from drying out completely, some people like doing it this way while some avoid it entirely, it is your wish.
6. The cooking time it requires is anywhere between 10 minutes to half an hour. This time may vary so keep checking.
7. Keep checking the pieces regularly to avoid burning. The only part that most people end up making mistakes is the reheating part. You can follow a general rule to avoid overcooking or undercooking. The bigger and thicker pieces of fried chicken for example the thighs or breast will heat slowly as compared to smaller pieces such as drumsticks or wings.
8. You don’t want the small pieces to dry out fully, so keep checking every few minutes. If the pieces are warm on the inside and crispiness is there on the outside, know that they are done to be removed and served.
9. Few online sources have suggested that reheating time required for wings and legs is anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes while for thighs and breast is somewhere between 20 to 25 minutes.
10. The last step involves taking the pieces out and serving. Once your chicken pieces have regained their crispiness on the exterior and are warm on the inside, know that there are ready to be eaten. Take them out carefully and move them and place them on a wire rack so they cool down for few minutes before eating. If you are thinking of reseasoning the chicken, it is not needed. Enjoy the fried chicken.

2. How To Reheat Fried Chicken By Re-Frying It

This is also a great idea, in case you do not know how to use an oven or do not have one right now, you may use this method for reheating your fried chicken. You will receive delicious, golden-brown chicken consistency when you fry it. Follow the steps and enjoy your meal.

1. Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it get back to room temperature before doing anything with it. Again, as we mentioned in the above procedure, till the time it gets back to room temperature, you can do other work like preparing any side dishes or setting the table for everyone.
2. If you are not letting the pieces of a chicken warm up a little bit, your drying process will be highly affected. While you drop the pieces inside the oil for refrying them, when they are cold, the oil temperature will be reduced for few seconds that will lead to uneven crispiness which we tend to avoid.
3. When the pieces of chicken are nearly back to room temperature, you have to set a pan on the stove and turn your burner to high flames. If the pan is heavier and made from iron skillets, wait for some time to heat. Add a large amount of oil for all the pieces to be cooked and then wait for the oil to heat. While getting an oil, make sure you are not using olive oil or some other oil that has a low smoke point as the smoke released will make your chicken bitter in flavor. You are supposed to be using a high-smoke oil having neutral flavors such as peanut oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
4. If you are having a deep fryer at your house, you can easily use that to carry out this method, if you don’t just use a normal utensil or heavy pan.
5. Fry the chicken inside the pan for few minutes. Carefully add all the pieces of chicken to be fried inside the hot oil. Make sure you do not add them by force as it can result in spilling oil over your hands. Fry one piece in oil for 2 or 3 minutes while turning them regularly. You are free to change the time needed to cook each piece as per the crispiness you want. Avoid cooking it for too long as it will eventually dry out and the taste will get altered.
6. When you are able to see dry and crispy skin, it is time to remove the pieces out. The chicken is done. Get a wire rack and transfer the pieces one by one onto it so that extra oil is drained. This step is important because once the oil drains out, your fried chicken pieces will become crispier. It will take a maximum of 4 to 5 minutes for the chicken pieces to drain out completely.
7. Carefully dispose of the excess oil they have and allow them to cool for few minutes. As soon as it gets suitable to be eaten, enjoy your meal.

These were two brilliant and most suitable methods to reheat your fried chicken. Now, there are a lot of other machines and equipment that people think of using when they wish to learn how to reheat the fried chicken. While some of them are good to be used, there are few things you should try not to use while you are going to reheat your fried chicken.

Things To Avoid For Reheating Fried Chicken

There are few things you need to avoid when planning to reheat the fried chicken you already have. Note them down carefully to remember.

1. Microwave

You might be thinking why microwaves cannot be used, although they are great for reheating many food items and we often use them as the first priority for heating but for friend chicken, microwaves do not make great heating devise. When you put the chicken to be fried in the microwave, the exterior will not be as crispy as you want it. They just do nothing to dry the skin, the exterior will generally be soft and unappealing to be eaten. The choice is yours if you want a crispy refried chicken or soggy ones.

2. Toaster Ovens

All of a sudden when the guests arrive or you need the chicken to be re-fried, we often choose a toaster oven for reheating the chicken. If you have done the same mistake previously, you might have realized that only the exterior of the chicken was crispy and likely to be eaten, the interior remains cold even after heating it in the toaster. There is no point in heating it inside the toaster unless it’s urgent.

3. Inside A Skillet

Heating your fried chicken inside a skillet that is empty or has no cooking oil is absolutely a bad idea. The chicken pieces when fried are not in regular or even shape to be heated on the skillet. Even if you notice some pieces having even sides, heating them inside a skillet will make your chicken dry. Why risking your chicken to dry out when you can pour some oil and then use the method of frying simply?

4. Never Let The Chicken Cool In Paper Towels

Using a stack of paper to keep the chicken after you have fried it is simply a good idea to get rid of excess oil or grease. However, do not ever use them for keeping an extremely fried and hot chicken as the moisture will rehydrate the skin of the chicken and it will lose its crispiness that you had spent so much time acquiring. This is just going to spill water over your hard work and nothing else, so avoid making this mistake.

These were some important things that you need to avoid entirely when reheating fried chicken to maintain the crispiness of your chicken. Now that you have learned how to reheat the fried chicken, enjoy your meal with friends and family!

Also, if you love trying out new chicken recipes, try this delicious chicken florentine recipe that is so easy to make with some pantry ingredients and tastes delicious. Now that you know how to reheat the fried chicken, you can easily reheat the chicken to be consumed later.