4 photos, one in each corner. Top left is a stainless steel oven. Top right is a frying pan on a stove with oil in it. Bottom left is a white microwave oven. Bottom right is an air fryer with a glass window, there are fries inside. An orange rectangle has the text, "How to Reheat Fried Chicken 4 Ways" across the center of the photo.

How to Reheat Fried Chicken 4 Ways

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Got leftover fried chicken in the fridge? My 4 favorite ways how I like to reheat my leftover fried chicken are…

  1. Oven
  2. Deep/Shallow Fry
  3. Microwave
  4. Air Fry
4 photos, one in each corner. Top left is a stainless steel oven. Top right is a frying pan on a stove with oil in it. Bottom left is a white microwave oven. Bottom right is an air fryer with a glass window, there are fries inside. An orange rectangle has the text, "How to Reheat Fried Chicken 4 Ways" across the center of the photo. This is a tall photo.

A Great 2nd Meal

No matter white meat or dark meat, or breast or thigh. Rest assured I’ve got you covered with 4 popular ways how to reheat fried chicken at home.

No one wants soggy reheated fried chicken, so in this blog post I’ll show you how to reheat fried chicken the right way.

So you can rest assured knowing you’ll get a delicious 2nd meal out of your chicken.

Sauce: Enemy of Texture

If you have the chance, I recommend leaving all your chicken sauceless when you go to put it into your fridge.

Sauce is moist and will make it much harder to get that finished texture you want in your reheated fried chicken.

So tip # 1 is to store your fried chicken with the sauce on the side!

Soak Up Sogginess

Another way you can combat soggy fried chicken is by placing a paper towel under your food when you store it in the fridge. This will help ensure all the excess moisture gets trapped and wicked away from the chicken.

Also, if you store your chicken in a ziploc or a tupperware container, you can remove the fried chicken an hour or so before re-heating it and place it on a plate in your fridge covered with a paper towel.

The cold, dry air in the fridge will dry out the chicken skin that extra little bit before proceeding with one of the next 4 steps.

Remember that moisture is the enemy of crispiness!

How to Reheat Fried Chicken in the Oven

A silver stovefront.

The most popular method of reheating fried chicken is to use an oven. The main reason is that just about every kitchen has an oven, and they’re easy to use, especially for larger quantities of food.

Also, the oven is great at reheating fried chicken because it cooks your chicken evenly and the hot air will circulate around the chicken and pull moisture out of the skin, re-crisping it.

If you reheat your fried chicken in your oven, you’re sure to come out with a great result if done correctly!

Oven Fried Chicken Re-Heating Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spread your fried chicken out on a foil lined baking sheet or baking sheet rack.
  2. Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on how much chicken you’re reheating. The amount of chicken will change the length of cooking time. You can take a fork and drag it across the chicken periodically to check it for crispiness. Also, take a thermometer to the chicken to ensure it’s warmed in the middle.
  3. Turn off your oven and carefully transfer your chicken to a heat safe bowl using tongs.
  4. Toss in a sauce of your choice, or make a simple one by mixing hot sauce, butter, and honey!
  5. Enjoy!

How to Reheat Fried Chicken in the Microwave

A white microwave on a wooden shelf surrounded by colorful kitchen utensils.

Less popular than reheating fried chicken in the oven, the microwave still gets the job done!

As long as your chicken isn’t too soggy from sitting in the fridge, you can certainly reheat it in the microwave and have it come out as crispy as ever!

The only downside is that microwaves work by heating the water within the food, so you may end up with a dryer piece of meat, and excess moisture may soften the exterior.

Microwave Fried Chicken Heating Instructions

  1. Place your chicken in reasonable batches on a microwave safe plate. I recommend placing it so it isn’t stacked or touching for best results.
  2. Microwave for 2 minutes.
  3. Check your meat with a meat thermometer. Since you’re re-heating previously cooked chicken, you don’t need to reheat it all the way to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, but check it with a meat thermometer anyways to ensure it isn’t still cold inside!
  4. Continue cooking in 30 second intervals until it’s reheated to your desired temperature.
  5. Toss with your favorite sauce and enjoy!

How to Reheat Fried Chicken in Oil

A right hand holding a frying pan handle on a black gas stovetop with oil in the pan.

An experimental way to reheat your fried chicken is to shallow or deep fry it until it reaches the desired heat. This is also known as refrying or double frying your chicken, which is a popular technique to get super crispy fried chicken.

Although a little more labor intensive than popping fried chicken in the microwave, you’ll come out with an excellent product. I highly recommend this technique if you have the time and the inclination to use a few more dishes, but it’s worth it!

Re-Fried Chicken Heating Instructions

  1. In a deep fryer, in a high walled pot, or in a shallow cast iron skillet preheat your oil to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Dry off excess moisture from your chicken with a paper towel before you place the chicken in the hot oil, since the oil may overflow if you do not.
  3. In small batches place your chicken in the oil for 4-5 minutes if deep frying. If pan frying, flip after 2.5 minutes and let sit for another 2.5.
  4. Once thoroughly crispy, place your food in a food safe bowl and toss in your favorite sauce. You can drag a fork across the top and listen for the crispiness as a test.
  5. Enjoy!

How to Reheat Fried Chicken in an Air Fryer

A black air fryer with stainless steel fixtures and a basket of french fries inside of a lit compartment.

Air fryers are all the craze nowadays, so it makes sense you’ll have one lying around your kitchen. I absolutely love mine, and I use it several times a week. They’re a wonderful way to cook and reheat food!

I highly recommend using one to reheat your fried chicken, since it acts as a convection oven does by circulating hot air around the meat with some hot oil to help crisp up the skin.

Microwave Fried Chicken Heating Instructions

  1. Heat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Pop in your fried chicken in reasonably sized batches. Don’t overcrowd!
  3. Cook for 6-8 minutes and until crispy and hot again.
  4. Once done, toss in a bowl with your favorite sauce.
  5. Enjoy!

This is by far my favorite method to reheat fried chicken, as it is simple and produces a surprisingly crisp skin. It’s better than the oven too, because you don’t need to preheat a giant oven for a few pieces of chicken.

Plus you get to flex on all of your friends with your air fryer.

Conclusion

No matter how you cooked it, you can always reheat your fried chicken to close to perfection!

Also, if you take the right steps beforehand you can take reheating your fried chicken to the next level and give your leftover that extra kick.

I hope you learned a new way how to reheat fried chicken out of this, and please consider subscribing for more content to your inbox.


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