Last Updated on October 13, 2021 by Boniface Muriuki
Are you wondering how to reheat chicken wings to maintain their finger-licking goodness? While this is a simple exercise, many cooks miss several crucial steps making their chicken lose its sumptuousness.
The problem is so widespread that a majority of cooks will do everything possible to ensure that no cooked chicken wings remain.
However, you shouldn’t undergo such problems! This article will outline various methods that will answer your “how to reheat chicken wings” conclusively. Read on for more.
Why You Need to Reheat Your Chicken Wings
No matter how much you try, you’ll always have leftovers. That’s why we hassle our way out to own the best refrigerators with unique freezers to keep the remaining food from going bad.
However, you should be careful to ensure that you reheat your chicken wings, ribs, or any other leftover foods to prevent food poisoning.
According to research published by Food Safety in the 21st Century, failure to reheat the food to 167°F (75-degree Celsius) can lead to serious health complications.
As such, you should always strive to ensure that you reheat your pork chops, ribs, or chicken wings using a device that will achieve such temperatures.
Additionally, you must cook it for a relatively prolonged duration, especially if it is coming directly from the freezer.
How to Reheat Chicken Wings – A Comprehensive Guide
There are several methods that you can use to reheat your chicken wings. They include using an oven, microwave, or even pans on cooktops.
However, we strongly recommend that you use an oven.
This will not only achieve the desired temperature fast but also yield crispy and crunchy chicken wings – which guarantees unmatched delicacy.
How to Reheat Chicken Wings Using an Oven
Your oven offers a simple yet highly effective technique to reheat your chicken wings. It enables you to measure all the reheating parameters to suit your desires. You’ll be able to control the temperature and the time without a hassle!
Even better, this technique ensures that you retain the moisture of your chicken wings while achieving a phenomenal crunchy outside.
If you choose this method, you should ensure that your chicken wings stay inside the oven for approximately 15 minutes to get heated uniformly.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to reheat chicken wings using your home oven:
- Preheat the oven to approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- In the meantime, remove your chicken wings from the freezer and allow them to thaw. To accelerate the process, we advise that you seal it and dip it in lukewarm water. (if they are coming from the refrigerator, you should just let them sit at room temperature for 10-20 minutes)
- After preheating the oven for 15 minutes, spread the wings in the oven. You can spray the tray with non-stick spray to prevent the wings from sticking to the baking sheet
- Reheat the chicken wings for 20 minutes (this can be less or more depending on the number of chicken wings you’re heating)
- We recommend that you use the best digital thermometer to check whether the chicken wings are ready.
Check the best meat thermometers here
6. Use the thermometer on the thickest part of the wings. Once it reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit, then the chicken wings will be ready.
7. Remove it from the oven and place it on a heat-proof bowl (preferably metallic)
When removing from the oven, you should be careful not to burn your hands. We recommend that you use heat-resistant cooking gloves for the best oven use experience.
8. Serve and Enjoy
How to Reheat Chicken Wings Using an Air Fryer
If you own an air fryer, then you can be sure that it’ll save you the hassle of reheating your chicken wings big time.
This multi-purpose kitchen arsenal uses hot air generated using electricity. The air circulates inside the air fryer, thus reheating the food without using any oil.
Consequently, you can be sure that using an air fryer is a healthy way to reheat your chicken wings fast.
To achieve this, you need the best air fryers. Check here for the reviews of the best in the market.
Once you get your air fryer, you should follow the following simple reheating steps:
- Remove your chicken wings from your refrigerator and let them sit for approximately 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Place the chicken wings in your air fryer, ensuring that the basket does not overfill. Overfilling will prevent even distribution of heat which will compromise the quality of your chicken wings.
- If you have a small air fryer and many chicken wings, you should consider reheating them in batches
- Plugin your air fryer and set the temperature at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 205 degrees Celsius
- Reheat your chicken wings for 10 minutes and remove them from the pan (use your heat-resistant gloves)
- Let them cool and serve
If you desire a crispy and crunchy surface, you can use a little oil on your air fryer before reheating.
We recommend that you use the following organic and air fryer recommended oils
How to Reheat Chicken Wings Using a Frying Pan
If you do not have an oven or an air fryer, you can use your ordinary skillet/frying pan to reheat your chicken wings.
To achieve this, you should ensure that you put a little oil on the pan. Ensure that the oil is spread on all sides of the wings to ensure that you get a crunchy and crispy effect.
Remove your chicken wings from the pan after 5 minutes. If they have excess oil, you can use a paper towel to drain off the excess oil.
How to Reheat Chicken Wings Using a Microwave
While the microwave is ideal for heating food, we do not recommend it when reheating chicken wings directly from your freezer.
However, you can still use it but apply the oven feature. In this case, you’ll be required to follow the following simple steps:
- Preheat your oven to approximately 350°F
- Remove your chicken wings from your refrigerator/freezer and let them sit for 15 minutes to achieve the room temperature
- To be safe, ensure that you line your microwave-safe dish with a damp paper towel. Once you place your chicken wings on the plate, line the top of the dish with another damp towel.
- Put the wings in the microwave and allow them to heat for 2-3 minutes. If you overheat, your chicken wings are likely to dry out, which will deny you the irresistible juiciness that comes with it
- Remove them from the microwave, place them on your baking sheet, and put them in your preheated oven.
- Cook for about 3 minutes (flip it in between to cook both sides)
How to Reheat Chicken Wings using a Grill
This is a labor-intensive approach to reheating your chicken wings. It entails cooking your meat freshly.
While it may take longer, this method will yield incredibly tasty and crispy chicken wings. If you want the smoky taste, you can use the best charcoal grills.
Check the best charcoal and gas grills here for your consideration
You will require approximately 15 minutes to reheat your chicken wings using this unique technique. Use the following steps to achieve the best results:
- Heat your grill to approximately 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Once your grills are heated adequately, you should place your chicken wings on the rack
- Shut the lid of your grill and reheat the wings for 10 minutes. You can constantly check the temperature using a digital thermometer.
- When the internal temperature reaches 165-degree Fahrenheit, then your chicken wings are ready to be served!
How Long Can Cooked Chicken Wings Remain in the Fridge Before Going Bad?
The US Department of Agriculture recommends that you store your chicken wings at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 degrees Celsius).
In such an environment, your chicken will not go bad within the first 4 days. You should never let it exceed this duration since it may start going bad and may lead to severe health complications.
At this temperature, the bacteria that make the chicken wings go bad will not thrive. As such, you can be sure that you’ll have your chicken wings fresh.
However, you should be careful to ensure that you place it in hygienic environments when thawing. This prevents cross-contamination and ensures that your chicken remains fresh until you eat it.
To be safer, you should always reheat your chicken wings adequately. This eliminates any risk of eating contaminated chicken wings, which would have severe health implications.
How to Reheat Chicken Wings – Wrap Up
Chicken wings are undoubtedly delicious. It’s their attractiveness that makes it easy to underestimate quantity, thus having lots of leftovers.
When you have leftovers for your chicken wings, you should not panic! It will not go to waste as long as you use the right reheating technique.
This article outlines several reliable techniques that you can use to reheat your chicken wings without a hassle.
If you’ve struggled with the “how to reheat chicken wings” question for long, then this is the article to answer all your questions.
It offers a step by step guide of how you can use at least 4 methods to achieve crispy and crunchy chicken wings that are finger-licking delicious.
Chef Boniface is a graduate in Culinary Arts from the Institute of Culinary Education, New York. He has worked in several restaurants and is currently the Head Chef at Cavali Restaurant.
He has excelled in developing unique recipes and influencing the menu at the restaurant. He prides himself in sharing his knowledge at thekitchenpot.com where he writes about the best cookware for various recipes.