There's nothing wrong with savouring cold fried chicken, but sometimes you simply want your fried chicken to taste hot and crispy like it came out of the deep fryer five minutes ago. We get it. Whether you’re reheating homemade fried chicken or leftover takeaway, you deserve that crisp-skinned fried favourite to taste its best. Luckily we’ve got a foolproof method that’ll make leftover fried chicken crisp without drying it out.
Microwave or No Microwave?
First things first: Resist the urge to microwave your fried chicken! All it’ll get you is a hot and soggy mess. You can do better.
Instead, we recommend turning to your oven (or your air fryer, but more on that later) for the best results. Reheating the chicken in a hot oven quickly crisps up the skin and heats through the meat without drying it out.
Our method: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, pull the leftover fried chicken from the fridge. Fit a wire rack inside of a baking sheet and arrange the chicken on the rack in a single layer. While the oven preheats, the chicken will come to room temperature. Allowing the chicken to come to room temperature ensures that it cooks more evenly. Next, pop the chicken in the oven and bake until the skin feels hot and very crispy, about 15 minutes. We like using a rack instead of simply plopping the chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet because the rack allows the oven’s hot air to reach and crisp-up every single nook and cranny in the chicken skin.
To Foil, Or Not To Foil? That Is The Question...
A quick word on whether or not you should cover the chicken in foil. While you might think that covering it with foil will prevent the chicken from drying out, it ends up trapping steam as the chicken cooks and makes for sad, soggy skin. So whatever you do, make sure you skip the foil.
If you happen to own an air fryer, you can certainly reheat your fried chicken in its basket. Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and let the fried chicken come to room temperature. Next, arrange the fried chicken in a single layer and cook it for about four minutes, flipping it once to ensure even cooking. Resist the urge to pile up fried chicken in the basket. To achieve crispy skin you have to cook it in a single layer. This may mean cooking one or two pieces at a time, but trust us, patience pays off.
