All heil the Colonel, for he has provided us with finger-lickin’ good chicken since 1952. And what a pleasure it is to chow down on the delicious menu items provided. From chicken off the bone to popcorn chicken to rice and snack boxes, there’s just so much to choose from.
And when those beautiful bargain buckets stare you in the face it’s almost impossible to say no. I’ve often ordered a whole bucket of chicken just for myself!
And there’s never a better time to tuck in than when it’s hot and fresh. All that grease and chicken juice hits the spot in ways other food simply cannot.
But sometimes, when you let your eyes take control when you select your order, you can easily overindulge. You get yourself a large bucket, a load of sides, and a large milkshake to wash it all down with, and soon find yourself stuffed with half a meal still sitting in front of you.
Well, don’t despair, pop it in the refrigerator and reheat it the next day. Believe it or not, it’s possible to have it taste almost as good as it did the day you bought it, and in this article, we’re going to learn how!
Reheating KFC
Before You Start Reheating
Chicken isn’t always the best-shaped food item when it comes to reheating. This is because they often won’t lie out evenly on an oven-proof dish. You’ll need to try and arrange your meat in the best way possible to allow an even cooking.
You will also want to leave your chicken out at room temperature for around 30 minutes or so to allow it to warm up to room temperature.
This will ensure that each piece of chicken is at the same temperature before you start to reheat them. It will also lock in all those delicious juices to ensure the tastiest meal.
Reheating KFC In An Oven
Remove Chicken From Refrigerator – Take the chicken out of the refrigerator for around half an hour to allow it to warm up to room temperature.
Arrange Chicken – Place/arrange your chicken on an oven-proof dish trying your best to ensure an even cook.
Set Oven Temperature – Set the oven to around 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place your chicken in the oven. You want to slowly heat the chicken up so don’t preheat the oven first.
Turn It Over – You’ll want to turn the chicken over a minimum of one time, but preferably more, to ensure an even heat disruption and an overall better cooking process.
Cook – Cook the chicken for around 10 minutes until the chicken is sizzling.
Remove – Using gloves remove the chicken from the oven.
Reheating KFC In A Toaster Oven
To cook KFC chicken in a toaster oven, you’ll use the same method as above, so feel free to check out the aforementioned step-by-step guide. The only real differences here are that you’ll use the crisper tray of the toaster oven and it’ll take a little less time to heat up.
Usually, toaster ovens tend to have a glass window which makes life a lot easier as you can take a quick peek to see how the chicken is doing.
Just remember that it won’t take as long to cook so be sure to check your chicken at half of the recommended time for the oven. If the chicken does not seem done, you can always pop it back in for a couple of minutes at a time.
To be sure the chicken is cooked you can always use a thermometer to check it is up to temp.
Reheating KFC In An Air Fryer
Put Chicken In Basket – First of all, you’ll want to place your chicken into the air fryer baskets.
Medium/High Heat – You want to cook your chicken at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Close Air Fryer – Close the air fryer and let the chicken sit.
Check It – Once you start to get that waft of delicious chicken, it’s probably a good indication that it’s ready, but you can check your food every five minutes or so until it is at the desired temperature.
Remove The Chicken – Once it’s nice and hot, you can then remove your chicken from the fryer and tuck straight in.
The beauty of the air fryer is that it will give your chicken that real crispiness again without drying it out or adding too much moisture. Out of all the methods, this is the one I recommend the most to get the best flavor, however, it will depend on whether you have the appliance.
Reheating KFC In A Microwave
Out of all the options today, this one is the least preferable, but if there are no other options available, it will heat up your food, so here’s how to go about it.
Place Chicken In Microwave – Using a microwave-safe dish, place your chicken into the microwave.
Oil/Paper Towels – Now, the microwave can affect the texture and taste of your chicken so to try and help combat this you will need to either drizzle a small amount of oil on the chicken or alternatively use a paper towel to cover the chicken.
Heat The Chicken – Cook the chicken in 30 seconds to one-minute intervals until the chicken is up to temperature.
Remove The Chicken – Once cooked remove the chicken from the microwave and enjoy.
Speed Up The Process With Tinfoil
Let me first state you should NOT use tinfoil in a microwave, this tip is for the other methods only.
If your stomach is growling for your food to cook a little quicker than it is doing, feel free to cover your food in tin foil, this will help it cook faster because of the heat transfer and deflection.
Placing some tin foil underneath the chicken will also help prevent it from sticking to the pan. You don’t want to lose that crispy outer coating after all – it’s the best bit.
Final Thoughts
Don’t worry if you couldn’t quite finish the bountiful banquet you ordered for yourself from KFC, it happens to the best of us. But food that delicious does not deserve to be destined for the trash can.
So, be sure to pop your left overs straight into the refrigerator and then use any of the methods outlined today to restore your finger-lickin’ meal back to its former glory.
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
