Hot wings are people’s all-time favourite BBQ dish – it is a perfect meal if you will be having a bunch of friends over or with the right side dishes, it can even be a great dinner, especially if the meat is tender and juicy and the wings are topped with a finger-licking, sticky-sweet and smoky sauce!
However sometimes it happens so that we cannot eat everything and we must store them in the fridge overnight, what do we do on the next day when we want to enjoy a tasty dish again
How do we reheat the hot wings – can we do it in the oven, microwave or in the pan? This article is just about that! We will tell you everything about the three most popular ways to reheat your hot wings and we will also rank them.
Keep on reading if you want to know all about reheating those juicy hot wings and why the best way to do so is in the pan!
In The Microwave
Our bronze medal undoubtedly goes to the microwave! It is notoriously famous for not heating the dishes evenly, because of the poor heatwaves distribution. However, on the other and it is a very easy appliance to use and most people favour its convenience.
So, if you are set on reheating those hot wings in the microwave, then here are the steps we recommend:
- Transfer the wings to a microwave-safe dish and if they are covered with plastic or aluminium foil, do not forget to remove it.
- If you have the time, when you get them out the fridge set them on the counter for about 5-10 minutes. It will be best if you do not put them in the microwave while they are stone-cold because most likely some parts will get warmed up, but the centre will remain very cold. Most likely, some parts will get warmed up, but the centre will remain very cold.
- Once in the microwave, heat them up for about 1-2 minutes and check them – do not let them get too hot, because this will dry out the meat and they will get chewy and tasteless.
- If they are still not warm enough, reheat them for 30 seconds more and check again, repeat if needed.
- Look around your fridge – if you have some of the BBQ sauce, glaze them up with it for extra juiciness!
In The Oven
Even though the oven is probably the go-to appliance for cooking amazing dishes and deserts when it comes to reheating it gets the silver medal. The temperature in the oven is harder to manipulate and although you can preheat the oven and set it to certain degrees, the dish can get dried out very quickly if not closely monitored.
Of course, we have some tips and tricks on how to minimise that chance, so this is what we recommend doing if you want to heat your wings in the oven:
- Place the wings on a tray, arranging them about 1 inch or 3 cm apart from each other and preheat your oven to 350F or 175C. Make sure you have enough time to do so, we do not recommend you to skip this step, otherwise you risk burning the wings.
- Glaze them with some additional BBQ sauce, or if you do not have any, you can easily make one by combining 2 tbsp of ketchup, 1 tbsp of honey, 1 pinch of salt and black pepper, 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar and ½ tsp of soy sauce. Doing this, you are ensuring that your wings will stay moist.
- Reheat them for about 5-6 minutes and then flip them around, they will need about 5 more minutes to heat up completely once flipped.
In The Pan
Finally, our gold medal goes to the pan! Probably the best way to reheat a dish is in the pan, you can not only very easily control the heat, but also you can infuse new flavours that will complement and enhance your dish and you can visually monitor it all times.
The fact that you can actually watch the whole process is the ultimate trick – in this way your meal will never get burned or overcooked, but perfectly reheated instead.
How to do it:
- Get your wings from the fridge and let them sit on the counter for a minute. Meanwhile heat up your pan on high, add some butter and let it brown – this will give a wonderful, smokey and nutty flavour to your wings.
- Fry the wings for 2-3 minutes, but make sure to constantly stir so they do not get burned.
- For extra flavour, you can toss in some BBQ sauce, some rosemary and a garlic clove. Season with some salt flakes and you are done!
To summarise it
If you are completely out of time, or just moved into your new apartment with only your microwave and cat – by all means, get your wings and reheat them in the microwave. Make sure they are in a microwave-safe dish and that you check on them every 30 seconds to a minute so they do not get overcooked.
If you a more traditional and want to stick to your trust oven, transfer the hot wings on a tray and glaze them for some more juiciness. Please, do not forget that the oven can dry the wings very quickly – it will heat them up evenly, but check on them after the first 5 minutes and flip them around.
Finally, if you want to go for the best grab your skillet and fry those wings! They will need no more than 3 minutes on the stove and meanwhile, you can add some extra flavours to them, turning them into a complete meal!
We hope you enjoy this article, stay tuned for more!
