How to Reheat Chicken Wings (5 Easy Ways)

Almost everyone loves a tasty, crispy chicken wing. Sometimes though, there’s some leftover. Do you know how to reheat chicken wings in a way that keeps them crispy and saucy?

I’ll be looking at a few different ways to reheat chicken wings that’ll ensure you achieve the same level of tastiness as when you first grilled them!

Reheating your leftover chicken wings might seem like a simple process. However, if not done correctly, you could end up with dried out wings that have lost their flavor. Chicken wings can be reheated in the microwave, oven, grill, and air fryer, or even in a frying pan.

Let’s have a look at the different steps for each of these methods.

Reheat Chicken Wings in the Microwave?

The microwave is probably the quickest way to reheat chicken wings. The trick with using the microwave is to not overheat the wings as this will dry them out. Depending on the size of the wings, reheating in the microwave usually takes about five minutes.

Here is How to Reheat Them in the Microwave

A few tips to ensure microwaving your wings doesn’t dry them out include the following:

• Place the wings on a damp paper towel in a microwave-safe dish.
• Cover the wings with an additional damp paper towel to preserve the moisture.
• If you’re overly concerned the wings will be dry, you could spritz a few drops of water directly onto both sides of the wings.
• Heat the wings for an average of three minutes.
• If the wings are still not warm enough, heat them for a further minute and then at 20-second intervals to prevent overheating.
• Serve hot and eat immediately.

 

What’s the Process for Reheating Wings in the Oven?

If you have a few extra minutes to spare, you might want to reheat the wings in the oven. This process takes an average of 10 to 14 minutes, depending on the size of the wings.

Here is How to Reheat Chicken Wings (Each Step Explained).

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Remove the wings from the fridge and let them sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spray an oven pan or baking sheet with some non-stick spray. This will prevent the wings from sticking to the pan.
• Place the leftover wings on the prepared oven pan, leaving a space of about an inch apart between wings.
• Place the oven pan into the oven and reheat for about six minutes.
• After six minutes, turn the wings around and reheat for a further six minutes.
• If you’re not sure if the wings have been reheated enough, you could use a thermometer to check the internal temperature. The desired temperature is 165° to ensure no bacteria has survived the process.
• Serve and eat immediately!

How to Reheat Chicken Wings in an Air Fryer?

If you used an air fryer to make your chicken wings in the first place, you can certainly use it to reheat them. A great advantage of using your air fryer is that unlike the oven, you don’t need to turn them over halfway through the process. It takes about 10 minutes, once again, depending on the size of the wings.

Let’s look at the quickest way to reheat your leftover chicken wings using your air fryer:

• Always start any reheating process by letting the leftovers sit at room temperature before reheating.
• Place the wings into the basket or cooking rack, leaving an inch of space between each wing.
• Set the fryer to 350° and reheat for about 10 minutes.
• Once again, eat immediately once served to enjoy the full flavor of the wings!

Watch this video which shows you how to use your air fryer when reheating chicken wings.

Can You Use Your Grill to Reheat Chicken Wings?

If you feel like adding yesterday’s leftover wings to today’s grill, there’s nothing wrong with that either! A big advantage here is the extra crispy skin at the end. On average it takes about 10 to 12 minutes to grill, depending on the size and the heat of your grill.

Reheat your leftover wings with these five easy steps:

• Once again, the desired temperature is 350°F.
• Place the wings on a cooking rack.
• Here you want to keep the lid of your grill shut to keep the heat inside. You can use a thermometer to check the temperature of the wings after about eight minutes.
• When the wings have reached a temperature of 165°F, they are ready to be taken off the grill.
• Serve and eat while hot to preserve the saucy taste.

An additional tip here is to reheat your wings after you have cooked the other meat so that they don’t get cold while you’re grilling up your steaks.

How to Reheat Wings in a Frying Pan

You might have bought your chicken wings already cooked and don’t have an air fryer or an oven. You might even think that reheating in the microwave will make the wings too dry. Out of options? Not quite. You can easily reheat your leftover wings in a frying pan.

Some wing experts might tell you that you lose some of the flavors when you do it this way. The solution here would be to add a little extra sauce to the pan since it’s easy to toss the wings around. The extra sauce will go a long way to adding flavor and extra crispiness.

The process takes about 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the size and obviously how many wings can fit into the pan you’re using. A tip here, try and use a pan that fits them all at once. That way they all get the same amount of sauce and they’re all done at the same time.

Here’s how to do it:

• As with the other methods, let the leftover wings rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before starting.
• Your frying pan should be heated to medium heat. Anything hotter will burn the wings on the outside and do nothing for the inside. Add a little oil to your pan. Olive oil works great for this.
• Add the leftover wings, frying them for about 3 minutes per side. Alternatively, fry until they’re at your favorite level of crispy.
• If you have extra leftover sauce, or if you’ve made a new batch of your favorite sauce, now would be the time to add it. Toss the wings a couple of times, ensuring they’re completely coated.
• Serve and eat as soon as they’ve cooled down after a minute or two!

How Long Can Chicken Wings Stay in the Fridge?

Whether or not you can enjoy your leftover chicken wings depends largely on how they were stored in the first place.

Here are a few steps to consider when you’re storing your leftover chicken wings in the fridge:

• Store them within two hours of cooking them. This will eliminate the risk of bacteria forming on them.
• Use an airtight container or packaging.
• On average, wings that have been stored properly can be safe to eat for about four days.
• An alternative option is to store them in the freezer, where if sealed and at constant freezing temperatures, they can last for three months. A tip here would be to add aditional sauce when reheating to maintain flavor and moisture.

Can You Reheat Chicken Twice?

Chicken, like most other meats, can safely be reheated twice. The point to remember here is to reheat the chicken all the way through. The middle of the chicken should be steaming hot.

It’s also important to put the chicken back into the refrigerator as soon as possible. Don’t let it sit out on the counter at room temperature for any unnecessary length of time.

Why is it Important to Maintain the Right Temperature?

Whenever I told my mom I was going to reheat chicken for dinner, no matter the dish, she’d always say, “remember the temperature”. Reheating chicken wings is no different. But, why is it so important to reheat chicken wings at the right temperature?

Food bacteria grows between 40°F and 140°. This indicates that for reheated food to not cause any food poisoning, it should be kept at a temperature above 140°F. This is also the reason why leftovers should be refrigerated or frozen.

The last thing you need is to get sick from your favorite saucy snack. Always ensure that chicken wings are reheated enough for the inside to be steaming hot. If you reheat food a lot, it might be a good idea to invest in a food thermometer that allows you to test the inside of your food before serving.

Leaving chicken wings to reheat longer than necessary to avoid bacteria will just end up spoiling the flavor and drying them out.

Final Thoughts

Whether you enjoy your chicken wings as a full meal, side dish, or just as a snack, there’s no reason to chuck the ones you don’t finish! With the different reheating options I’ve discussed, it’ll be easy for you to find a way to enjoy your saucy wings again as a leftover meal!