Fish is one of the beloved food, especially during the weekends. However, people tend to get excited and get more fish than they could finish in one sitting. As a result, you are left with bags of leftover fish, but no worries as you can put it in the fridge.
However, people will smell something fishy as you try to reheat the leftover fish without knowing how to reheat fried fish properly. Therefore, this article holds all the secrets of reheating fish that many chefs around the world have been using for decades.
Deep-fried, crispy fish is yummy, isn’t it? Well, try eating improperly reheated leftover fried fish. The first thing you will dread is the smell that comes from reheating fried fish. Secondly, the texture of the fish becomes soggy, and the inside becomes dry. However, you can make that leftover fish fresh again by using one of these best methods of how to keep fried fish warm and crispy.
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Why does everyone love fried fish?
Have you ever wondered what it is about fried food that you can’t eat enough of it? The answer is very simple Everything! The crisp but soft crust of the fried fish, the yummy batter, and the tender meat inside.
Basically, the batter gets fried first and creates a thick crust outside the fish. After that, as soon as the fish starts cooking, the moisture starts evaporating from the meat.
However, this moisture gets trapped inside the layer and is absorbed back by the meat and the crust. As a result, the fried fish has the tenderness of baked food, the crisp of the batter, and the moisture of steamed fish all in one place.
What is the best way to reheat battered fried fish?
Battered fried fish is the most difficult to reheat. It is because the batter crust becomes rubbery and soggy when reheated the improper way. Furthermore, the batter crust cracks when exposed to high temperatures, and you get fish smell all over the house.
However, by reheating fried fish in the oven, you can retain both the flavor and the texture of the fish while making it fresh again. The oven uses the slow cooking technique to evenly spread the heat throughout the food.
As a result, all sides of the fish become evenly reheated while retaining the flavor and texture. Here is how you can use the conventional oven to reheat fried fish:
Methods to Perfectly Reheat Fried Fish:
When eating fresh fried fish, try to enjoy it as much as possible. Because you will not be able to get the same great taste from the reheated leftover fried fish. Not anymore! Because now, you can enjoy the same flavor and texture from leftover fish by using one of these great methods to reheat fried fish at home.
How to Reheat Fried Fish in the Oven?
The oven is one of the most effective gadgets in your kitchen. You can benefit from its wide range of applications in everyday life. For instance, you can use a conventional oven for baking stuff, cooking delicious food, and even reheating leftover food in the oven without making it dry.
Therefore, the oven is considered to be the perfect way to reheat fried fish. Here’s how to reheat deep-fried food and keep it crisp:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius.
- Keep the oven preheated at 350 degrees for a few minutes. This allows the heat to spread evenly in all directions.
- Take a baking dish and cover its bottom with an aluminum sheet. This prevents the fish from sticking to the bottom of the container.
- Make sure that you don’t wrap the fish in foil. Otherwise, it will become wet and soggy.
- Place the fish in the baking dish or baking plate and put it in the preheated oven.
- Cook the fish for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
- It would be best to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature after every 5 minutes.
- The fish is considered appropriately reheated once the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Serve the reheated fish with potato fries and some cold beverages.
Psst! Are you wondering how to reheat fried clams? Clams are very similar to fried fish. Therefore, you can use the same oven method to reheat fried clams or to reheat fried catfish.
How to Reheat Fried Fish in an Air Fryer?
Do you want to enjoy deep-fried food without the unhealthy addition of oil? The air fryer is the slap in the face of concerns related to fried food. This machine uses air to entrap the moisture and cook the food the same way as deep-fried.
Furthermore, you can also try reheating fried fish in an air fryer. The results will be even better than frying the leftover fish in oil.
- Turn on the air fryer at medium to high settings and add some water to the bottom of the dish.
- Cover the fish with some organic butter to ensure the fish gets reheated properly while remaining healthy.
- Air fry the fish at 375 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Let the fish rest inside the air fryer for additional 2 minutes after reheating to ensure the moisture is kept inside the fish.
- Take out the fish and serve it with fries or chips and some chilled drink.
How to Reheat Fish in a Broiler?
Air frying is healthy, but still, it needs some oil or fats. The most healthy way to reheat fried fish is to use a broiler or steamer. It allows you to make the food hot by using the most natural ingredient, i.e., water.
The steam of the broiler enters all the way into the last layer of fish and makes it heated to a considerable temperature. In order to broil fried fish, you need steamer or broiler equipment and some patience:
- Fill the pot of the apparatus quarterly with water. Heat the water on the stovetop or the steaming machine till it starts bubbling.
- Wrap the fried fish in aluminum foil without stacking the fish pieces one over the other.
- Place the wrapped fish in the broiler basket and cover the broiler pot with the lid.
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the amount of fish that you are reheating.
- Take out the steamed fish and squeeze some lemon juice to make it taste fresh.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Reheat Fried Fish in Skillet:
The most effective way to reheat deep-fried fish is to refry it. However, it is not wise to deep-fry fish when reheating because it will absorb a lot of oil and become inedible.
Therefore, you need to find a way to shallow-fry the fish when reheating. The recommended method for shallow-frying food is to use a special skillet. This way, your fried fish will again become crisp on the outside and heated on the inside without absorbing any extra oil.
- Place the special skillet on the stovetop and make sure it is completely dry.
- Add quarter cup oil or just enough oil to ensure the fish gets in contact with the oil.
- Heat the oil to 200 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Usually, this temperature is achieved when the oil starts bubbling.
- Carefully place the fried fish in the hot oil and try not to break any fish.
- Use a spatula or a thing to turn the fish after 2 minutes on each side.
- Take out the reheated fish and dry it out using a paper towel.
- Serve with some ranch or garlic mayo.
How to Reheat Frozen Fried Fish in the Toaster Oven:
Did you freeze leftover fish because you were uncertain about when you will eat it? If yes, then there is only one way to reheat frozen fried fish, and that is to use a toaster oven.
All other methods will either make the fish wet on the outside and cold inside. Or worse, you will end up with an unevenly cooked piece of smelly fish. Therefore, it is very important only to use a toaster oven when reheating frozen fish:
- Take out the frozen fried fish and let it thaw naturally at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the toaster oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Splash a few drops of oil and wrap the fried fish in aluminum foil.
- Lightly grease the baking container and place the wrapped fish in the dish.
- Usually, it takes around 10-15 minutes to reheat frozen fried fish. On the contrary, normal fried fish is reheated in just 7 minutes.
- Let the fish rest for 1 minute inside the toaster oven after reheating.
- Take out the fish and serve with your own choice of side dishes.
Microwave for Fried Fish?
Seriously, are you that hungry to spoil such a delicious fish? Nevertheless, there are some cases when you have no other choice but to reheat fried fish in the microwave, such as at the office. However, this method is not recommended and should be avoided as much as possible.
- Splash some water or oil on the fried fish and place it on the microwave dish.
- Make sure you don’t cover the fish with aluminum foil in this method.
- Microwave the fish for 3 minutes at 50% power.
- Moreover, you need to stop the microwave after 1 minute and flip the fish pieces to ensure even reheating on both sides.
- Take out the fish as soon as you hear the bell and eat without any delay.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to reheat fried fish?
There are many ways to reheat fried fish without making it soggy. You can use a conventional oven, broiler, air fryer, or even a skillet to reheat your leftover fish.
How long to reheat fried fish in an air fryer?
The air fryer only takes about 3-4 minutes to reheat fried fish to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit.
How long to reheat fried fish in the oven?
You can reheat fried fish in a conventional oven for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
How to reheat fried fish and shrimp?
You can use a toaster oven to reheat fried fish and shrimps in one go. For this, you need to preheat the oven at 330 degrees Fahrenheit and heat the food for 10 minutes.
How to reheat fried fish to make it crispy?
Use a special skillet to shallow-fry the fried fish and make it crispy in just 5 minutes.
Conclusion
Reheating fish is a complex task, and there is a risk of having fish odor in the whole house. However, the same reheating can be very fun if you use one of the recommended methods of reheating fried fish. I hope this article has helped you learn how the professionals reheat fish and make it taste fresh again.
