The Best Way To Reheat Leftover Fish Uses A Kitchen Stalwart
Leftovers are typically a welcome sight when cooking something fresh just isn't in the cards, but reheating fish can be challenging. Seafood is a delicate beast, and once it has been cooked to succulent perfection, there isn't a lot of wiggle room left for the dish to receive more heat before it dries out. Executive chef Kory Foltz of Sunseeker Resort was kind enough to give us some insight regarding how to best reheat fish, and his expert advice indicated that using a familiar kitchen staple in the process was crucial.
"Warm gentle heat and maintaining moisture is the key," said Foltz. In the same way that reheating steak in a microwave is a mistake, nuking fruit of the sea nearly guarantees it will emerge from the appliance as dry as the Sahara. The oven provides your best chance of retaining the moisture in your fish. However, before you turn it on, you will definitely want to reach for the aluminum foil.
Oven temperature can be easily adjusted to accommodate a variety of dishes, but it can still dry out fish in a hurry, even at a low setting. Providing your seafood with a foil security blanket before it goes in will help avert this. As chef Foltz said, "This will allow the fish to be warmed through but not overcooked, wrapping in foil creates a little steam pocket that helps prevent the fish from drying out."
How to use foil to reheat salmon
Creating a fish pocket with foil is simple enough, and if you are so inclined you can reintroduce a bit of flavor and moisture by setting a lemon slice atop the leftovers in foil. Still, even when wrapped in a protective barrier, fish will eventually dry out if your (potentially inaccurate) oven temperature is too high or the fish overstays its welcome inside. Timing is key when reheating any dish, and our expert had specific recommendations for the best way to utilize the oven and foil.
As for actually cooking, Foltz said, "Heat your oven to 275 degrees, wrap your fish in foil creating a little pocket, and warm it in the oven for 10 minutes or so." To flawlessly execute this technique, the foil should fully enclose the seafood so none of the moisture within has a chance to escape while being reheated. Just as you don't want to skimp on the foil when grilling potatoes, liberal use of foil when reheating fish ensures it will remain juicy when it comes out of the oven.