What’s the Best Way to Reheat Roast Pork?

While you can reheat your roast pork in any appliance, there are a couple ways that make that leftover roast pork forget it’s not Sunday dinner again. 

The most highly recommended way to reheat your roast pork is in the oven. There are also certain ways to use a slow cooker, microwave, air fryer, or toaster oven to reheat roast pork.

The order of this list in is the order of the best ways to reheat: 

1. Oven
2. Slow Cooker
3. Toaster Oven
4. Air Fryer
5. Microwave

Pre-Reheating

Make sure your roast pork is still good before reheating it. Cooked meat usually doesn’t keep well after a week at most. 

Check for mold, yellow spots, toughness, freezer burn, and any other abnormalities in your roast pork. 

How you store your roast pork will also affect how you will want to reheat it. Make sure you wrap all your leftover roast pork tightly in aluminum foil and then put it in another ziplock bag. 

Doing this will make using the oven or other top recommended options taste much better. 

Reheating Methods

Oven

This is by far the best way to re-prepare your roast pork. 

Important Reminder! Only reheat roast pork in the oven if you have not reheated it with any of the other methods. Using the other methods will deplete the advantages of using the oven.

Here are the steps for using an oven to reheat your roast pork:

• Preheat your oven to 365° Fahrenheit (or 185° Celsius)
• Position your roast pork in a baking dish
• Cover your roast pork in aluminum foil
• Bake until your roast pork has an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit
• Remove roast pork from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes
• Slice and serve

There are a few things in those steps that can be subjective: 

• The kind of baking dish can also have an impact on the outcome of your oven-reheated pork.
  • Tip: The best kind of baking dish is a glass baking dish that is a few inches deep. You can also use a metal baking dish, or any other material. 
• The internal temperature of the roast pork is subjective. It must be at least 165° Fahrenheit, but it can be hotter if desired.
  • Tip: Reheat your roast pork in the oven to your preference. If you like meat nice and piping hot, keep it in there for a few extra minutes.

Slow Cooker

I know, when you think of reheating, you don’t normally think of a slow cooker. But there’s a lot to be said for being patient the second time around. 

If you can’t use your oven, or don’t have an oven available, toss your leftover roast pork in the slow cooker and come home from work to what will basically be a fresh meal. 

Here are the steps for using a slow cooker to reheat your roast pork: 

• Place your roast pork in your slow cooker. Be sure to not fill it up too much.
• Drench the roast pork in the drippings from the pan the roast pork was originally cooked in
• Cover your slow cooker and cook for 1 hour (or the roast pork reach 165° Fahrenheit)
• Remove your roast pork from the slow cooker and allow it stand and cool down
• Slice and serve

Again, here are some subjective points of those steps:

• You might not have a lot of drippings, or you might have already washed the original pan.
  • Tip: use water or broth of any kind in place of the drippings or to add in if you would like your roast pork to be especially moist
• The slow cooker might sink some of the flavor into the liquid
  • Tip: Add in some aromatic ingredients like carrots, potatoes, celery, or other veggies to enhance the flavor and absorb the fumes of the roast pork

Reheating roast pork in a slow cooker can be a bit tricky, because of the dreaded dryness.The key to avoiding this is to use plenty of liquid. 

Toaster Oven

This one is really basic. A toaster oven is essentially a smaller version of a big, grown-up oven. But if you don’t want to use the oven, or if there’s something already in, you can use the smaller version. 

Here are the steps for using a toaster oven to reheat your roast pork:

(hint: they’re really similar to the steps for using an oven)

• Preheat your oven to 365° Fahrenheit (or 185° Celsius)
• Position your roast pork on a baking pan. You’ll want to slice your roast pork so it will fit comfortably and not get overcooked in certain areas.
• Cover your roast pork in aluminum foil
• Bake until your roast pork has an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit
• Remove roast pork from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes
• Slice into smaller sizes if desired and serve

The biggest difference between using a toaster oven and a regular oven to reheat roast pork is time: 

• In a toaster oven, roast pork will reheat very quickly. The toaster oven is small so the heat repeatedly circulates directly into the roast pork.
• In a regular oven, roast pork will reheat slower because a bigger cooking space is less concentrated heat.

Because of this difference, you will want to reheat your roast pork for only about ⅔ the amount of time in your toaster oven as you would in a regular oven.

Air Fryer

Air fryers are the kitchen appliance that seem to be taking the world by storm recently. 

So why not use that snazzy new device to reheat a timeless meal?

Here are the steps for using an air fryer for reheating leftover roast pork:

• Preheat your air fryer to 365° Fahrenheit (or 185° Celsius)
• Place your roast pork in an air fryer-safe dish (oven-safe dishes are usually safe for air fryers)
• Cook for about 10 minutes
• Remove your roast pork and let stand for a few minutes
• Slice and serve

The air fryer has the most subjective reheating time. Starting with 10 minutes is a safe bet. Depending on your air fryer, or even where you are, the timer might need to be adjusted. 

If you have a lot of leftover roast pork, practice will make perfect with this one. 

Microwave 

Ah, yes. The microwave. Also commonly known as the last resort. 

Using a microwave is generally not the best way to reheat anything. If you do though, here’s the best way to.

Here are the steps for using a microwave to reheat leftover roast pork:

• Place your roast pork in a microwave-safe dish
• Cover the roast pork with a wet paper towel
• Cook in the microwave for 2 minutes on high
• Check to see if it is reheated to your preference
• Serve immediately

The best tip for using a microwave is to make sure the paper towel is thoroughly wet. This is to make sure the roast pork doesn’t dry out too badly. 

Checking the roast pork in 30 second intervals can also help prevent overheating.

Conclusion

That concludes the contestants for the best ways to reheat roast pork. At the end of the day, the best way is the way that tastes the best to you. 

A few fun things to do for your leftover roast pork can also spice up ‘clear out the fridge night.’

Try adding some vegetables. Season with salt, garlic, pepper, anything!

There’s no bad way to enjoy a good meal, and this list will hopefully get you dreading leftovers less and maybe even looking forward to them.