McDonald’s started the chain of fast food restaurants that is now available in nearly every city more than 70 years ago. Didn’t realize they have been around that long? You might also like to know that McDonald’s portion sizes are actually way bigger than they were in 1955 – like 2.5 times as big.
Especially with fries and a drink, that can make for a big meal. So you got home and put your McDonald’s burger in the fridge. Now it’s time to reheat it, but how do you do it?
The good news is there are multiple recommended ways to reheat a McDonald’s burger. The best results require a multi step process but only really needs the microwave.
I want my reheated Mcdonald’s burger to taste good. What’s the best way to reheat it?
Among multiple methods, the best way to reheat a McDonald’s burger is to take it apart.
- Remove the burger from the fridge or freezer
- Separate the meat patty from the bun, lettuce, tomato and other condiments besides ketchup and mustard.
- Place the burger on a microwave safe plate
- Put the burger in the microwave for about 35 seconds.
- Check the patty for your preferred amount of heat and put back in for longer if you wish
- Reassemble your burger. The lettuce and tomato should still be cold and the patty hot – just the way it should be.
Can I reheat my McDonald’s burger in the wrapper?
You can! It’s actually one of the easier and more simple ways to do so.
- You have the option again to remove all the condiments and toppings from your burger so you are only heating up the patty
- Rewrap the patty or complete burger in the original wrapper.
- Place in the microwave and heat for about 35 seconds.
- Check the patty temperature to see if it’s to your liking. If too cool, heat up for longer.
The wrapper does a good job of helping the burger maintain moisture, and removes the need for a paper towel.
Would an air fryer work to reheat a McDonald’s burger?
Yes! This wasn’t our first suggestion because fewer people have air fryers than microwaves or stoves. Air fryers can help retain the original moisture of the burger patty.
- You don’t necessarily need to preheat the air fryer. Doing so might make the burger reheat too quickly.
- Place the burger patty in the air fryers basket or tray
- Turn on the air fryer to low or medium.
- Keep a close eye on the burger and it’s moisture. You can poke it with a fork or knife to see if it’s sizzling or juices are coming out.
- Remove the burger after about six minutes.
- Reassemble your burger and enjoy.
Air fryers are especially nice if you have more than one burger to heat up. Microwaves tend to heat up multiple food items unevenly. Air fryers have circulating air that do a better job of this.
How to reheat a McDonald’s burger on stovetop
Don’t have a microwave or don’t want to use it? The stovetop is another option that will deliver a good quality reheated McDonald’s burger.
- Get a small to medium skillet ready, depending on how many burgers you are heating up
- Disassemble the burgers. Remove the patty from the bun and the condiments aside
- Low to medium heat should be appropriate for reheating a burger
- Reheat the burgers in the skillet until they are sizzling
- Remove the burgers with a spatula
- Place the hot burgers back on the bun and put the condiments back together
The stovetop more closely simulates the original cooking process for a McDonald’s burger, but is still a little slower than an air fryer or even the microwave. Still, you can get a good result that retains juiciness. The slower heat up time also gives you more control over the heat.
Final thoughts
We’ve all had a time when we couldn’t quite finish our burger or got distracted and didn’t get to our food until it was cold. Thankfully with fairly simple use of kitchen appliances, you can get close to recreating the juiciness of a McDonald’s burger while retaining crispy, cool condiments.
You can also try making our own burgers at home. It can take a bit more effort, but the results are worth and there are fairly simple methods to freezing larger amounts of ground beef.
