Reheating fried fish can be tricky.
You can end up with an overcooked mess, a crumbly overdried tragedy, or a mushy lump.
So, I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this many times – how do you reheat fried fish?
Well, a pretty good method to go with is the air fryer. Spray your air fryer basket wtih olive oil or cooking spray and heat on medium.
Is it safe to reheat fried fish?
Yes, it’s completely safe to reheat fish, but only if it was properly stored, and it’s within the 3-day safety window.
The USDA recommends discarding cooked fish that’s over 3 days old, any longer than this and you’re entering the realms of foodborne pathogens and bacteria growth.
With that out of the way, an air fryer is the best option to reheat fried foods – especially fried fish.
It’s an amazing alternative to the microwave because it’s almost as fast and just as convenient, but there’s little chance of losing flavor and texture if it’s done correctly – unlike the microwave where it’s basically a given.
How many times can you reheat fried fish?
In general, it’s recommended to only reheat your food once and to toss away what you can’t finish after that.
Instead of reheating the whole batch each time, just take out your portion instead and heat up single servings. This will help prevent you from exposing yourself to bacterial growth on your food.
With improper storage and reheating, you can definitely make yourself sick by doing this. Never reheat your food more than once, and never refreeze food.
Does reheating fried or grilled make a difference?
No, not really. In general, how your food was prepared won’t make too much of a difference on how it’s reheated – or the quality it reaches.
In general, it’s better to reheat your food in the same way it was cooked. For some foods, however, that’s just not an option. You wouldn’t, for example, rebatter and fry some fish sticks.
As a quick guide: fried foods do best in the oven or airfyer, grilled and baked do well in the oven or stovetop.
- Preheat the air fryer to 320 degrees Fahrenheit
- Lay your fish in a single layer in the basket, with space between
- Heat for 5-7 minutes, gently flipping each fillet halfway through the cooking time
- If you have a meat thermometer check the interior, if not just check if it’s hot enough
- If not, heat for another 60 seconds
- If done, remove from fryer and serve immediately
For breaded fish
Because fried fish can be a bit delicate, and lends itself to crumbling away into bits, reheating it can be tough. Especially if you want to keep it looking and tasting the exact same way as it was when fresh.
The air fryer is a good choice for this, as it will keep the inside moist and juicy and the exterior nice and crispy. By far, the air fryer is the best choice for fried and breaded foods.
For baked or grilled fish
The method for reheating grilled fish in an air fryer is just about the same as with breaded fish.
However, it can burn or crisp the edges of your fish if you’re not careful. If you don’t overcook the fish, this won’t be too much of a problem.
The method:
- Preheat the air fryer to 320 degrees Fahrenheit
- Lay your fish in a single layer in the basket, with space between
- Heat for 5-7 minutes, gently flipping each fillet halfway through the cooking time
- If you have a meat thermometer check the interior, if not just check if it’s hot enough
- If not, heat for another 60 seconds
- If done, remove from fryer and serve immediately
Is there a better method?
For fish? Absolutely not.
The air fryer is fast and convenient, even moreso than the conventional oven. And it far outpaces the microwave in terms of texture and flavor quality.
Reheating fried fish in the air fryer is by far the best method. It keeps the exterior crispy with that delicious cravable crunch, while the interior stays moist and juicy and pulls apart in flakes as it should. No rubbery texture here!
Final Thoughts
As far as reheating food goes, the air fryer is one of the best methods for just about any type of food, so long as it’s not soup or drenched in sauce.
It’s faster than the coventional and toaster oven, the texture and flavor remain unchanged unlike the microwave, it isn’t as much of a process as with stovetop reheating.
It really just doesn’t get better or more convenient than the air fryer for reheating fish.
