Fried fish is crispy, flaky, and comforting to eat. It’s perfect with fries, with a side salad, or nestled into a taco. Upon reheating, however, fried fish will usually come back dry inside and soggy outside.
Thankfully, with the advent of air fryers, fried fish can be given new life on the second day of eating it. Leftovers will no longer be subjected to the inevitable sogginess of a microwave. Fish is delicate, and air fryers have the touch needed to heat it up properly.
To reheat fried fish in an air fryer, you’ll need to lay your pieces out in an even layer. Spray them with a thin but even coating of cooking spray. Allow them to bake in the air fryer for 6 minutes at 320F/160C. After that, your fried fish will be crisp and ready to eat again.
The first step is to take your fish out of the fridge or freezer. Unwrap or uncover them and begin to lay them out in the air fryer basket. The size of your basket matters here; if you have a lot of fried fish, you might need to do multiple batches.
There’s no need to lay out any parchment paper for this, though you can if you’d want to make cleanup a little easier. Make sure you’re leaving spaces between your pieces. If the pieces are touching, they’ll make it impossible for hot air to travel around. The air needs to touch all piece of the fish to cook it properly.
Spritz your fish with a neutral cooking spray. You can use any type you prefer, from canola to olive oil.
You might want to lightly shake or toss the basket to ensure they are evenly coated. Take care not to over-coat them. Adding too much oil will make your fried fish extremely greasy, and not as crispy as you want it.
Step Three: Bake
Set your air fryer to 320F/160C to start with. You can cook it on this temperature the entire time. However, fried fish will really benefit from dual-temperature cooking.
The total time you’re going to reheat your fried fish in the air fryer is 8 minutes. After four minutes, up the temperature to 360F/180C. Through cooking, flip the fish as well. This will ensure that it is crisp on both sides.
The first round of cooking at the lower temperature is just to get the fish warm again. When you boost the temperature, you’re allowing the fish to get extra crispy.
Be careful as you’re reheating your fish as to not break the pieces. If you notice your fried fish is getting too breakable – meaning it flakes apart dryly without any effort – it is close to overcooking.
With that, your fried fish is fully reheated in the air fryer. All that is left to do is to serve it up. If you are reheating it with french fries for fish and chips, you can heat your fries in the air fryer too. Doing so will make it so they’re just as fresh and crisp as the fish.
It’s wonderfully easy to make your fried fish as enjoyable as it was the first night. To reheat fried fish in the air fryer, first lay it out in the fryer basket. Then it’s as easy as giving it a spray of oil and letting it cook. The next time you need to reheat fried fish, consider letting the air fryer take the wheel. You will find the final result to be crisp, flavorful, and flaky.
