Break Out Your Dutch Oven: Consumer Reports Suggests This Is How To Reheat A Rotisserie Chicken

Many home cooks adore rotisserie chicken for being one of the easiest store-bought dinners around, but reheating the leftovers without drying the meat can be a culinary challenge. According to Consumer Reports, one of the best ways to bring your juicy drumsticks back to life is to reach for the Dutch oven, as it gently warms the meat while keeping it moist.

The method is easy enough, but you need a meat thermometer to know exactly when to pull the chicken out. To begin, add ½ cup of water to your Dutch oven before placing the chicken directly into it. Cover the pot with its lid and place it into an oven that's preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook until the thickest part of the bird reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit, around 20 to 25 minutes. 

Once it's thoroughly heated, you can remove the lid for the last five minutes to get the skin nice and crispy before serving. That small amount of water in the beginning is key to this process. As the Dutch oven heats up, the water produces steam that circulates inside the pot. This sweet little steam bath keeps the chicken from losing moisture while it reheats, warming it more evenly from the outside in.

Reheating rotisserie chicken is one of the best ways to use your Dutch oven, as it retains and distributes heat excellently. The tight-fitting lid also locks in moisture. But if you'd prefer a quicker option, Consumer Reports also recommends using an air fryer. Air fryers work by circulating hot air around the chicken, which can help retain the crispiest skin possible. Cooking times vary by model and wattage, so you'll need a food thermometer to check its progress. 

One appliance you should think twice about using to reheat rotisserie chicken is the microwave. It's the fastest and easiest option, but the rapid heating tends to force moisture out of the meat, which is the opposite of what you want. While there are lots of unexpected foods you can cook in the microwave, rotisserie chicken is not one of them. Microwaved chicken can develop an unpleasant smell, which might turn you off more than the rubbery, dry texture.

No matter which reheating method you choose, it's most important to keep food safety in mind when reheating meat. Any leftover chicken should be refrigerated within two hours of purchase and stored in the fridge for no more than four days. Reviving your rotisserie chicken to its former glory is a noble venture; just be sure to keep an eye on the temperature and the amount of time spent outside the refrigerator.