Can I reheat chicken thighs?

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

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Or is it dangerous? Five chicken thighs, use by date 8th October. I oven cooked them last night for 40 minute and ate two. The other three I put in the fridge.

Can I reheat them safely in the microwave or oven, or must they only be eaten cold?
 
You can reheat them. I would use the oven personally as they will taste better than in the microwave. You should be safe to keep them (covered/wrapped) in the fridge for at least 4 days, probably up to 7 (though they'll taste like cack by then).
 
Yes and once they start smelling funky give them an extra minute in the microwave.

I cook up a load on Sunday and eat all week
 
Thanks. I didn't cover them mind you, just stuck them on a plate and into the fridge. How long do you reckon to reheat in the oven and what temp? I cooked them last night on 200c, fan assisted.
 
Are people honestly that worried about reheating food? I made a big pot of chilli tonight. I'll be eating that for dinner tomorrow and Thursday. Where will it be? In the pot, on top of the oven and then decanted to a smaller pot each time I'm hungry.

I've done this for years, and have never been ill.
 
The main thing is to get it hot enough - the bad stuff happens when you get it up to 40-50C and then start eating.
 
I would've thought so.

I tend to just slice through the middle and make sure the centre is hot enough to make me pull my finger away. If it's only tepid, then there's your answer.
 
Jim99 said:
The main thing is to get it hot enough - the bad stuff happens when you get it up to 40-50C and then start eating.
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Ignore this, from a safety point if view it makes no difference what temp you get it to as it'll be safe.

Warm temperatures only matter if you keep it at that temp for a prolonged time, as bacteria breed quickly. They don't breed so quickly that the few minutes between reheating and eating makes any difference.

Ahleckz said:
Are people honestly that worried about reheating food? I made a big pot of chilli tonight. I'll be eating that for dinner tomorrow and Thursday. Where will it be? In the pot, on top of the oven and then decanted to a smaller pot each time I'm hungry.

I've done this for years, and have never been ill.
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I do the same, just need to know some basics about food poisoning and use your senses, unfortunately large number of people really are utterly clueless and their only guidelines are use by dates and cooking instructions.
 
Ahleckz said:
Are people honestly that worried about reheating food? I made a big pot of chilli tonight. I'll be eating that for dinner tomorrow and Thursday. Where will it be? In the pot, on top of the oven and then decanted to a smaller pot each time I'm hungry.

I've done this for years, and have never been ill.
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To be fair, the OP just asked a simple question. I'd not have sympathy if they'd jumped in on someone else's thread with "omg, you're gonna dieee" of course.

They also seem to be happy to take advice on the subject. Nothing wrong with enlightening yourself yo :p

Merlin5 said:
So 200c for about 20 minutes should be enough?
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You might find that it is too much but I can't imagine it not being enough. If it turns out a bit dry, try dropping the temp or time a little for the next batch. Alternatively, reheat within foil at a lower temp and then quickly grill at the end to crisp up the skin. Or fry in butter /drool.
 
FrenchTart said:
To be fair, the OP just asked a simple question. I'd not have sympathy if they'd jumped in on someone else's thread with "omg, you're gonna dieee" of course.

They also seem to be happy to take advice on the subject. Nothing wrong with enlightening yourself yo :p



You might find that it is too much but I can't imagine it not being enough. If it turns out a bit dry, try dropping the temp or time a little for the next batch. Alternatively, reheat within foil at a lower temp and then quickly grill at the end to crisp up the skin. Or fry in butter /drool.
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Fair ebough. I'm just on a bit of a crusade against personal food waste at the minute!
 
Ahleckz said:
Fair ebough. I'm just on a bit of a crusade against personal food waste at the minute!
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I get where you're coming from. I'm terrible about it to be honest, though I've found that using sous-vide and confit methods has helped me reduce it a lot. Also managing my purchases of vegetables - smaller batches ftw.
 
Well, re cooked it at 200c for 20 minutes. Tasted fine, bit dry of course.

When will I know if I'm going to die? :p
 
Reheating food is all about understanding bacterial growth. Bacteria will give you issues if there are a) too many of the wrong sort or b) you let bacteria grow and produce harmful by products.

When you cook something you basically sterilise it. When it starts to cool down bacteria will get on it and start to grow. So you put it in the fridge, that slows down bacteria growth, that's why you do it.

Then you want to reheat. If you reheat something that is safe it will be safe to eat.

BUT - and here is the critical bit. If you only make it warm to eat but not hot enough to kill bacteria you give the bacteria a great chance to grow really fast. If you then put it back in the fridge you will get problems.

So 2 easy rules:

1) If it is safe to eat reheating is fine.

2) If you have reheated DO NOT re-chill - eat it or throw it.

What you can do is to re-sterilise it. Take soup for example. On Monday you make it and it is boiled for long enough to sterilise it. As long as you boil it for 5mins+ on Tuesday and every day after you can add new ingredients, add more stock and it will stay safe.

I'm not a microbiologist, but was bought up and taught to cook by a mother that really knew her stuff and grew up in France.
 
There's lots of interesting (if you're a food science geek) stuff about this in the Modernist Cuisine books. There's also information online in various places, especially as you start to read up on sous-vide, where it's vitally important that you cook at appropriate temperatures to achieve the appropriate pasteurisation of your food.
 
Glaucus said:
Ignore this, from a safety point if view it makes no difference what temp you get it to as it'll be safe.

Warm temperatures only matter if you keep it at that temp for a prolonged time, as bacteria breed quickly. They don't breed so quickly that the few minutes between reheating and eating makes any difference.
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I'm going to disagree with you there. You're assuming that it's safe to begin with, which it may not be. It may have been warm for a long time whilst cooling down, things may have dripped onto it etc.

I agree that if you can eat it cold, you can eat it warm, but if you're going to heat it up then at least get it hot enough to kill whatever may be in it.
 
I cooked up some chicken sausages on Monday night left them out on the side and had a couple for lunch yesterday and the rest have been sat in my work bag until about 5 minutes ago when I demolished them cold.

This is a one way street to bum gravy/death if you listen to some people.
 
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