How to Reheat BBQ Meat?

By itronicsmod

Last updated Jul 05, 2020

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Like a lot of families, you may do quite a bit of barbecuing. It’s a great way to make a tasty meal for those that you love without heating up the house. It’s not uncommon to have leftovers after you barbecue. It can sometimes be a lot of work to pull out the grill to cook food for you, your family or your friends, so you might as well cook a lot of food at one time. Fortunately, you can safely store and reheat these items later on. Here is how you can safely reheat, store and thaw your barbecue meats after you cook them.

Different Ways to Reheat Common BBQ Meat

Sausage

Reheating BBQ sausages is relatively easy because of it’s high fat content. The easiest way to do it is by microwaving it. Just make sure that you don’t microwave the sausage too long as you can easily cook it too much. This will cause it to lose some of it’s flavor and can make the sausage tougher. It’s best to microwave it in 30 second increments. Flip it halfway through to ensure that it’s cooked properly. If you want to use the sausage in a dish and wish to cut it up, cut it before you heat it. You can then warm it up in the microwave or in a skillet on low heat.

Chopped Chicken

Many individuals aren’t sure how to heat barbecue chicken that’s been chopped. You can easily do so in the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the chicken onto a greased cookie sheet. The chicken will probably be stuck together, and you will need to use a fork to gently break it apart. Let it cook for about 30 minutes to thoroughly warm it up. Make sure you check it frequently as you don’t want to reheat it too long as it will make it dry. It’s a good idea to flip it over halfway through so that you can easily cooked both sides of it. You can use an instant-read thermometer to check to see if the chicken is at the temperature that you desire. By using a thermometer to check the temperature, you will ensure that you don’t over or under-cook the chicken.

Baby Back Ribs

A lot of people have the misconception that you really can’t reheat baby back ribs. Fortunately, that isn’t the case. If you want to know how to reheat bbq ribs, you will need to pull the meat off of the bone first. You will need to do this because it really is too difficult to try to heat the meat on the bone without it becoming too dry. Melt a few tablespoons of unsalted butter in a pan on low, and put the meat in there. Make sure you mix the two together so that the butter coats the meat and keeps it from sticking to the pan. Flip it often so that it heats both sides. Remove the meat once it reaches the desired temperature.

Pulled Pork

This meat is even more delicious once it’s reheated. Are you wondering how to reheat pulled pork or how to reheat bbq burnt ends? Don’t worry as it really isn’t very difficult. Spray a skillet with some cooking spray, and place the meat into a pan. Warm up the barbecue meat on low heat, and stir often. If the meat is stuck together, you will need to use a fork to break it apart. Be careful that you don’t heat the meat for too long, or it can lose some of it’s moisture and not taste as good as when you first barbecued it. If you want to add more barbecue sauce to it, wait until you finish heating it up before you stir the sauce into it. This will keep it from sticking to the pan.

Chopped Pork

When you have chopped pork that you want to reheat, don’t ever put it in the oven. It will end up making the meat very dry, and it will lose a lot of it’s flavor. It’s worth it to take the extra bit of effort and reheat it on the stove. Put a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, and let it melt over medium heat. Add in the chopped pork, and use a fork to break it apart once it starts to heat up. Continuously stir the meat while you are heating it up to ensure that it gets cooked thoroughly.

How Does an Instant-read Meat Thermometer Help with Reheating Barbecue?

It’s not uncommon for a lot of people to just throw away their leftover barbecue because they are intimidated about trying to reheat it up. Fortunately, it is fairly easy if you have an instant-read meat thermometer.

These types of thermometers are very easy to use. Once inserted in the meat, they will display the internal temperature of it. This ensures that the meat you are reheating is hot enough all throughout it. It takes the guesswork outing of trying to figure out whether or not you have reheated the meat thoroughly. You won’t have to worry about getting salmonella because you didn’t reheat your barbecue meat long enough.

BBQ Safe Freezing and Thawing Tips

Storing barbecue meats improperly can cause adverse health effects. You can suffer from food poisoning if you don’t store this food the right way. Even if improper freezing doesn’t make you sick, your barbecue meats may not taste as good once you thaw it out. Here are some tips to utilize when you are storing and thawing your barbecue meat.

Storing

If you plan on eating the meat in a day or two, you can store it in the refrigerator. Just make sure you put a lid on it in order to keep it fresh. You should plan on eating it within a few days.
For meat that you plan on freezing, you should place it in containers that are made for the freezer or freezer bags. This will keep your meat from getting freezer burn. You can keep your barbecue meat in the freezer for about three months.
If you have a vacuum sealer handy, you can use that to remove air from your bags and create the tightest seal possible. Your meat will remain good for up to two years in the freezer with vacuum sealing.
Label all of your bags or containers that you are freezing with the type of meat and the date it was cooked. You may also want to put how many servings are in it. With certain meats, like chopped chicken, it may be difficult to identify how much meat you actually froze.
Before you store meat, check the temperature in your refrigerator or freezer. It’s a good idea to invest in a cheap thermometer that can tell you how cold they actually are. The temperature in your refrigerator should be no higher than 40°F, and the temperature in your freezer should be 0°F or below.

Thawing

The Refrigerator: If you plan ahead, you can thaw your frozen meat in the refrigerator. It will take at least a full day to thaw these items completely. However, refrigerator thawing will allow you to safely get the meat at the temperature you want before reheating it. It also won’t alter the flavor of the meat like other methods might.
Cold Water: If you want to use your frozen meat the same day that you thaw it out, you can utilize the cold water method. You simply need to place the sealed bag or container of meat into cold water. Change it every 30 minutes until it reaches the desired temperature. Check to make sure that the bag or container is fully sealed so water doesn’t get into the meat.
The Microwave: If you want to use your frozen meat fairly quickly, you can use the microwave. Just make sure you use the thaw feature on your microwave so you don’t accidentally cook your meat. After it is thawed completely, you do need to plan on cooking it immediately so bacteria doesn’t start to grow.

In conclusion, you can safely thaw, store and reheat your cooked barbecue. By utilizing the above tips, you can reuse your barbecue meats and don’t have to throw away leftovers. In order to make sure that your food is cooked properly when you are barbecuing or that it’s the desired temperature when you reheat it, you should purchase the Thermopro Meat Thermometer. Once this thermometer is inserted in the meat, it accurately displays the internal temperature of it. This allows you to ensure that your meat is the proper temperature and that it isn’t too cold or under-cooked. This handy little device is a tool that all households should have in their kitchen!