You have some leftover chicken pot pie and want to possibly reheat it? I can give you some tips on reheating chicken pie easily. Here is a simple guide that should answer a few questions.
Leftover or uneaten chicken pie can be reheated in a oven for best results. Set temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 10 – 20 minutes or until center has become hot. You can reheat chicken pie in aluminum pie pan or in the original dish. Cover pie with foil to prevent crust from burning.
The trick here can be to use aluminum foil. Over the top of the pie so it doesn’t cook faster than the rest. You want the pie to be reheated all the way through.
How To Reheat Chicken Pie Tips
Since every situation can be different. There a few good things to note before and as you go along reheating your chicken pie.
Please note that its best to eat leftover meat within three days. Remember to only reheat chicken leftovers one time. Generally you should not reheat chicken pie more than twice.
Don’t let cooked chicken sit out for too long if you plan to save it. The longer it sits at room temperature the more chances for bacteria to grow.
When it comes to chicken leftovers those are the best rules to follow. As far as preparing chicken make sure to be informed about the dangers of poultry. (Source)
As long as the chicken was cooked properly the first time (reaching 160 degrees F). Reheating it should pose no risk.
Also you should reheat a chicken pie that hasn’t been chilled first. Its a bad idea to reheat a meat pie that has been sitting out for more than a couple hours. Refrigerate leftover or any extra food meal as soon as possible.
Re baking the chicken pie in the oven is going keep the crust crispy. It may even crisp it up more than the first bake. You can use a microwave, but the crust will become mushy.
When using a microwave I recommend only doing one slice at a time. Do the cook time at a two minutes and see if you have to adjust. Make sure the center is not still cold. Set microwave power to a lower setting before heating as well.
You may be reheating a pie that has been partially eaten already. Slices have been taken out and the center is exposed.
This will be the easiest kind to reheat. Since the inner parts will heat much faster than a whole uncut pie.
If this is the case try warming your oven to 250 degrees and cook for 15 minutes. You should still cover the pie with foil as much as possible.
Aluminum foil will stop direct heat cooking and allow it to build up within the dish.
The best way is to keep a close watch on the pie as you reheat it. You can periodically check on it or pull it out to make sure it isn’t overcooking.
A good trick is to listen closely for sounds coming from inside the pie. I know this sounds weird but you want to hear something. That means the heat is working the filling and it might be done.
Sounds of cooking can be a good indicator for many foods.
Try sticking a knife or fork into the center of the pie for a few seconds. Then remove and feel the heat level with your tongue.
You want to avoid using high heat since it will cook from the outside in. Slow and with low heat is going to allow it to cook evenly all the way through.
I would avoid trying to use both microwave and oven together. Do not try to heat up in microwave and then crisp up in oven.
You can always start reheating in oven at a higher temperature, then turn it down and continue to heat the rest. Start at 350 degrees for 5 minutes and then turn down to 250 for the remaining time.
Convection ovens are going to be the easiest to reheat your chicken pie with. Since the heat is evenly distributed within the oven.
Chicken pies are relatively safe to reheat because of the low risk in its preparation and serving style.
What Should The Internal Temperature Be?
The meat pie internal temperature when reheating? The reheat temperature you want the center to be is around 140 degrees. Slightly above is safest.
A chicken pie should be at least 160 degrees, even if it has been cooked already. You can measure the inner temperature halway through cooking using a thermometer.
If the temperature has reached 140 degrees or above you can turn down oven and continue to cook until crust is done.
How To Reheat Frozen Meat Pie
If your chicken pie has been frozen then it will take longer to reheat. You can either thaw your meat pie first or just bake from frozen.
Thawing it out first will make cooking it easier. Since it will take less time and you can easily judge if its done. It is easy to under cook a frozen pie by not cooking long enough.
When cooking frozen meat pie, set temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 1 hour.
One drawback of thawing the pie for too long is that the crust will become soggy. You want to thaw for about 6 – 9 hours in the refrigerator.
If you plan to freeze your homemade meat pies. The first bake should be just enough to get it done. Leave some extra cooking time for the second bake. That way you can finish the crust without over doing it.
How Long Do Meat Pies Last In The Freezer
The quality will diminish after 3 months of being in the freezer. However freezing a meat pie should allow it to last for 1 – 2 years.
I would not keep a cooked meat pie in the fridge for longer than 5 days. Just to be safe, it should not be reheated after 3 days.
Related: Chicken Dinner Ideas
Is It OK To Reheat Chicken Pie?
You can safely reheat a cooked chicken pie one to two times. Anymore than that and it becomes more risky.
The more times you try to reheat a meat pie the harder it will become. The outer crust will start to dry out and overcook. While the inside becomes harder to heat up.
Overall reheating becomes more difficult and less safe.