5 Ways To Reheat Chicken Wings That Won't Dry Them Out

There are times when all you're craving is a plate of delicious chicken wings. Whether you make chicken wings from scratch or you order them from your favorite takeout spot, you'll likely find yourself with leftovers afterward. But when it comes to reheating them, you want them to taste as close to fresh as possible. To discover the best ways to heat chicken wings without drying them out, Daily Meal spoke with an expert: Dennis Littley, a chef with decades of fine-dining experience who now focuses on demystifying high-end home cooking at Ask Chef Dennis.

According to Littley, "Reheating chicken wings the right way is all about keeping them crispy on the outside while staying juicy inside." With this in mind, the chef recommends five methods to try out. Some are better than others in terms of keeping the crispy-to-juicy ratio, but all of them will work for your leftover needs. What are these methods? The oven or toaster oven, the air fryer, the stovetop, the microwave, and the steaming method.

When it comes to keeping your wings crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, the oven or toaster oven method is a great place to start. "The key is avoiding high heat too quickly, which can dry them out or turn the skin soggy," Dennis Littley told Daily Meal. "Using an oven or toaster oven is one of the best ways to revive wings without losing their texture and flavor. Preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and placing the wings on a wire rack over a baking sheet allows air to circulate evenly around them."

The chef instructs hungry home cooks to bake for 10 to 15 minutes, flipping the wings halfway through the baking time to ensure that all sides of the skin crisp up. If you're recoating the wings in sauce, Littley advises waiting to do so until after reheating "to avoid burning or caramelizing the sugars" in the sauce. Overall, Littley explains that "this method works well because it mimics the original cooking process, preventing the wings from drying out."

If you own an air fryer, then you know that you can use it for just about anything. In fact, not only can you make chicken wings in the air fryer, but you can reheat them there too. The best part about using the air fryer? It's much quicker than the oven. According to Dennis Littley, setting the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, laying out the wings in a single layer (so that they crisp up evenly), and cooking for about five to seven minutes should do the trick. Just be sure to shake the basket or turn the wings halfway through the cooking time.

"If the wings were saucy to begin with, a light mist of oil before reheating can prevent them from burning or becoming overly dry," the chef adds. One of the most common air fryer questions concerns how exactly this device works — and the answer (the method of convection cooking) is exactly what makes it the perfect vessel for reheating those wings. Littley explains, "The rapid air circulation brings the crisp texture without drying out the wings."

By now, you may have noticed that sauce on the chicken wings makes the reheating process a bit more complicated with certain methods, but there are no such complications with the stovetop method. In fact, this is probably the preferred method for any super saucy wings, according to Dennis Littley.

"Reheating wings in a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat with a small amount of oil or butter helps restore moisture while caramelizing the sauce," the chef explains. "Cooking for about three to five minutes, flipping occasionally, ensures the heat distributes evenly while intensifying the flavors."

If the chicken seems to be drying out while on the stove, there is a simple fix for reheating wings without drying them out. Simply splash a bit of either water or chicken broth into the pan, then cover it with a lid to let the wings briefly steam. This will "[keep] the inside moist while crisping up the exterior." Talk about an expert tip.

"If speed is the priority, the microwave is a last-resort option," Dennis Littley reveals, "though it won't restore the crispiness of the skin." This is certainly not the ideal way to heat up your leftovers, but hot, non-crispy wings are better than no wings at all.

One thing that you can do to try to keep the drying out to a minimum is to cover the wings with a damp paper towel. "The moisture from the paper towel helps keep them from getting tough," the chef adds. Additionally, don't overdo it on the microwave time — stick to 30-second intervals to keep the wings from drying out as much as possible. Finally, Littlely advises us to microwave on medium power. After all, there's a reason you should avoid your microwave's full power when reheating.

Again, the microwave will, unfortunately, not crisp up the skin. However, Littley notes that if you're short on time but still desire that crispiness, you can use the microwave to do most of the reheating. Then, simply pop the wings in the oven or air fryer for a few extra minutes to "help bring back some texture."

If you find that your leftover chicken wings have already dried out somehow, there's no need to worry. Dennis Littley's final recommended method, steaming, should be able to revive them. "Placing [your wings] in a heatproof steamer basket over simmering water and covering them for five to seven minutes helps retain moisture," the chef reveals. This will indeed make your wings "juicier again."

However, there's one downside: Just as with the microwave method, steaming won't make the skin crispy again. So, if you want reheated wings that are both juicy and crispy, then you will need to combine the steaming method with another method from this list. "Finishing them in a skillet or oven for a couple of minutes afterward can help balance moisture with texture," Littley explains. If it's easier, you can pop them in the air fryer for a few minutes as well.

Before you can even decide which method to use to reheat the wings, you need to know how to properly store them to try to avoid the dreaded dried-out situation. "Proper storage plays a huge role in ensuring wings reheat well," Dennis Littley notes. "In the fridge, cooked wings should be stored in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in foil or plastic wrap. They can last up to four days when properly stored."

You can also choose to freeze the wings if you need them to last longer than four days (this will keep them for up to three months). Littley recommends wrapping the wings individually in parchment paper, then placing them all together in a sealed freezer bag. Whether you are storing them in the fridge or freezer, there is one step that you absolutely cannot skip: be patient and let the wings cool first.

"Letting the wings cool completely before storing them is essential," the chef adds. "Placing hot wings directly into a container creates steam, leading to sogginess when reheating. With the right reheating method and proper storage, wings can taste just as crispy and juicy as when they were first made, making leftovers just as enjoyable as the first bite.” If you want the crispiest reheated wings, then following Littley's advice is the way to go.