299630 Fri Jan 07 17:06:01 -0800 2005 37 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1660861 This may seem like a silly question but does anyone out there have any tried and true tricks for reheating pizza to get it to as close to the "out of the oven" taste as possible? I have a couple of coal oven pizzas from Lombardis waiting for me at home.Thanks! Fri Jan 07 17:06:01 -0800 2005 0 BobbyCT 1 1660865 Do you have a pizza stone? They are the best for reheating the pizza and crisping up the crust. Also good when you have a pizza delivered and want to keep it hot. A good investment. Fri Jan 07 17:20:25 -0800 2005 1660861 0 Erin 2 1660869 I honestly had never heard of it but I will have one by the end of this weekend.Thanks for the tip. Fri Jan 07 17:49:58 -0800 2005 1660865 0 BobbyCT 3 1660933 Save your money on a pizza stone and use six-inch unglazed quarry tiles as pizza stones. Cover the entire oven rack. Sat Jan 08 14:41:05 -0800 2005 1660869 0 mirror 4 5166033 I have excellent results also with unglazed tiles covering the oven shelf. I use 12 inch tiles, plus half tiles (cut at Home depot) to make the right overall size. To keep the stones clean of melted cheese, I put the pizza on a sheet of aluminum foil, I find that if the foil is slightly crinkled, the edges of the pizza slices don't stick to the foil. I put the pizza into a cold oven, set to 475 degrees, and in my oven by the time the oven hits 475, the slice is crispy and the cheese is bubbling. YMMV. Sun Nov 08 19:08:41 -0800 2009 1660933 221285 therealdoctorlew 1 1660868 If the pizza is in the fridge, take it out and warm it up for at least 20 minutes. I don't have a pizza stone, so I put a cookie sheet in the oven and then crank it up as high as it goes while the pizza is coming to room temp. Remember, pizza oven are usually over 700 degs. Then put the slices in the hot oven/hot cookie sheet and heat until hot and the cheese is bubbling. This way should ensure a crisp crust without burning it. I've also heard stories about reheating in a skillet, but have never tried it so I can't comment on it. Fri Jan 07 17:37:01 -0800 2005 1660861 0 Evan 2 1660932 I followed your advice last night and everything worked about much better than expected.I will follow the advice of you and others and invest in a pizza stone.I will also give the skillet trick a try and also the tip about placing it directly on the oven rack.The real key to your trick is heating up the tray as well as the oven at a very high temperature.Worked wonderfully and I want to thank you and all the other chowhounds! Sat Jan 08 14:38:16 -0800 2005 1660868 0 BobbyCT 1 1660872 You'll get more ideas if you repost on the appropriate board (Home Cooking). For reheating a cold slice of pizza, I use a skillet (cast iron), uncovered, over very low heat. The low heat gradually re-crisps the bottom while gently reheating the upper layer. Link: http://meglioranza.com Fri Jan 07 18:13:56 -0800 2005 1660861 0 Tom Meg 2 1660880 Cast iron is an easy alternative to heating up a pizza stone, which takes a lot longer. And a heavy nonstick skillet (All Clad, eg) will work in a pinch, too. But ne'er shall a microwave touch a slice of pizza. Horrors.... Fri Jan 07 18:40:03 -0800 2005 1660872 0 Karl S. 3 2161864 It is not safe to use a non stick pan in an oven over 400 degress. Sun Jan 07 14:11:57 -0800 2007 1660880 11512 FAL 2 1660894 You know, you're right, Tom, Home Cooking is probably the best place to reach the folks who know the most about this topic, and we apologize to Bobby CT for directing him here rather than to the Home Cooking board (link below Link: http://www.chowhound.com/boards/cooking/cooking.html Fri Jan 07 22:36:01 -0800 2005 1660872 2 The Chowhound Team 2 1660902 I do it this way also. Sometimes it turns out better than the original pizza. I love the crispy brown bottome. Sat Jan 08 00:35:53 -0800 2005 1660872 0 shoo-bee-doo 2 2181347 This is the best way I have found, crisp crust, melted cheese, yum! Fri Jan 12 15:57:03 -0800 2007 1660872 15910 debmom 1 1660886 We've gone to "extremes" also on this subject; once, I heated the oven to like 450 and then put the pizza directly on the middle rack for a few minutes to reheat...it JUST isn't the same, no matter what you do but I think this method came the closest. Fri Jan 07 20:17:21 -0800 2005 1660861 0 Val 2 2159988 Agreed Sat Jan 06 18:18:11 -0800 2007 1660886 20483 jenniebnyc 2 4614060 agreed x 2 Tue Apr 21 06:18:36 -0700 2009 1660886 202497 MattInNJ 1 1660900 I think it comes out fine if you re-heat it in a toaster oven on some foil at around 400 for about 10 minutes. Fri Jan 07 23:21:48 -0800 2005 1660861 0 valerie 1 1660910 Well, if you happen to have a George Foreman Grill... Put two slices together, top to top (works great for thin crust pizza with the proper small amount of cheese). Grill in the GFG for about 2 minutes, or a little longer. And there you have...crispy pizza sandwich nirvana. Sat Jan 08 05:07:55 -0800 2005 1660861 0 gina 1 2159986 Hi. Since most answers did not involve an oven here is mine. We had a restaurant bought large pizza that was just taken out of the fridge from last nights leftovers. We preheated the oven to only 250 and put three slices on a thin pizza pan. It took about 17 min to heat but the cheese looked good and the crust wasn't burnt. Hope this helps people who don't have a stone. Also - if you take it out of the fridge far enough in advance i'm sure it would decrease reheat time but most people (like me) don't hink too far ahead with food. When you're hungry - you're hungry! chow! Sat Jan 06 18:16:08 -0800 2007 1660861 64647 fatesfan 1 2160145 Two prong approach for jfood. 1 - pre-heat the broiler AND the weber 2 - when ready, throw on the weber to crisp the crust WATCH CAREFULLY SO THE BURN DOES NOT OCCUR 3 - place under the broiler to get the cheese bubbly. you will get the original "burn the roof of ur mouth" plus the crispiness you bought Sat Jan 06 19:23:10 -0800 2007 1660861 11290 jfood 1 2161150 i find it usually tastes better cold, but maybe thats just me... is that weird? Sun Jan 07 02:26:30 -0800 2007 1660861 52894 RiJaAr 2 4615283 Not weird. Good pizza has a pleasant taste of its own that's different than hot & fresh. I couldn't imagine having to wait all that time to reheat a slice when you could just eat it out of the fridge directly. Tue Apr 21 11:42:01 -0700 2009 2161150 11781 beachmouse 1 2180747 I always used to reheat pizza in the oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees. Then my wife heard from a co worker that pizza tastes best reheated in a skillet. We've tried this and like it very much. Fri Jan 12 11:46:00 -0800 2007 1660861 11964 hotdoglover 1 2181331 I always put my pizza on a preheated frying pan to reheat. The crust gets crusty and the rest is warm enough. I should add the caveat that I always eat thin crust pizza - deep dish might not work as well this way. Fridge to mouth in 5 min flat :-) Fri Jan 12 15:52:49 -0800 2007 1660861 17956 jcanncuk 1 2181359 I reheat in the oven on a stone. Fri Jan 12 16:00:02 -0800 2007 1660861 39328 IndyGirl 1 2181376 I turn the oven to about 250 degrees and put the slices right on the rack for about 15-20 minutes. It heats the pizza all the way through and keeps the crust crisp. Or just eat it cold out of the fridge. Fri Jan 12 16:04:11 -0800 2007 1660861 58128 ajs228 1 4612093 Heat up leftover pizza in a covered nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza.Someone saw this on the cooking channel and I saw it on Americas test kitchen also it really works. Mon Apr 20 12:50:32 -0700 2009 1660861 284654 shermm 2 4612110 This is how I reheat pizza also....I think the first time I reheated pizza for Dh this way was when he decided to marry me. Mon Apr 20 12:54:08 -0700 2009 4612093 11990 Janet from Richmond 2 4615754 This is the best way I've found, too. Tue Apr 21 13:32:17 -0700 2009 4612093 225785 kb8240 2 4617339 so funny that this thread was resurrected because i had originally read about reheating the pizza in a skillet, which i did for the first time last evening. it really works -- the crust was crispy and the pizza came out great. Wed Apr 22 04:47:17 -0700 2009 4612093 10612 mshpook 2 5163248 Glad I found this thread. This method is amazingly better than even using a toaster oven. (Would never torture a poor pizza slice in a microwave. I hate chewing soggy cardboard.) I'm a convert! By way of 'gilding the lily', I've also used my little kitchen torch to make the cheese on top bubble, and crisp the pepperoni edges. :) Sat Nov 07 08:59:00 -0800 2009 4612093 95137 mcsheridan 1 4613041 If you have a toaster oven, then preheat it for 400 degrees. put a slice it and take it out when it is bubbling. It restores the crispiness of the pizza. Mon Apr 20 17:11:25 -0700 2009 1660861 227302 kirinraj 2 4638464 I'll second the toaster oven approach. Gets the crust crispy and the cheese molten, and I like to leave it in long enough to give it just a bit of char for extra flavor. Plus it's far more energy-efficient than heating an entire oven for just a slice or two. Wed Apr 29 07:23:07 -0700 2009 4613041 14386 BobB 1 4617357 Ok,here is the definitive answer, courtesy of America's Test Kitchen. Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium high heat. Put your slice (or 2) in the pan, cover, and heat for 5 - 7 minutes. You will get crisp, hot slices. Wed Apr 22 05:00:14 -0700 2009 1660861 124339 bnemes3343 1 4619932 I would never reheat really good pizza, as wonderfulness when cold is precisely how you tell good pizza from mediocre. However, we had about twenty slices of distinctly mediocre pizza left over from a party (someone else brought it, honest!) which we wrapped in plastic and stuffed into the freezer before going to bed. Well, when it came time to eat some I thought of the toaster oven, the griddle, any number of things - we don't have a stone, by the way - and finally I just cranked the oven to 500º or so, dropped the frozen pieces onto an old grungy cookie sheet and put'em in for about ten minutes. You know, it was much better than it had been fresh. Amazing. Wed Apr 22 18:04:49 -0700 2009 1660861 11478 Will Owen 1 4634867 Someone already mentioned this to make a pizza sandwich, but trust me when I say the george foreman grill. Place a few slices on the grill, close the top and heat for a few minutes. This sounds crazy, but I assure you that the pizza comes out crispy, warm, and almost like new. And no, the cheese doesn't melt all over the place. Tue Apr 28 01:31:46 -0700 2009 1660861 285769 alpa chino 1 5163829 After skimming through these responses, I think I have a totally different technique. I put the cold pizza directly on the cold oven shelf. I put a sheet of aluminum foil on the oven shelf below to catch any dripping cheese. Then I turn on the over to 425. When the oven reaches that temperature I take the pizza out. Usually the crust is crisped up and the top is warm and melted. Disclaimer: This only works with unsliced pizza or pizza cut into large triangular pieces. Do not try this method with small, square slices of pizza. They will be difficult, if not impossible to remove from the oven shelf without the pieces or the toppings falling off onto the aluminum foil or -- worse -- the bottom of the oven. But when it works, it's great. Sat Nov 07 14:54:33 -0800 2009 1660861 24468 chicgail 2 5166009 Place the thin crust pizza in a preheated non-stick frypan cover with a lid turn heat on low and cook 10 minutes check it and cook further if needed. Enjoy. Sun Nov 08 18:50:19 -0800 2009 5163829 1088269 bigdave48