Since October will be Pizza Month, this seemed quite appropriate...unless you always eat all of your pizza the first day!
This is from The Art of Manliness:
Pizza has long been one of man’s best friends. Crispy, cheesy, melty,
meaty — it’s a winning proposition all around. One of the beauties of
pizza is how well it makes multiple meals. The ginormous 20-inch
NY-style pepperoni pizza above (from the stupendous
Fat Sully’s here in Denver) provided 5 delicious meals over the course of 4 days. How many other foods can do that for ya?
The real problem (if you can really call it a problem) is figuring
out the best way to eat it after Day 1. There are of course those
that believe that reheating pizza in any fashion constitutes true
sacrilege — that one should always eat their leftovers cold. Certainly,
cold pizza can be a delicious and easy option.
But sometimes you want something warm in your belly and wish to bring
back the original flavors and get the hot grease flowing again. How
should you go about doing so? Do you pop it in the microwave? Throw it
on the grill? Luckily for you, we decided to test out the best ways to
reheat your pizza. Our findings may surprise you (as they did me), and
may in fact lead to a slice of pie that was even better than the
original.
In the name of science!
How to Store Your Pizza
 |
| Plate. Paper towel. Pizza. Paper towel. Repeat. Cover with plastic. (Forgot to top with a paper towel on this one — woops.) |
Your method of reheating is not the only factor in play as to how it
will taste the next day(s); how you store your pizza in the fridge also
matters. Most folks (including myself, before this article) just throw
the box in the fridge and leave it at that. While acceptable, I learned
that the best way to store pizza is to line a plate/tupperware with
paper towels, then put on a layer of pizza, then cover with paper towels
again, then wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap. This ensures ultimate
freshness.
Method #1 – Microwave
Before writing this article, throwing the ‘za in the microwave was my
go-to method of reheating. It’s by far the fastest and most convenient
method, and it’s all I ever really knew. So that’s where I started in
this experiment. Now, due to some preliminary research, I knew this
wasn’t going to be the
best method, so I made some adjustments that I knew would make it
better.
If you’re like me, you always just threw it in the microwave on full
power for 30 or so seconds, and came away with a sort of wet, rubbery
mess. But it was still pizza, and ultimately, still tasty. Any
combination of cheese and meat and bread is going to be good, even if
not excellent.
After some asking around, though, I discovered there was a better
microwave method. First, keep the paper towel between the plate and the
pizza. That will absorb some of the moisture. Then, change your
microwave settings to be about 50% power. Instead of 30 seconds, go for a
minute. A slow warm up is always better than an instant nuking when it
comes to pizza.
The result: Even with improvements to the
methodology, the pizza still came out sort of wet and rubbery.
Especially when the pizza was really good to start with, microwaving it
just doesn’t do it justice. The crust on the end of my slice was so
rubbery that I had to really yank on it with my teeth to eat it. The
pizza was certainly still edible, but this method is not recommended
unless you really only have a minute to reheat it and be on your way. If
you must microwave it (say, at the office), have a paper towel handy
and lower the microwave power.
Method #2 – Oven
Next up was the oven. I had seen a tip in a random forum (yes — there
are forums regarding the best ways to reheat pizza) from a man who
swore to high heaven to cook the pizza for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. I
followed suit, letting the oven preheat all the way before putting it
directly on the rack.
The result: The ‘za was warm, crispy, every bit as
delicious as Day 1. In fact, it tasted almost exactly the same. For my
money, I would have given it either a couple more minutes or a slightly
higher temperature, but you can’t go wrong with the oven. No rubber
here, folks.
Method #3 – Grill
I was pretty excited about trying the grill. My wife makes a mean
grilled pizza, so reheating some pie on the grill seemed quite natural. I
set it to medium-high and let it warm up for a few minutes. I threw it
right on the grate, no oil or anything, and let it cook for 6 minutes or
so. I lifted the pizza to make sure the crust looked good (which it
did), and made sure the cheese was bubbly on top (it was), and pulled it
off to enjoy.
The result: Boy was this method a winner! The cheese
was melty, but not rubbery. The pepperoni was crisp. The bottom crust
had some awesome grill marks and the perfect amount of char. And the end
crust was crunchy and delicious. On a nice day, this method is probably
your best bet. The only downside is that while possible to do in poor
weather (we are men, after all), it’s not the most convenient or
pleasant.
Method #4 – Skillet
I chose to do the skillet last because I had read in a few places
that this was the best way to reheat pizza. I first put the skillet on
the stovetop and let it preheat over medium for a few minutes. I threw
the ‘za on and then covered the pan — this is a crucial step. Without
covering it, you risk the toppings and cheese not being quite done/hot
enough. If your skillet doesn’t have a lid, throw some foil over it. Let
it cook for 6-8 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly.
The result: Mamma mia! Delizioso! The skillet pizza was, perhaps, even
better
than the original. The crust was even crispier, and the pepperoni too.
It wasn’t too much different from the grill in terms of taste, but for
some reason it seemed a little better. Maybe the ingredients melded
together in some magical way that wasn’t present on the grill. We may
never know. This method will also be far more convenient than the grill
for most people. If you can, this is
the way to reheat your pizza. To each their own, of course, but the skillet won out in my book.
I've never tried the last two methods...and I preferred the oven unless I was at work. But I'll have to try the skillet next time!
Interesting days
Today -
Chocolate Milkshake Day and
Video Games Day
Tomorrow-
Quiet Day,
Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day,
Celiac Disease Awareness Day,
Fortune Cookie Day,
Defy Superstition Day,
Programmers' Day,
Peanut Day,
Roald Dahl Day and
Positive Thinking Day
Next Tuesday -
Butterscotch Pudding Day,
Talk Like A Pirate Day and
Get Ready Day
October 12 -
Old Farmers Day,
World Arthritis Day and
World Sight Day
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