ChefSteps

First off, let’s talk about traditional reheating methods. These do more than just heat up leftover food; they also recook it. Take a chilled, two-inch-thick, bone-in steak. To warm that bad boy back up, you’ll need to reheat it for about the same amount of time it took to cook. Throw an already cooked steak in a hot pan for 40 minutes, and you’ll wind up with a dried-out crust and a maybe-still-not-hot center. Bummer, right? 

With sous vide, reheating never means overcooking. Take that chilled steak and just toss it back into water a degree or two under the temperature to which you first cooked it. Once it has reheated, you can leave it in the water until you are ready to eat, then just give it a quick sear in the pan to revive that crispy crust. And there you have it: a sizzling piece of beef that is every bit as good as it was just after you cooked it. This means luscious leftovers, purées whenever you want them, perfect eggs at the ready, and a generally happy household.

Why is sous vide so great for reheating?

Here’s how to do it:

To reheat your meat without overcooking, simply place your leftover goodies in water heated to just under the original cooking temperature. Smaller portions will take roughly the same amount of time to reheat as they will to cook. Larger portions won’t take the full cook time to reheat—you’ve already broken down the muscle and achieved your desired texture. When reheating large roasts, the goal is to heat the protein just long enough to warm up the center.

Want some more-precise guidance on how to reheat that piece of meat you’ve got stashed away in the fridge? We’ve got some guidelines below. Keep in mind that the size and shape of the meat will dictate how long it takes to heat up. 

A slab of meat—like a steak:
0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 20 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 1¼ hr reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 3½ hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 5½ hr reheat time

A cylinder—like a roulade:

0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 11 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 40 min reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 2 hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 2½ hr reheat time
3 in ([mm 75]) thick: 3¾ hr reheat time
3.5 in ([mm 85]) thick: 4¾ hr reheat time

A sphere shape—like a meatball or a round roast:

0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 8 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 25 min reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 1½ hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 2 hr reheat time
3 in ([mm 75]) thick: 2¾ hr reheat time
3.5 in ([mm 85]) thick: 3½ hr reheat time
4 in ([mm 105]) mm thick: 5 hr reheat time
4.5 in ([mm 115]) mm thick: 6 hr reheat time

Keep in mind: These are not pasteurization times! All the calculations above assume that the water’s temperature is between 110 °F / 45 °C and 175 °F / 80 °C. 

Also, some roasts are more slab than sphere, some legs of lamb are closer to cylindrical, and some things don’t really have a specific shape at all. For these types of meat, go with the average of the time to reheat the two shapes. For example, reheat a big slab of a roast for the average of the time to reheat a slab and a sphere of its size.

Okay, I’m convinced. How do I reheat meat with sous vide?

You can totally reheat food to the same temperature to which you originally cooked it, particularly if you plan on taking the food out as soon as it’s ready. After a certain amount of time, though, food will begin to change. This happens much more slowly than when you are using a traditional method and cooking at a much higher temperature, but left in the hot tub long enough, food will eventually overcook. Reheating to a very slightly lower temperature gives you a longer runway, so you can leave your food in the water sans worry.

Why should I reheat the food at a degree or two lower than the original cooking time? Why not reheat at the same temperature?

Yes! We love using sous vide to reheat purées. Doing so on a stovetop is tedious and requires close vigilance—taking your attention away from <s>your drinking</s> the other important components of your dish. Cooking a purée ahead of time and reheating close to service is an ideal time- and attention-saver when you’re making an intricate dinner.

It’s also hard to achieve even heating without sous vide. Often, when you’re reheating traditionally, the purée at the bottom of the pan, near the heat source, gets very hot and requires constant stirring to prevent scorching, while the top portion barely gets warm. Meanwhile, the texture of your once-smooth purée turns chunky and the color grows dull. You can avoid all this by portioning the purée into smaller bags and dropping those in water (generally at about 140 °F / 60 °C) to warm evenly as you attend to other tasks. If you’re in a hurry or have a lot of purée to reheat, agitate the bags every couple of minutes to speed up the process.

What’s special about reheating purées sous vide is that you don’t have to worry too much about overcooking or texture breakdown. Our friends over at <a href="http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/11/3-ways-to-make-mashed-potatoes-in-advance-thanksgiving-easy.html">Serious Eats</a> found no major changes in mashed potatoes held for a full 24 hours in heated water. Even after 48 hours, they still tasted good. But why wait 48 hours to eat delicious whipped pommes, eh?

Can I reheat purées?

Sauces and brothy soups, like their sister-from-another-mister, purées, are ideal for reheating. When reheated the traditional way on a stovetop, sauces become petulant children: they require strict supervision, are likely to burn themselves if ignored for a few seconds, and often break down completely.

Reheating sous vide is the only way to preserve flavor, texture, and color—three incredibly important qualities of any worthy sauce (or any food, really). As with purées, portion your sauce into smaller bags and drop them in water (generally at about 140 °F / 60 °C) to warm evenly. If you’re in a hurry or have a lot of sauce to reheat, agitate the bags every couple of minutes to speed up the process. 

Try cooking your sauces ahead of time for your next big dinner. Reheat when ready, and watch as your day full of cooking becomes that much simpler.

What about sauces, stocks, and broth-based soups?

Sous vide is also a great way to batch-cook a bunch of meat, then store it in the freezer to reheat it later. This works particularly well when you take a large cut of meat—like a <a href="/activities/these-pork-steaks-will-change-your-life">pork shoulder</a>, for instance—cook it, and then cut it into individual portions to freeze. Then, when you’re ready for some pork, all you have to do is reheat the number of portions you plan to eat.

Reheating large frozen cuts that have not been individually portioned takes a lot of time, so it only really makes sense if you’re buying meat that you know you don’t want to use until later. A really big piece of meat, like a huge roast, takes several hours to reheat, meaning it may be more convenient to just cook it when you get it, then portion it up as described above and reheat as necessary.

All that said, reheating times depend on the size and shape of the meat. Here are our suggested times for reheating frozen food sous vide:

A slab of meat—like a steak:
0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 30 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 1¾ hr reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 5¼ hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 7¼ hr reheat time

A cylinder—like a roulade:
0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 17 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 55 min reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 2¾ hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 4 hr reheat time
3 in ([mm 75]) thick: 5¾ hr reheat time
3.5 in ([mm 85]) thick: 7¼ hr reheat time

A sphere shape—like a meatball or a round roast:
0.5 in ([mm 10]) thick: 12 min reheat time
1 in ([mm 25]) thick: 40 min reheat time
2 in ([mm 50]) thick: 2 hr hr reheat time
2.5 in ([mm 60]) thick: 2¾ hr reheat time
3 in ([mm 75]) thick: 4¼ hr reheat time
3.5 in ([mm 85]) thick: 5¼ hr reheat time
4 in ([mm 105]) mm thick: 7½ hr reheat time
4.5 in ([mm 115]) mm thick: 9 hr reheat time

Keep in mind: These are not pasteurization times! All the calculations above assume that the water’s temperature is between 110 °F / 45 °C and 175 °F / 80 °C. 

Also, some roasts are more slab than sphere, some legs of lamb are closer to cylindrical, and some things don’t really have a specific shape at all. For these types of meat, go with the average of the time to reheat the two shapes. For example, reheat a big slab of a roast for the average of the time to reheat a slab and a sphere of its size.

Can I reheat precooked, frozen food with sous vide?

Absolutely! If you don’t want to spend the time cooking first, you can simply throw your food right in the freezer for later use.

Check out all our tips on cooking frozen food sous vide here:
[fetchActivity every-question-you-ve-ever-had-about-cooking-frozen-foods-sous-vide]

Can I cook raw, frozen food with sous vide?

Can you see trails when you move your hands around? Did you accept and consume a pill from a stranger at an EDM concert? Are you in a VW bus full of bead-strewn strangers, barreling down a desert road? If so, you might, indeed, be tripping. But that particular memory is not an indication of such. Grant did, indeed, talk with <a href="http://ny.eater.com/authors/nick-solares">Eater’s Nick Solares</a> about this very topic. <a href="http://www.eater.com/2015/11/25/9799624/sous-vide-method-reheat-meat-how-to">Check that out here.</a> Then go reheat something! It’s gonna be delicious.

I feel like I have heard Grant talking about this topic before. Am I tripping?

Practice your newfound reheating prowess with these delicious recipes.

Cook. Reheat. Then Eat.

Eggs Benedict is a project—so cook the eggs and sauce ahead, then reheat on game day. Watch the mimosas, though. Those things sneak up on you.

[fetchActivity can-t-f-it-up-eggs-benedict]

Eggs Benedict is a project—so cook the eggs and sauce…

Is your name Ronald McDonald? Because you can have a burger whenever you want. (Warning: Do not use that as a pickup line. If you do, it will come off creepy and weird and as if you don’t really understand what pickup lines are.) 

{activity:1RbyNraDnfqrlpZaaDXO9K}

The best way to cook a burger: cook patties sous vide, then finish with a quick sear on the grill or in a hot pan. They’ll be super juicy and done just the way you like them. Every. Single. Time.

Sous Vide Burgers

Is your name Ronald McDonald? Because you can have a burger…

Taco Tuesday? How about Taco Every Day?

Make a whole mess of pork shoulder, then reheat until you are tired of tender, flavor-packed pork shoulder and spicy mole. (Spoiler alert: You’ll never get tired of tender, flavor-packed pork shoulder and spicy mole.)

{activity:Zpa1pM03TLDE4EBtf8osN}

This carnitas taco recipe is the perfect centerpiece for a super-social dinner party your guests won’t soon forget.

Sous Vide Carnitas Tacos With Mole

Taco Tuesday? How about Taco Every Day? Make a whole mess…

From favorite pans to tried-and-true microwave and toaster oven settings, we all have our go-to tricks for reviving <a href="/activities/sous-vide-steak">yesterday’s steak</a>, using up <a href="/activities/mastering-leg-of-lamb-a-stress-free-technique-for-a-stunning-feast">leftover leg of lamb</a>, or enjoying that <a href="/activities/sous-vide-chicken-breast">juicy chicken breast</a> one last time. Those working for you? Great—use them! But if you’re in the market for a no-fuss reheating method that eliminates the risk of overcooking, then please allow sous vide to blow your leftovers-loving mind. As discussed ad nauseam all over <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/sous-vide">this site</a>, sous vide means bringing food to the optimal temperature at which you want to cook it—never hotter. So when you reheat it to around that same temperature, you’re not overcooking it and drying it out. Oh no. What you are doing is returning that food to its best self so it can live its truth inside your belly. What’s more, you can leave said food ’til you need it—a total lifesaver when white-knuckling your way through a multipart meal. In the FAQ below, find all the things you need to know about reheating foods with sous vide. Then use it to create and re-create all your favorite foods, again and again and again and again (and—what the hell—again).

Sous Vide: A Simple and Stress-Free Way to Reheat Almost Anything