No More Dry Chicken: How To Actually Keep Your Rotisserie Chicken Most & Juicy

Rotisserie chicken is a quick, ready-made dinner option that is great when you're short on time and low on energy. Once you've carefully evaluated the best grocery store rotisserie chicken options, all you have to do is buy the bird you want and take it home. You can eat it as is, or you can easily shred the dish with kitchen tools to make a variety of dishes, like chicken tacos or casseroles. But there's one common problem with the store-bought poultry: reheating it once it's no longer hot from the supermarket. How can you rewarm it without drying out the meat? For the answer, Food Republic turned to Dennis Littley, chef and recipe expert at Ask Chef Dennis. It can be challenging to warm up leftover chicken without a dried-out result. Luckily, the expert chef had some wisdom to offer.

One good method for reheating the poultry is in an air fryer. The appliance warms it quickly and easily, while keeping the skin crispy and the meat juicy. Simply pop the bird remnants into a preheated air fryer for a few minutes, and you're done. If you haven't invested in an air fryer just yet or you realize it hasn't been cleaned in a while and you want to avoid doing yet another dish, there is another alternative method of reheating, using an appliance you more than likely do have on hand. ”If you don't have an air fryer," Littley shared, "the oven is still a great option." 

While tossing rotisserie chicken in the air fryer is quick, the expert admits that a trip to the oven might actually be worth the extra cook time in the long run. "It's all about balancing texture and flavor, and not rushing the process," Dennis Littley explained. "A little planning goes a long way to get that tender, juicy bite with the right amount of crisp.” To reheat your store-bought chicken using this method, be sure to place it in an oven-safe baking dish, and utilize foil to ensure heat is distributed evenly throughout the bird. "Just cover the chicken loosely with foil to warm it through," the expert instructed. "To keep the meat juicy, I like to add a splash of broth or even just water to the pan and cover it for the first part of reheating." 

Make sure you preheat the oven before putting in the chicken; otherwise, you risk additional moisture loss from the extra time it takes to heat the oven, contributing to dried-out meat. Adding in broth, stock, or water to your pan, as Littley recommended, creates steam beneath the foil as your chicken warms. This further helps ensure it stays moist rather than drying out. After your chicken has been properly warmed under the protection of foil, remove the covering from the pan and then return your chicken to the oven for a few extra minutes. This will give your meat that final crisp-up for excellent skin that's about as close to supermarket fresh as you can get.