Many people love nothing better than a crispy pork roast. One of the reasons that pork is so popular is that it is such a versatile meat. Pork loin is very lean, with little excess fat. This makes it a healthy choice for that Sunday roast. And if you have leftovers, you will be reheating pork loin.
With today’s frenetic, busy lifestyle, it is useful to be able to plan and prepare in advance. When you are cooking dinner, if you have freezer space to store it, you will find that it really simplifies your life if you cook double and freeze one meal.
Reheating pork loin, or chicken, or any other food that freezes well, instead of needing to come home and cook, makes a hectic day so much more manageable.
Reheating pork loin is really quite simple, and there are numerous ways that it can be done. The method that you choose will depend upon how much time you have available, as well as your personal preference.
When reheating pork loin, it can become very dry if you don’t take the necessary precautions. You can either reheat it whole, and then slice it just before you serve it, or you can slice it first and then reheat it.
I prefer to slice first when reheating pork loin, for various reasons. If you reheat the whole piece, it will take longer to get to the desired temperature, and then it may dry out.
If you have a large piece of pork loin, you may not want to use it all in one meal. If you slice it first, you can reheat only as much as you need for that meal, saving the rest for the following day. Sliced cooked pork loin makes a fabulous filling for a sandwich for lunch – a great way to use every scrap of the leftovers.
If you are in a hurry, reheating pork loin that has already been sliced will take much less time than reheating a whole piece of pork loin.
Reheating Pork Loin In The Oven
Reheating pork loin in the oven is my preferred method, although I will explain some of the other methods as well.
Preheat your oven to 325° Fahrenheit, with your oven rack in the center of the oven. When reheating pork loin in the oven, I always like to add some liquid. This will prevent it from drying out and will keep the meat nice and moist.
Take an ovenproof dish and pour a little beef or chicken broth into the dish, enough to cover the bottom of the dish. Add the slices of pork loin and brush with a few drops of oil or melted butter. Add a little more broth and cover tightly with tin foil.
Place the dish in the center of the oven for about 20-25 minutes. The meat should then be hot enough, and deliciously moist and succulent.
If you prefer to reheat a whole piece of pork loin, rather than slicing it up first, follow the above steps, but instead of placing the slices in the dish, place the whole piece of pork loin in a dish and brush it well all over with oil or melted butter.
Add some broth to the dish and cover tightly with foil. Place in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your piece of meat. If you have a meat thermometer, the inside of the meat should reach a temperature of about 140°.
If you have reheated a whole piece of pork loin, let it stand for about 10 minutes after removing it from the oven, before cutting it up into slices. If you try to slice it as soon as it comes out of the oven, it may fall apart.
Reheating Pork Loin In The Microwave
If you are in a hurry and need to reheat pork loin quickly, the fastest method is in the microwave.
Place the pork loin slices in a microwave-safe dish. Add a little beef or chicken broth, and brush the meat lightly with oil or melted butter. Cover the dish with a vented microwave lid.
If you do not have a vented microwave lid, cover tightly with cling wrap and pierce a few holes with a toothpick. Place the dish in the microwave and microwave on 70% power for
1 minute per 200 gr of meat. Try not to do too much at once. If you reheat small amounts, the meat will reheat more evenly.
After reheating pork loin in the microwave, the meat must be left to stand for at least 5 minutes before eating. The heat will continue to diffuse throughout the meat for a few minutes even after the microwave has stopped. You will then have perfectly heated pork loin, with the heat evenly distributed.
Reheating Pork Loin In A Pan On The Stove Top
Reheating pork loin in a pan on the top of the stove is also a quick way to heat up your pork, but you need to be very careful not to let it get overdone and dry.
This method is best suited to reheating ready-sliced pork loin, rather than a large whole piece of meat. If you try to reheat a whole piece of pork loin in a pan on the stove, the outside will heat very quickly, but the inside will take so long to get hot that the outside will become hard and dry.
Spray a pan with a little olive oil. Place the pork loin slices in the pan with a little broth for extra moisture. Heat gently over a medium flame, turning every minute to prevent the meat from drying out and burning.
You should only have to turn 3 or 4 times, and the meat should be heated through after about 4-5 minutes.
Can You Reheat Pork Loin In A Slow Cooker?
If you are going to work and want to eat dinner as soon as you get back home, reheating pork loin in your slow cooker is a great idea. You can place a precooked, frozen piece of pork loin in the slow cooker before you leave for the day. Add enough beef or chicken broth to cover, and switch on to the lowest setting.
When you arrive home in the late afternoon or early evening, your dinner will be piping hot and ready to eat. However, when you slice it, it may fall apart a little, so it will be better to pull it apart rather than try to slice it precisely.
Note that reheating pork loin in a slow cooker only works well with a whole piece of pork loin. Slices of pork loin will fall apart and disintegrate if heated in the slow cooker.
See Related Topic: Reheat Baked Potato
Can You Reheat Pork Loin On The Grill?
While reheating pork loin on the grill is not ideal, it can be done. If you have a few left-over slices of pork loin and you want to add them to the following night’s barbecue dinner, you will need some basting sauce and tin foil.
Brush each slice of pork loin generously with a basting sauce of your choice. An oil-based barbecue sauce works well. You can also brush it generously with mayonnaise. Wrap each slice individually in tin foil and place on the grill over medium heat for 5 minutes, turning halfway through. It will heat through and should be lovely and moist from the sauce.
Can You Reheat Pork Loin In An Air Fryer?
An air fryer is a marvelous appliance to have in your kitchen. I use mine for so many different things and I love it. However, I have experimented with many different types of food, and with both cooking from scratch and reheating.
Through trial and error, I have discovered that reheating pork loin in an air fryer does not work well. I don’t recommend it, because the meat gets very dry and the texture is not very appetizing.
How Do You Ensure That The Meat Does Not Lose Its Flavor When Reheating Pork Loin?
If you want to make sure that when reheating pork loin it does not lose its flavor, there are a few tips that you can use.
- Instead of brushing with oil or butter, brush lightly with mayonnaise. This will give the meat a lovely tang.
- Add a little bit of prepared mustard to some melted butter, and brush the meat with this.
- Sprinkle a little barbecue spice on the meat after you have added the liquid and brushed the meat with oil.
- Make a sauce with a little ketchup, some barbecue sauce, a dash of lemon juice and a teaspoon of brown sugar, and ¼ cup of water. Brush the pork loin generously with this sauce before reheating.
Preparing your pork loin in advance and reheating it, using any of the above methods, will simplify your life and you will not have to stress about preparing a whole meal from scratch.
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