4 Effective Methods to Reheat Meatballs
A meatball dinner makes everyone’s night memorable. Be it a regular family dinner or a party dinner, meatball remains a top choice for many. I like cooking meatballs and spaghetti for my family and they just cannot get enough. But oftentimes, you will end up with more meatballs than you can eat at once.
Meatballs can be stored in a regular refrigerator for over a week and a month in the freezer. You can take them out of the freezer or the refrigerator and reheat them anytime you want. This is not only useful for days when you are not in the mood for cooking but it also saves a lot of time as well.
But you must be aware of some basic things like the temperature, heating time, etc. to make sure that your meatballs get reheated perfectly without losing their flavors. Here, I will discuss all the methods by which you can reheat your meatballs perfectly to ensure a nice dinner for yourself and your family.
How to Reheat Meatballs? 4 Helpful Methods
The basic premise of heating a meatball is that you want to ensure the meatballs get properly heated all the way through to the very center and they do not get overcooked.
You can use numerous different kitchen equipment to reheat the meatballs. You can use a regular saucepan to reheat the meatballs. This method is helpful because a saucepan is the most common kitchen tool.
You can also reheat the meatballs using a microwave oven, or a regular oven, or you can even use a Crockpot to reheat the meatballs. Here are the four easiest methods for reheating meatballs described in detail below.
Heating on a Pan
You can reheat your meatballs using a saucepan. You can put your meatball directly in the saucepan and heat it if your meatball consists of sauce. Otherwise, you might need to put your meatballs in a broth or boiling water.
Reheating Meatballs with Sauce
Defrost your meatballs first if you have stored them in the freezer. Otherwise, you can start reheating the meatballs. Put a saucepan on the stove and set the heat to medium. Add the meatballs with the sauce to the pan. Stir occasionally and let the meatballs get heated. Add two or three teaspoons of hot water to the meatballs if the sauce is getting too dry. It will take about 10-12 minutes for the meatballs to get reheated.
Reheating Meatballs without Sauce
Get a pan and fill it up with water or broth. Put it on the stove and set the heat to high. Bring the water or the broth to a boil and lower the heat to low-medium.
Now add the meatballs to the broth and reheat them for 5-6 minutes or until their temperature reaches 165 F or 74 C. Bring out the meatballs and put them on paper towels.
Using a Microwave Oven
Microwave ovens are very useful equipment that reheat our food very quickly and we do not need to put much effort into it. A microwave oven uses microwave radiation to vibrate the water molecules present in the food item that is put inside the microwave oven.
You want to reheat your meatballs in intervals with the microwave oven if you have too much meatball. Put the meatballs in a microwave-safe container. Put the lid on the container but do not close it all the way and leave some room for the steam to escape.
Turn on the power on your microwave oven and blast it for 2 minutes at the regular settings. Stir the meatballs with a spatula. This will help the heat to disperse better. Close the microwave door and blast it again for another 2 minutes. Check to see if the meatballs have been reheated. Keep repeating this process until the meatballs register 165 F or 74 C.
Using an Oven
Other than the microwave oven, you can also use a regular oven to reheat your meatballs. Preheat your oven to 300 F or 150 C for 5-10 minutes. Now put the meatballs in a baking tray and put the tray in the middle rack of your oven.
Keep an eye on your meatballs to make sure that they do not get burnt. Decrease the temperature if you see that the meatballs are getting burnt before the sauce gets warm.
Take out the meatballs from the oven after 10 minutes and stir them gently to disperse the heat better. Put it back inside the oven and reheat it for an additional 10 minutes. This should be enough for your meatballs to get reheated.
Putting the Meatballs Into a Crockpot
You can also use your crockpot to reheat your meatballs if you have some time on your hands. Crockpots slowly warm the food you put inside it.
Set the settings of your Crockpot to warm and fill the pot with your meatballs. Stir occasionally to disperse the heat across the meatball. It will take about 2 hours for the meatballs to get completely ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Eat Reheated Meatballs?
Yes, you can eat reheated meatballs without any issues. Just make sure that the meatballs get reheated all the way through. The best way to ensure that is to check if the internal temperature of the meatball has reached 165 F or 74 C.
How Long Does It Take to Reheat Meatballs?
How long it will take you to reheat your meatballs will depend on what method you are using. It will take about 15 minutes to reheat the meatballs in a saucepan on the stovetop, 6-8 minutes in the microwave oven, 20 minutes in a normal oven, and 2 hours in a crockpot.
Can I Reheat Meatballs Multiple Times?
Yes, you can reheat your meatballs multiple times but the meat will get cooked too much and will lose flavor and texture.
Does Reheating the Meatballs Ruin the Taste?
Reheating the meatballs will not ruin the taste completely but it will lose some of the taste and texture of the meat because they will get cooked too much.
What Is the Best Way to Reheat Meatballs?
The best way to reheat the meatballs is using a microwave oven. It takes a lot less time and effort and the microwave oven heats the meatballs evenly without overcooking the meat.
Conclusion
Meatballs and spaghetti are a favorite lunch and dinner meal for many people and it is almost impossible to cook them in small batches so leftovers are inevitable. By storing the meatballs in the freezer and reheating them again, you not only save time and effort but you can have this nice meal for dinner multiple times over the week.
