How to Reheat Burgers

You’ve had a BBQ. You’ve got carried away. And you’ve cooked 16 burgers for 4 people… We’ve all done it! Fortunately, you don’t have to throw the burgers out because they’re super simple to reheat the next day.

Below are 4 methods for reheating burgers, each with its own benefits. Pick the method that works best for you and the number of burgers you have:

How to Reheat Burgers in the Microwave

Although it doesn’t yield the best-tasting burgers, using the microwave is the easiest and quickest reheating method. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Prepare Burgers
   Place your plain burgers on a microwave-safe plate. If your burgers are particularly thick, you should reheat them one at a time to ensure they reheat evenly. Once on a plate, cover your burgers with a damp paper towel.
2. Reheat
   On a medium/low setting, reheat your patties for 2 minutes. 
3. Check the Temperature
   After two minutes, remove your burgers from the microwave and check their temperature. Your burgers need to be at least 75°C before serving them safely. If they’re not quite done, return them to the microwave using 60-second intervals until they’re up to temperature. 
4. Serve and Enjoy
   Be sure to tuck into your burgers immediately once they’re up to temperature. 

How to Reheat Burgers in the Oven

Our preferred way of reheating burgers is in the oven. This is because they tend to reheat evenly and are less likely to dry out. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Preheat Oven
   Switch on your oven and preheat to 175°C. 
2. Prepare Burgers
   Place your burgers in an oven-proof dish and line them up side-by-side. Then, cover the dish with some tin foil to keep the moisture in the dish while the burgers are reheating. 
3. Reheat
   Place the burgers in the centre of the oven and heat for 15 minutes. 
4. Check the Temperature
   After 15 minutes, remove your burgers from the oven and check their temperature. Your burgers need to be at least 75°C before they’re safe to serve. If they’re not quite done, return them to the oven for 5 minutes or so until they’re up to temperature. 
5. Serve
   Place your burgers on freshly baked buns and serve them up! 

How to Reheat Burgers in the Air Fryer

eheating burgers in an air fryer is a quick and effective method. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Preheat the Air Fryer
   Turn on your air fryer and preheat it to around 175°C. It’s crucial to let the air fryer fully preheat to ensure even reheating.
2. Prepare the Burger
   If your burger has a lot of toppings like lettuce, tomato, or sauces, you might want to remove them and set them aside as they don’t reheat well in an air fryer. You just want the patty and maybe the cheese if it’s not already too melted.
3. Place in Air Fryer
   Once the air fryer is heated, place the burger patty inside the basket, ensuring there’s enough space around it for the air to circulate properly.
4. Reheat
   Let the burger reheat for about 3-4 minutes. You might need to adjust the time depending on the thickness of your patty and the specific air fryer model.
5. Check and Flip
   After a couple of minutes, open the air fryer basket and give the burger patty a flip to ensure it’s reheating evenly on both sides. If you’re reheating a cheeseburger, you can add a slice of cheese on top at this point.
6. Finish Reheating
   Let the burger finish reheating, it should take another 1-2 minutes.
7. Toast the Bun
   If you’d like to refresh the bun as well, you can place it in the air fryer for the last 30-60 seconds of cooking time. Be careful not to leave it in for too long as it can become overly crispy.
8. Reassemble and Serve
   Once everything is heated through, take the burger patty and bun out of the air fryer, reassemble your burger with all its toppings, and it’s ready to be served.

How to Reheat Burgers on the Hob

Instead of using the grill, you can reheat your burgers on the hob. Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Heat Pan
   Place a splash of water in a non-stick frying pan and heat the pan over medium heat for around sixty seconds. 
2. Add Burgers
   Add your burgers to the pan, ensuring they’re not touching one another and are well-spaced. 
3. Reheat
   Heat your burgers for 90 seconds or so on each side. 
4. Check the Temperature
   After you’ve reheated them evenly on both sides, remove your burgers from the pan and check their temperature. If they’re not quite done, return them to the pan for 20 seconds on either side. 
5. Serve and Enjoy
   Top your burgers with some grated cheese and salad, and they’re ready to enjoy. 

How to Reheat Different Burger Types

My focus so far has been on reheating bog-standard beef burgers without too many toppings. Of course, burgers come in many forms so can these all be reheated too?

Tips for Reheating Burgers

As you now know, burgers can be reheated in multiple ways. But there are 3 tips you will want to follow regardless:

• Always Check the Temperature: When you’re reheating burgers, it’s so important to check that your meat has reached an internal temperature of at least 165F or 75C before it’s safe to serve. Serving burgers that have not been reheated to the required temperature can lead to food poisoning. 
• Reheat Plain Burgers: Although the best thing about burgers is often the lashings of relish, onions, and cheese that accompany the patty, it’s best to reheat them plain, just as they are. You can add your chosen accompaniments when you place your burgers in their buns. 
• Reheat Once: You should only ever reheat patties once, and this is true for all types of meat. It’s not safe to reheat meat more than once, so if you still have leftovers after you’ve heated them for a second time, you need to discard them.