How To Reheat Ribs For Tasty Leftovers

How many ribs make a meal? The answer may vary from person to person, and have much to do with the size of the ribs — and also because ribs are often sold by the rack with a rack of lamb containing at least seven ribs and a rack of pork ribs up to 13. (Beef racks split the difference, as they typically have nine ribs.) This means that unless you have a large appetite or are feeding multiple people, leftovers are likely. While the quickest way to reheat them may be to use the microwave, the best way, if you have time to spare, is to use your oven.

The first step in reheating your ribs is to take them out of the refrigerator and let them warm up for about half an hour. As they're doing so, preheat the oven to 250 F. Once the oven is hot(tish) and the ribs less chilly, brush the latter with some extra sauce. While you could make your own if so inclined, here's our breakdown of supermarket brands. (Spoiler alert: Our reviewer agrees with Mark Zuckerberg that Sweet Baby Ray's is the best.). Bake the ribs in a foil-covered pan for at least 20 to 30 minutes until a meat thermometer registers 130 F. While the ribs are already cooked and could be eaten straight out of the fridge if desired, the temperature reading ensures that they're not still cold inside.

If you don't want to turn on the oven and heat up the whole house just to warm up leftovers, you might be considering reheating your ribs in the air fryer — but this will work best if the ribs have been dry-rubbed. If they were cooked in a sauce, at least try to scrape off the excess since air fryers aren't great with wet foods. You may also need to cut them into smaller pieces to better fit in the basket. Preheat the air fryer to 350 F and grease the basket generously, then bake the ribs for three to four minutes. There's no need to use foil in the air fryer since the ribs won't be in there long enough to dry out to any great extent.

Should you happen to own a sous vide machine, seal the ribs in a heavy plastic bag and let them sit in 329 F water for 45 minutes or so (longer if they're thicker). A more low-tech method of reheating them with water would be to do so on the stove using a steamer basket. If you steam the ribs in a covered pot over a few tablespoons of liquid for half an hour, they will be hot and juicy but may need another coating of sauce or dry rub.