Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
published May 11, 2018
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A perfectly tender, juicy pork chop is a stunner of a dinner — so much so that I often get overzealous and cook more than we can eat at one time! Leftover pork chops were once my nemesis, becoming tough and dry when I tried to reheat them too quickly. But recently I discovered the best way to reheat pork chops is also the simplest and guarantees those once-tender and juicy chops will be just as succulent the next day.
Here’s the very best way to reheat leftover pork chops without drying them out.
The Best Way to Reheat Pork Chops Is in the Oven
The very best way to reheat leftover pork chops is low and slow with a little extra moisture — you can use either broth or water with great results. While you can reheat pork tenderloin in a pan or use a cast iron to reheat lamb chops, pork chops really do reheat best in the oven. Because the oven heats the pork chops from all sides — and because you’ll be protecting them in a glass pan with a tight cover — they’ll never dry out or overcook.
How to Do It
Heat your oven to 350°F. Remove the leftover chops from the fridge and place them in a glass baking dish (the size will depend on the number of pork chops you’re reheating, but the closer they are together, the better). Then add 1 tablespoon of liquid per pork chop and cover the whole dish tightly with foil and set the dish in the oven.
The pork chops will take about 30 minutes to heat through, which is exactly what we want. The glass dish insulates the pork chops and the tight cover holds in moisture, effectively steaming them into reheated perfection.
What if my leftover pork chops are already dry?
Occasionally I overcook a pork chop and not even this oven method can revive it for leftovers. In this instance, slicing the chop very thinly and pan cooking it with some fat (either butter or olive oil) and a flavorful liquid (think: broth or soy sauce) is my best bet. The slices can then go on top of stir-fried veggies, rice, or even into a sandwich, so nothing is wasted!
Our favorite pork chop recipe: How To Cook Tender & Juicy Pork Chops in the Oven
