Did you know that you can reheat fried shrimp so that it tastes almost as good as if it just came out of the fry daddy? If you’ve ever wondered how to reheat fried shrimp, or if you can actually reheat shrimp in the microwave, this article is for you.
Like most seafood lovers, you’ve probably experienced a situation where you’ve eaten perfectly executed fried shrimp, but can’t fit another bite into your belly. What do you do? Toss it in the trash? Compost it? Save it for later?
Conventional wisdom has a lot of us opting to trash our seafood instead of saving it for later. After all, there are very few things that smell as bad as old seafood. Don’t trash it or compost it! Save it for later and eat it the next day. When done correctly, reheated shrimp can taste pretty good.
What is the best way to reheat fried shrimp and keep it crispy?
Hands down, the best way to reheat fried shrimp and keep it crispy is to heat it in the oven.
Here’s how to reheat your fried shrimp in the oven:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees for at least 10 minutes
- Place shrimp on a cooling rack over a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
- If you don’t have a cooling rack, bake on a baking sheet and turn the shrimp over halfway through to avoid the batter getting soggy in the grease
Every oven is different. You might want to play around with broiling, changing the temperature to 350 degrees or cooking longer or shorter. I always have good luck with cooking on 400 degrees in my KitchenAid Oven.
What is the best way to reheat other types of fried seafood?
This method works well for all sorts of fried foods- french fries, fried fish, calamari, fried chicken, fried okra, etc.
You never have to worry that reheating your fried fish or fried shrimp will end up as a disaster.
Can you reheat fried shrimp in the microwave?
You can absolutely reheat fried shrimp in the microwave.
But will it taste good? Probably not.
If you aren’t a foodie and don’t mind chewy shrimp with a soggy exterior, then go ahead and reheat your fried shrimp in the microwave.
If you actually like food and want to enjoy it, reheat your fried shrimp in the oven.
Microwaves suck moisture out of food and don’t actually crisp up the exterior.
How do you reheat fried shrimp in the air fryer?
You can totally reheat fried shrimp in the air fryer.
Heat the air fryer to 400 degrees and cook for 3-4 minutes. This is a great option, but doesn’t always turn out as well as the oven if you have a large batch. This is best for smaller portions.
Is it possible to refry fried shrimp in oil?
It depends! If your breading is light, it might work out well to flash fry your leftover shrimp and then put them in the oven for 5 minutes.
In my opinion this is only worth it if you happen to have oil on hand and enjoy frying food. It’s extra work with not a huge pay off.
FYI- Flash frying food is when you heat up the oil on medium high heat and quickly dunk the food in the oil so that the outsides crisp up. This is ideal for foods that are already cooked on the inside and just need a little help to get crispy.
Save the leftovers, give them more life!
I’m passionate about decreasing food waste. Wasting food not only wastes money, but it wastes the energy and resources that went into growing and making the food. On top of that, food sent to a landfill sits in a plastic bag for thousands of years without the chance to decompose and enrich our soil.
Learn more about reducing your food waste and composting with these posts:
RELATED POST: How to reheat a shrimp boil
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Thank you! We had lots of fried seafood leftover from a trip to a seafood restaurant. My family was amazed by how well it reheated using your method. The shrimp, scallops and clams were perfect after 10 minutes. The fried fish needed to be flipped at 10 minutes and needed 6 minutes more. We got an entire second dinner out of that meal!
I’m so happy to hear this! Seafood can be tricky sometimes. I understand why most people throw it out instead of saving it but it really can be revived when done right!