You can reheat any type of steak in the air fryer, but steak fingers are especially easy to reheat. All you do is place them in the basket and cook on 350 degrees F for about 3 minutes. They will get heated through, just like new.
How do you reheat steak without drying it out? The most important thing is to not heat it too long. To avoid this, reheat in increments and remove from the air fryer when it's a few degrees shy of heated through. Rest in aluminium foil for 5 minutes before serving.
The trick is to use both oil and butter
To keep from drying out your steak, you can simply place your leftovers in the air fryer basket, brush them with olive oil, and set pats of butter on top. After applying the helpful aids, you can heat your steak at 350 F for just about 5 minutes.
Bring the steak to room temperature. Leave it on its rack on the counter as you preheat your oven. Bake at a low temperature. Heat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit—the lower, gentler temperature will help reheat the steak from the inside out while maintaining the juices.
Steak Reheating Method: Sous Vide with Optional Searing
The steak goes in a zip-top bag and is submerged in 130°F water until heated through, which takes about 5 minutes. You can dig in right away or quickly sear the steak in a hot pan to revive the crust.
Preheat your oven to 275° and place a wire cooling rack over a large baking sheet. Cooking your steak on a cooling rack allows the hot air to circulate around the steak, giving you more evenly heated meat. Place your steak on top of the cooling rack and warm in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 110°.
An air fryer is simply a small oven that runs on convection heat. The heat is circulated around a tight space by a powerful fan that lies just below or behind the heating element. Just as in a standard oven, it is perfectly safe to use aluminum foil in the air fryer.
How to reheat steak in the air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the steak in a single layer to the air fryer basket and air fry for 6-8 minutes, flipping the steak halfway through cooking time.
Preheat the air fryer for 5 minutes at 400 °F. Place the meat inside the air fryer basket and cook for 3 minutes at 370 °F. Check the internal temperature of the meat. Flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes if needed.
Temperature Limitations
In an air fryer, the temperature combined with the fast movement of air can cause the steak to be dry by the time it's cooked. This is especially a problem when you're dealing with leaner cuts, like sirloin.
After using your fryer, let it cool down and unplug it. Pull out the basket, pan, or tray and wash it in your sink with warm water and dish soap. Set it aside to dry overnight. Wipe down the interior of the fryer, including the heating element, with a damp, soapy cloth, sponge or paper towel.
Leftover steak is safe to eat after three to four days in the refrigerator—any longer and you could catch a foodborne illness from bacteria growth. Bacteria can also grow on perishable food that has been left out at room temperature for over two hours or kept at a temperature lower than 40°F.
If you have any leftover chicken fried steak, you can easily reheat it in the air fryer, place the chicken into the air fryer basket. Set the temperature to 350 degrees F, air fryer sitting, and air fry until hot, about 3 to 5 minutes. For getting some of the crispness back, spray generously with cooking spray.
After your steak is temped out, preheat your air fryer to 350F for 3-5 minutes. Add the steak to the preheated air fryer basket and set the timer for 8 minutes. At the 4-minute mark, flip halfway. Remove the reheated steak with tongs and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Preheat the air fryer at 350-400F for 4 to 5 minutes. Place the food you want to reheat in the basket without crowding. Air fry 3 to 5 minutes or so until crispy and heated through but keep a close watch on it.
If you want a crisp exterior, thoroughly pat dry and pan-sear your steak for about 60 seconds on each side. Set up for success: Don't reheat your steak straight out of the fridge—have it sit out for about 30 minutes first.
Putting paper towels in an air fryer is not recommended as it can potentially cause a fire hazard. Additionally, the paper towel may not allow proper air circulation within the fryer, resulting in uneven cooking. Using the tray or basket with the air fryer is better for optimal cooking results.
Put the steak on the pan and turn it over every minute. Doing this will make sure it is cooked to your desired degree of doneness and doesn't get overcooked. You want the meat to slowly reheat all around without cooking through the middle. For medium-rare, two to three minutes should be sufficient.
If a perishable food (such as meat or poultry) has been left out at room temperature overnight (more than two hours) it may not be safe. Discard it, even though it may look and smell good.
And reheating steak is also safe—again, as long as it is either heated to above 140°F, or it is consumed quickly. Generally the problem with reheating steak isn't that it is unsafe, it's that the recooking often overcooks and dries out the meat.