I love a greasy slice of pizza. Even better, I love greasy whole pie of pizza. Unfortunately, if I want to live another day to eat more greasy pizza I can’t eat a whole pie all in one sitting. (perhaps that’s another feat of stomach strength to try later)
So the leftover pizza gets wrapped up and thrown into the fridge and comes out the next day cold and stiff with no great way to reheat it. Frowny faces all around.
Well, let’s turn that frown upside down and then stuff it with leftover pizza, because I have discovered the secret to perfectly reheated pizza: Use a preheated cast iron skillet!
Well, it’s actually a combo microwave, cast iron skillet we got going on. Yeah, that’s right, I said “microwave” in reference to reheating pizza. But don’t run away just yet. Here’s how it works.
1. Preheat the Cast Iron Skillets.
I usually throw the skillets in the oven and turn the temperature up to about 425°. Why do this? Because we are going to eventually bake the pizza on the skillets in the oven and this will make for a perfectly crispy crust!
2. Preheat the pizza in the microwave.
Seriously, use the microwave for leftover pizza. Just a little though. We’re only going to warm up the pizza so it doesn’t have to be in the oven for all that long. Turn the microwave’s power down a notch, to something like 50% or 70% power and nuke it until the cheese starts to get a little melty on top; don’t go too crazy.
3. Throw the warmed pizza slices on the preheated skillet.
Here’s the secret ingredient, if you will. Your pizza is warm and the cheese is slightly melty. Your cast iron skillets are all hot and bothered. Throw the pizza on there and let it cook in the oven until they look ready to eat to your liking.
4. Take the pizza out of the oven and enjoy the heck out of it.
Just listen to that sizzle!
Everything is re-cooked to perfection: the crust is crispy, cheese is melted, the taste is hot and delicious. Reheated pizza just cannot get better than this.
Have any pizza reheating tips? Am I cray cray for thinking this is the way to do it? Shout about it in the comments.
PS – this pizza comes from Same Old Place in Jamaica Plain, which so far is the best New York Style pizza I have found in Boston.