Rethermalizing foods has to be done correctly. Otherwise, it will negate some of the many benefits that come from using commercial rethermalizers. This is especially the case with lean poultry. As professional chefs, we all know that chicken is a very unforgiving protein, whether it’s smothered in barbecue sauce or not. It can become dry or worse yet, overcooked on the outside but dangerously raw on the inside. In those instances, there unfortunately ends up being a lot of food waste and elevated health risks for all involved. Clearly, those are two things that no professional chef wants to face.

So, how does one rethermalize barbecue chicken the right way? We’d recommend starting with one of our electric food warmers. All of our food warmers are manufactured using corrosion resistant, heavy-duty steel, solid-state controls and anodized aluminum heat transfer plates. Plus, they are able to rapidly reach temperatures of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or better, which is enough to rethermalize barbecue chicken well within two hours time. The overriding goal, by the way, is to get the pre-cooked chicken’s internal temperature back up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit without losing additional moisture. So, the quicker it comes up to temp, the better.

To help seal in the moisture, kitchen staff consider adding extra sauce and making a foil tent around the barbecue chicken. Between the natural condensation, barbecue sauce and our patented, rethermalizing system, the barbecue chicken should stay nice and juicy throughout the reheating process. Just make sure that the kitchen staff only reheats as much barbecue chicken as they’re going need at one time. After all, food safety guidelines generally dictate that cooked, barbecue chicken should only be reheated once.

To learn more about rethermalizing barbecue chicken and other summer staples using our premium, commercial food warmers, please contact us today. We can help commercial, government and institutional chefs find the right rethermalizing unit to meet their venues’ unique needs.