Reheating Steak In An Air Fryer (Complete Guide)

Air fryers are extremely versatile cooking machines that can do a lot more than just fry food!

If you have leftover steak in the fridge then there is a better and more efficient way to heat it than going the typical oven route.

Reheating steak in an air fryer, how do you do it? Air fryers work in the same way as ovens but use convection cooking that is far superior at heating food from all sides. You can reheat the steak at either 320°F for 5 minutes or at 380°F for 2-3 minutes on both sides using most air fryers. 

There is a lot more to reheating steaks in the air fryer than just the timing and temperature. Read below to learn more about how these portable ovens work and how you can reheat leftover steak without drying it.

Air Fryer Basics

Before we get into the reheating method, let’s quickly go through the basics of how air fryers work. This will help you understand the science behind reheating cooked steak and how not to overdo it. 

Air fryers can be thought of as portable ovens that use the same technique to heat food as ovens, but with one huge difference:

Air fryers use powerful fans that direct the heat around the cooking chamber, thereby evenly distributing hot air around the food instead of just on the surface.

Most old ovens use a heating technique called “conventional” heating which relies on cooking food via ambient heat generated by fixed heating elements.

It can also be thought of as “indirect” cooking where the heating rods are not directly in contact with food. 

However, when you add a fan in front of the heating element, you will then be using convection heating, where the transfer of heat is via a molecular motion aided by the fan. 

Why Does Convection Heating Matter?

How big of a difference does convection heating make?

Convection heating can result in better-textured food that is more succulent and is sufficiently cooked on all sides, often without you having to move it around. 

This technique is what air fryers use to heat or cook food within a few minutes. Air fryers can cook food faster which means that you need to keep an eye on the cooking time and temperature. 

To put this efficiency in context:

If it takes 30 minutes for a conventional oven to perfectly heat a piece of cold pre-cooked steak, it will take an air fryer just 10 minutes for the same type of meat.

Heating Steaks: Other Methods and Drawbacks

Most people traditionally use an oven or a microwave to reheat steak but there are a few drawbacks to these heating methods. 

Drawbacks of Reheating Steak in the Oven

First of all, ovens can be a bit too harsh on the meat. They can also dry it out.

Ovens work by building up to a certain temperature and then maintaining that temperature for an extended period. 

While this method is excellent for foods that require slow cooking, it can be damning for pre-cooked food that just requires a quick reheat.

Ovens are notorious for over-drying steak. They can easily overcook the meat and also have the potential of turning a medium-steak to well-done or worse. 

There is also a paradox with heating the steak using the oven method:

Slowly heating the steak using a lower temperature and leaving the meat in for longer can evaporate the moisture in the steak and toughen its texture.

On the other hand, cooking the steak on high heat for shorter periods can leave cold spots and can also superficially dry up the meat. 

You might think the answer lies in the middle of both scenarios, but you’d be wrong. 

See, even if you use the right balance of heat and time, you will still require around 25-30 minutes until the steak is done reheating. 

Another problem is that not many people can get this method right. 

There are a lot of factors that go into reheating steak in the oven like the resting temperature of the meat, the preheating time, selecting the best distance (rack) from the heat source. Then you get into the nitty-gritty of the temperature and time. 

This can be confusing and too difficult for people who have zero experience in the kitchen. 

Drawbacks of Reheating Steak in the Microwave

The microwave is the best and worst way to reheat a steak.

Microwaves work using microwave energy that energizes the water and fat molecules in the steak to the point that they start vibrating. This vibration generates friction which creates heat, thereby heating the food from the inside out. 

The great thing about this heating method is that it can quickly heat a cold steak in a matter of minutes – and that too without you having to flip or move the food. 

The drawback is that it is also the best way to overcook a steak in a matter of seconds. 

What To Consider When Cooking And Reheating A Steak

Cooking a steak is an art and requires careful consideration! Here is a quick rundown to give you an idea of how quickly it can cook using any direct heating method.

There are five levels or stages of doneness:

1. Rare
2. Medium-rare
3. Medium
4. Medium-well
5. Well done

Each stage takes just a few minutes of cooking time:

• Rare steaks take only 1 minute to cook on each side.
• Medium-rare steaks take around 2 minutes on each side.
• Medium steaks cook for around 3 minutes.
• Medium-well requires 4 minutes.
• Well done steaks take about 5 minutes of slow cooking. 

There is a considerable focus on temperature for each stage as well. 

But when you use a microwave, you are essentially blasting the meat with high energy that can penetrate deep into the tissue or meat fibers. And this penetration happens much more efficiently than any direct cooking method! 

Unlike other heating methods that slowly cook food from the outside, microwaves can quickly cook the food from the inside.

That means that you can potentially push a rare steak into the well-done stage in a matter of minutes – or even seconds, depending on the energy output of the appliance and resting temperature of the steak.

Reheating Steak in an Air Fryer

Air fryers do a fantastic job at quickly reheating steaks without overcooking or over-drying them. 

They achieve this feat by creating a bubble of hot air around the food which heats it evenly from all sides. 

As the meat heats, the fibers loosen up and give way to the hot air which can penetrate the superficial layer of the steak thanks to the high-powered fan.

This causes a cascading reaction which ultimately heats the food from the outside without:

1. Drying the meat,
2. Overcooking the texture,
3. Or changing the doneness level of the steak. 

But there are a few things to keep in mind.

Reheating Steak In An Air Fryer: What To Know

Air fryers can vary from model to model. This variance can cause a huge difference in cooking times and the cooking capacity of the air fryer. 

In most cases, you only need to follow a simple baseline temperature and time before relying on your senses to finish heating the steak. 

For example, if a small and inferior air fryer takes 10 minutes to reheat a cold steak, it could take just 5 minutes for a bigger and more advanced air fryer to do the same job.

When we say advanced, we mean better designed because there is only so much that you can do with air fryers, given that their core operation revolves around a pair of heating elements and a fan. 

Better-designed air fryers usually have strategically placed air fins inside the cooking chamber. They may use a more efficient and powerful motor to run the fan. 

You can usually find these fins as grooves on the walls or base of the air fryer. While this may not seem like much, it can make a huge difference in heating food!

How Long To Reheat Steak In An Air Fryer?

So, now that you know everything about air fryers and the pitfalls of using alternative methods of reheating steak, let’s get into the steps for reheating steak in an air fryer. 

Here is what you need to do:

First: Make sure that you use a thawed and refrigerated steak instead of a frozen piece of meat. Always store frozen leftovers in the fridge the night before if you intend to eat them the next day! 

We recommend that you use a cooking thermometer for this heating method for the best results. 

Here’s how to reheat your steak in an air fryer:

1. Begin by preheating the air fryer to 380°F for 5 minutes. This will prep the heating element and will help create a stable starting temperature within the chamber. 
2. Lightly spray some non-stick oil or coat the basket base with butter to insulate it. 
3. Place the cold steak in the middle of the basket. If you have multiple leftover steaks then add only as many as you can comfortably fit in the basket. Do not overcrowd the basket because air has to circulate around the meat.
4. Now set the air fryer to 320°F and the time to 5 minutes. Let the steak reheat undisturbed. 
5. After 5 minutes, take out the basket and carefully flip the steak. 
6. Reset the air fryer and set the temperature to 320°F. But this time, set the timer for 4 minutes. 
7. After 4 minutes, take out the basket and use a cooking thermometer to probe the center of the steak. The temperature should reach around 135°F. You can also test the surface and doneness of the meat by pressing it down with your finger or cutting it with a knife.

If you notice that the steak requires more time then we recommend reheating the steak at 320°F for an additional 2-3 minutes. 

Please keep in mind that cooking times can vary depending on your specific air fryer model and the resting temperature of the meat. 

Doneness Variation with Air Fryers

If you want to properly reheat and cook steak in an air fryer then you will need to let the meat heat for longer. But how long should you leave it in?

This is where you will need a cooking thermometer for the best results. If you don’t have a cooking thermometer then we recommend getting this one.

Begin by assessing the current doneness level of the steak. 

If you ordered the steak the night before, then you should know exactly how you ordered it. Or you could just follow your preference of how you usually have your steaks. 

The trick for cooking the steak doesn’t lie in the cooking time and temperature. Rather it lies in the internal temperature of the meat! 

Using this strategy, you can easily reheat or recook leftover steak and change its doneness level without using mathematical formulas for converting cooking times of raw steak to cooking times for pre-cooked steak.

Here’s a handy chart for quickly determining the doneness level of the meat:

Doneness Stage	Internal Temperature
Rare	125°F
Medium-rare	135°F
Medium	145°F
Medium-well	155°F
Well done	165°F+

If the steak has been cooked to medium-rare, then all you need is to set the temperature of the air fryer to either 320°F or 380°F and then continue heating the leftover steak for 2-3 minutes (320°F) or 4-5 minutes (380°F) on each.

Pro Tip: Always check the doneness of the meat before flipping it over. 

Stick the probe into the center of the meat and match the internal temperature to the chart above. You can then continue heating the steak until you reach the desired internal temperature, which corresponds with the doneness of the meat. 

Tips and Tricks

• Try to keep frozen steak out at room temperature for 30 minutes. This will allow the meat to naturally warm up. DO NOT keep the meat out for more than an hour or it might spoil! 

• You can add a bit of light seasoning to the steak to freshen its flavor. A simple combination of salt and pepper is an excellent way to “wake up” leftover steak. 

• Once the steak is out of the air fryer, allow it to rest for 5 minutes. This will help the meat reabsorb all the juices, making it succulent. 

• If you aren’t preheating the air fryer then add a minute of cooking time on each side. But we recommend that you preheat the air fryer and naturally warm up the steak at room temperature for the best experience. 

• Work quickly when reheating steak. If you take a lot of time in flipping the meat then you might affect the reheating process by exposing the steak to the relatively cooler room temperature.  

Related Questions

Reheating steak in an air fryer is a fantastic way of revitalizing the meat without overdoing it! Now that you know all about reheating steak in an air fryer, here are some related questions: 

Can You Reheat The Steak On A Pan?

Yes, but we don’t recommend you use this method. It is the easiest way to overcook the meat and evaporate most of its juices.

The pan method is mostly suitable for raw meat. You should be very careful when reheating cooked steak. 

Can You Reheat The Steak Using Sous?

Yes, the sous vide method can be an excellent way to retain the moisture and texture of reheated steak.

However, it requires a thermal immersion circulator machine that can carefully reheat the meat while it is submerged underwater using precise temperature controls. 

Can You Cook Steak In An Air Fryer?

Yes, just as you can reheat steak in an air fryer, you can also cook it using raw meat! 

Steak is ideally cooked at higher temperatures of around 400°F. A raw steak typically requires 7 minutes on one side and 3-6 minutes on the other side for medium-rare doneness.

Please check the internal temperature of the meat to make sure that it is cooked properly.

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