The Best Way to Reheat Pizza

This post takes me back where it all began! Twelve years ago I packed two bags and moved to Peru. I spent a lot of time cooking and was quite successful despite the limited resources. I was able prepared most of my own meals as my tiny studio apartment came furnished with a stove/oven. I maintained a healthy vegetarian diet by eating at home, but I did have one weakness, French fries. Yes thats right, I needed something greasy and salty to remind me of home. The French fries were like a comfort food. I began dreaming of other ¨comfort foods¨ that I could make and I added moms chili and veggie spinach lasagna to the list. Then, I was faced with reheating food. How do you reheat a single serving of lasagna? My apartment did not have a microwave and I really didn’t need one. The oven, I though, was another option, but it seemed like such a waste of energy to heat up the entire house for a serving of lasagna or a slice of pizza, I knew there had to be a better way.

Then one morning I awoke thinking about having pizza for breakfast, and there it was, the skillet sitting on the stove top. I have to admit the idea of reheating pizza in a skillet is really quite obvious and that I was not the first person to discover this method, however there are some details worth mentioning. Also, while reheating a slice of pizza in a skillet can re-crisp the bottom crust, the difficulty lies in melting the cheese and heating the toppings all the way through. And this, you will see, is where my method diverges from the rest of the pack.

First, not all skillets are created equal, many skillets have questionable coatings, and for that reason I prefer to use cast iron, which I actually use for most of my cooking anyway. The cast iron heats evenly and distributes the heat without burning.

I thought that by using not only the skillet but also a round griddle of the same size I could create a Dutch Oven. I use a 10in. skillet and griddle.

This is how it works. Place the one or two slices of pizza in the skillet and turn on the gas, at the same time begin heating the griddle, both on high. Just before the skillet begins to smoke, turn both off and place the griddle on top of the skillet like a lid. You have just created a Dutch Oven, as you are now heating from above and below. At this point you can relax, nothing can burn as you are heating without gas, and you have 5-6 minutes to take your time prepare a salad or the table. Sometimes I will turn the gas on again under the skillet, on high, but only for about 30 seconds.

There´s no need to say more, just watch the video…

…and remember, the real secret to restoring that crispy, charred crust you crave… lies in using the combination of cast iron skillet and griddle.