Re-heating that “Magical Moment”

Top Tips for Re-heating Monical’s Thin Crust Pizza

 We love to tell our guests then when it comes to our pizza, we are experts at creating that “Magical Moment.”  You know, that moment when the cheese settles and the pieces separate into deliciously crisp, bite-sized squares of flavor-filled perfection.  While that moment lasts through the meal, we get questions all the time about how to create that moment at home without taking home one of our team members.  Whether you’re working with take home Monical’s or even leftover Monical’s here are a few of the top re-heating tips we’ve put together over the years.

Re-heating Overview:

Once you’ve got that pizza in your house, you have a decision to make – do you just want it warm, or do you want it warm and crispy?  The Monical’s Magical Moment we’re trying to re-create is all about the pizza being crisp and warm…so that’s where we’ll spend most of our time.  But if you’re in the microwave crowd, don’t worry – we’ve got a ”hot” tip in here for you, too.

No matter which method you choose, when it comes to re-heating pizza, you always have to start with pizza that is at room temperature.  So before re-heating, pull your pizza out of the refrigerator and let it sit for approximately 15-20 minutes. (Reminder: do not leave pizza unsupervised during this process – our pizza has a tendency to mysteriously disappear when left unattended.)

Stove Top:

Get out the trusty old frying pan (bonus points if it’s a cast iron skillet) and turn the burner on low for a 1-2 minutes to warm up the bottom of your pan.  While the pan gets warm, prepare a tin foil dome to act as a cover. *For a crispier crust, one family member suggests brushing a very slight layer of butter on the bottom of each pizza slice. With the pan warm and the dome ready, place your room temperature pizza in the pan and heat at medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes while the pan is covered with the domed foil lid. The foil will help reflect heat back to the toppings without trapping steam inside.

Oven:

How you re-heat using an oven will vary between oven types and based on what you are placing the pizza on for warming. If you are using a pizza stone, place that in the oven.  If you do not have a stone, place a sheet of foil directly on the oven’s surface. Set the oven to preheat to 450 – 475 degrees and lay the room temperature slices on the stone/foil.  Leave the pizza in until the oven finishes pre-heating or until you see the cheese bubbling.

Toaster Oven:

Toaster ovens are a good option if they are available. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put your room temperature slices on some foil for about 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.

Microwave Oven:

This is the least preferred method for heating, but we would be remiss to leave this option out. Crispiness is not really an option here, but we do have a trick to keeping the pizza crust moist.  Place your room temperature pizza in the microwave, with a cup of water, and use the defrost setting in 30 sec. increments to prevent overheating. Remove when warm.

If you have tried one of these or have your own way we may have missed, please take a minute to share your thoughts.