In the game that is meal prep, a stock of precooked chicken seems like an ace up the sleeve. But while it’s versatile and easy to batch ahead of time, chicken can be surprisingly difficult to reheat successfully. Too often, the meat comes out dry or rubbery, while any once-crispy skin turns pale and flabby.

As someone who eats leftover chicken most days of the week, I often simply bypass the whole reheating process and eat it cold from the refrigerator. But I recognize that’s not an option everyone can get behind. So if the chicken must be reheated, what’s the best way to do it without destroying its texture?

In the name of my fellow chicken lovers, I took a deep dive into this process. Here’s what you need to know:

Deciding How To Reheat Your Chicken

There are a few possible methods for reheating chicken. It’s smart to consider how your specific chicken was originally cooked to decide which to use, i. Was it roasted? The oven might be your best bet. Was it stewed or braised? You might want to pop it in a pot with some of the leftover braising liquid, if you have it, and reheat it gently over low heat. Was it baked in a casserole? You get the idea.

It’s also wise to consider how big the pieces of chicken are, and whether the chicken is still on the bone. Larger, bone-in cuts take longer to heat through, so they usually do better in the oven, where the radial heat can warm them evenly from all angles. On the other hand, boneless or shredded chicken is often better reheated on the stove.

Decided how you’re going to reheat? Then read on for some best practices for each scenario:

How To Reheat Chicken In The Oven

The oven method is best for bone-in chicken, as well as chicken that’s in larger cuts, is skin-on, or was originally cooked in a casserole. If the chicken was cooked in a casserole and is still in that dish, simply reheat it as part of the casserole: heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the covered casserole dish until it’s heated through (an instant-read thermometer should read at least 165 degrees).

If you’re dealing with plain chicken, the process will be similar:

  1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and arrange the chicken in a single layer in a baking dish. For best results, choose a dish that’s just big enough to accommodate the chicken in a single layer without a lot of extra space between the pieces. This will help to prevent the chicken from drying out.
  2. Add enough water or stock to cover just the bottom of the baking dish, then cover the dish tightly with foil. The water will create steam in the sealed dish as the chicken reheats, creating a humid warming chamber that will prevent it from drying out.
  3. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake until the chicken is heated through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the largest piece reads 165 degrees.

If the chicken still has its skin on, and you’d like to try to crisp up the skin, I recommend transferring the chicken to the a broiler-safe pan once it’s warmed through and broiling— watching closely!—until it’s browned and crisp on top. It won’t regain its original texture completely, but it will definitely help.

How To Reheat Chicken On The Stove

If your chicken is in smaller, boneless pieces, or has been shredded, the stove is a great way to go:

  1. Place the chicken in the bottom of a small pot or pan. Again, keeping the vessel small will help prevent the chicken from drying out.
  2. Add just enough liquid to cover the bottom of the pan. If the chicken was cooked in a flavorful liquid, use that liquid instead of water. You could also use chicken broth, if you happen to have it.
  3. Cover and heat on medium-low until the chicken is warmed through. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the largest piece should read 165 degrees F.
  4. At that point, you can uncover the pot and remove it from the heat, but I recommend leaving the chicken in the liquid in the pot until you’re ready to serve. Draining and exposing it to a drier environment while it’s still hot will dry it out.

How To Reheat Chicken In The Microwave

I strongly UNrecommend this: microwaving chicken is the fastest, surest way to wind up with dry, rubbery results. But if you’re in a hurry, heating up a single-sized portion, AND your stove has suddenly stopped working, you could use a microwave in a pinch. Add the chicken to a bowl with a few tablespoons of water and heat in 10-second increments, checking after each, just until the chicken is heated through. Not recommended but possible.

But WAIT! Let It Rest

Once your chicken has been reheated, it’s important to let it rest at least 5 minutes before digging in. Just like when it was initially cooked, all the juices are moving rapidly through the meat. If they don’t have time to settle, they will immediately spill out when you cut into the chicken, leaving you with—you guessed it!—dry chicken. You went to a LOT of effort to reheat that chicken properly—don’t let impatience ruin it in the end.