Heating up roasted veg

December 21, 2022 4:35 PM

I'm making roasted vegetables for Christmas. I can cook them at my host's house, but it'd be better if I could pre-cook and warm up. What's my best way to reheat roasted vegetables?
posted by Eyebrows McGee to Food & Drink (8 answers total)

I would par-cook them at home if you really must - with little or no oil or salt, then spread them out on the sheet pan at your host so you have a longest possible window to reheat/finish roasting without overcooking. And add your fat and salt at the second cook. But I would reconsider, if possible, and arrive at your host with prep’d but raw veggies. I think you’ll get a better result.
posted by janell at 4:38 PM on December 21, 2022 [6 favorites]

Microwave!
posted by starstarstar at 4:41 PM on December 21, 2022

If you're roasting stuff, a microwave will just turn crispy to chewy. I would roast the veg until it's about half-done, then cool it in the refrigerator. Transport it chilled, then give it half an hour in the oven at a high temperature at your host's house to finish the cooking and crisp up the veg.
posted by pipeski at 5:00 PM on December 21, 2022 [4 favorites]

A lot depends on which vegetables.
posted by vunder at 6:05 PM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

That oven roasted char never comes out the same if it's not fresh. I'd cook them for tenderness ahead of time (steamed or roasted at a low temperature, depending on what you're cooking) and then reheat them at a higher-than-normal temp, possibly broil to get that finishing char. That would use the least amount of oven time.

However, they'll just come out better if you can pre-season/oil at home, toss them on a baking pan, and pop in the oven to cook at your host's house. You can select the quickest-cooking veggies and it'll be the same amount of oven time as trying to reheat something.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:17 PM on December 21, 2022

Do you have an air fryer? Do they? Bring the veg and roast them there if so. If not, well, you should probably get an air fryer anyway.

But yes, parcook them and finish roasting when you get there. Make sure to use a decent amount of oil or it will all just dry out instead of crisping.

Absolutely no to the microwave suggestion.
posted by ananci at 7:21 PM on December 21, 2022 [1 favorite]

Roast them in a disposable pan until 60%.

Get host oven preheated to desired temp, give it 5 minutes to equilibrate, then broil to finish. Flip halfway. Would be my way to go, veg-depending.

Winter (stupid thick-arsed) asparagus is upon us. Tossed in oil, rubbed with coarse salt and onion|garlic granules is an easy for this method.

The chunked root-vegs in a foil pouch w/ Italian dressing works well here, too, but no need to flip.

My go-to in my youth was a yam/sweet-potato w/ various raw sugars. I baked it to 70-80% in a corningware with a lid, got to the destination early enough, and let if finish (lid on) when another dish(es) was getting reheated in the oven.
posted by porpoise at 11:11 PM on December 21, 2022

For dense starchy veg, microwave them, but first, at home! Have them be not quite cooked through (so a knife has some resistance but you can poke it through with a little effort). You can get a more even zap by having a dish of water in the microwave to create steam. Anyway, let them cool on a sheet tray so the steam evaporates and doesn’t make everything super soggy, and then toss with your fat and spices. At your destination, spread them back out into a single layer and roast in a hot oven to get browned crispness, flipping halfway through. You don’t have to worry about them being tender in the middle this way so you can use a hotter oven just to focus on getting browning faster.

For tender veg like asparagus or broccoli, you can probably just do the whole shebang at your destination, but you could also parboil things at home, toss with flavors, head out, and then broil or grill last minute.

Don’t discount the microwave, just think of it as more of a prep tool than a finishing tool.
posted by Mizu at 6:48 AM on December 22, 2022 [1 favorite]