Shepherd’s pie is a very delicious meal to take, it can be prepared and stored in order to be eaten at a later date. If you have stored some shepherd’s pie inside the freezer or fridge, you will want to know how you should reheat it inside the oven. You have taken time to make your shepherd’s pie and you have successfully stored it. The reheating process should also be done correctly so that you can enjoy it.
What we want to check out is to see the steps you can use to reheat shepherd’s pie inside your oven. We are going to provide the different details of how to reheat shepherd’s pie that you have both refrigerated and frozen so that you will understand both methods irrespective of the storage option you have chosen.
Reheating your Shepherd’s Pie inside an Oven: Step by Step Guide
Things You Should Consider
There are principles you need to consider whenever you want to reheat shepherd’s pies or some other baked items inside the oven. This is for you to make sure that everything tastes exactly the way it should be. The first thing to consider is if the food to be reheated inside your oven is from a refrigerator or a freezer. It is always an easy process when you want to reheat baked goods that are coming from a refrigerator.
What you need to do is to first preheat the oven, remove your food from your fridge, put the food inside an oven-safe container, use aluminum or tin foil to cover your food for moisture to be prevented from being lost, allow the food to bake for your set time, remove your food from the oven, allow it to cool to your desired temperature and then serve it. We will check this out specifically in detail for shepherd’s pie later.
For baked goods that are from the freezer, reheating them may not be a straightforward process as compared to those from the fridge. Some baked items need to first defrost before they are allowed to be reheated inside the oven. Furthermore, when you reheat food from a freezer, you run a risk of your food not having the same taste as previously because of the potential risk associated with freezer burn within a freezer.
The term “freezer burn” refers to a situation when food placed inside the freezer was not covered or sealed properly and as a result, leads to the development of layers of frost that absorbs moisture from your food. It will eventually allow the food to have a stale, less flavorful, and dry taste.
To prevent freezer burn of baked goods, you should always allow the food to completely cool at room temperature just before you place it inside your freezer and you should ensure you always cover your food tightly in an airtight container or seal it with tin foil or saran wrap. Most times, reheating your baked food from the freezer inside the oven will take twice the time it will use to reheat if it is from the refrigerator.
You now know some of the principles and guidelines associated with reheating baked food inside the oven, we should now cover how to reheat your shepherd’s pie to ensure the perfect taste.
Reheating Shepherd’s Pie from your Refrigerator
Usually, there will be leftovers of shepherd’s pie because it is often cooked in large portions for a gathering, dinner, or celebration. If there are some that you have placed inside the fridge and you are ready to use an oven to reheat these leftovers, check the steps to follow below:
- Allow the oven to preheat to a temperature of 350°F (177°C).
- Remove your shepherd’s pie that has been placed inside the fridge, ensure you remove the cover or lid.
- Put the shepherd’s pie inside an oven-safe container. Use a baking dish like a baking pan or a casserole or perhaps a cast iron pot.
- Use aluminum or tin foil to cover your shepherd’s pie. This is a very important step so that the flavor and moisture of the shepherd’s pie will all be kept from getting evaporated. Ensure you seal the aluminum or tin foil excellently well and it should be very much airtight because a slight exposure will result in flavor and moisture loss that could lead to the taste being stale or dry.
- Put the well-covered pie inside your oven and ensure the door of the oven is closed.
- The timer should be set to 30 minutes.
- Remove your shepherd’s pie from your oven after the set 30 minutes have passed.
- Proceed to remove the aluminum or tin foil and then use a fork, toothpick, or knife to stab the middle of the pie down to the base of the dish or pan you placed your shepherd’s pie.
- You should remove the fork, toothpick, or knife to check whether or not it is hot. Your shepherd’s pie has been heated through if is it hot and you can readily serve it. However, if it is not hot, use aluminum or tin foil to re-cover it and return it to your oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- After you have given it this additional time, remove it from your oven, also, remove the aluminum or tin foil and allow it to cool to your desired temperature for some minutes.
- Serve your meal and enjoy it.
Reheating Shepherd’s Pie from a Freezer
Shepherd’s pie that has been stored in a freezer instead of a fridge can be reheated inside the oven by following almost the same process as the process you used to reheat your shepherd’s pie from the refrigerator. There are two options to choose from when you want to reheat shepherd’s pie that has been placed inside the freezer:
- Allow your shepherd’s pie to defrost inside the fridge overnight and then follow our outlined steps above to reheat it inside the oven, now from the refrigerator. Ensure you do not defrost shepherd’s pie inside cold water.
- You should follow the tips and steps we will check out below. The steps are still similar to the ones considered when you reheat your pie from the fridge with the only difference being baking the pie twice the time i.e. 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes.
Generally, when you thaw the shepherd pie inside the refrigerator before you heat it, it will allow the food to heat more evenly. If, however, you do not have time to defrost it, the best you can do is to place it directly inside the oven. Check the steps below to reheat your shepherd’s pie inside the oven directly from the freezer:
- Allow the oven to preheat to a temperature of 350°F (177°C).
- Remove your shepherd’s pie that has been placed inside the fridge, ensure you remove the cover or lid.
- Put the shepherd’s pie inside an oven-safe container. Use a baking dish like a baking pan or a casserole or perhaps a cast iron pot.
- Use aluminum or tin foil to cover your shepherd’s pie. This is a very important step so that the flavor and moisture of the shepherd’s pie will all be kept from getting evaporated. Ensure you seal the aluminum or tin foil excellently well and it should be very much airtight because a slight exposure will result in flavor and moisture loss that could lead to the taste being stale or dry.
- Put the well-covered pie inside your oven and ensure the door of the oven is closed.
- The timer should be set to 60 minutes.
- Remove your shepherd’s pie from your oven after the set 60 minutes have passed.
- Proceed to remove the aluminum or tin foil and then use a fork, toothpick, or knife to stab the middle of the pie down to the base of the dish or pan you placed your shepherd’s pie.
- You should remove the fork, toothpick, or knife to check whether or not it is hot. Your shepherd’s pie has been heated through if is it hot and you can readily serve it. However, if it is not hot, use aluminum or tin foil to re-cover it and return it to your oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
- After you have given it this additional time, remove it from your oven, also, remove the aluminum or tin foil and allow it to cool to your desired temperature for some minutes.
- Serve your meal and enjoy it.
Related Questions
Can I Reheat Shepherd’s Pie More than Once?
If you can ensure to follow the processes of reheating your shepherd’s pie outlined above, there is no problem with reheating it after the first reheat. The reason is that the outlined processes above ensure that the food is heated at a high temperature enough to kill any harmful bacteria.
Can I Reheat Shepherd’s Pie in the Microwave?
Shepherd’s pie can be reheated inside the microwave, but it might end up being soggy and losing its crispy flavor and texture because it is likely not to heat evenly. Just ensure you use a fork or spoon to stir it severally as you heat.
