I have handed out and taken home more cold pizza than most people will eat in a lifetime. After every tour, every corporate dinner, every "oh just bring the rest home" moment, I end up with a box of tomorrow's lunch in the fridge. And let me tell you something: that pizza is precious. A perfect Pizano's thin crust or a slab of Lou Malnati's deep dish does not deserve to die in a microwave.
There is a better way. Three of them, actually. One on the stovetop, one in the oven, and a special move for deep dish. All of them are simple, none of them take longer than fifteen minutes, and every one will beat the microwave.
First, Put Down the Microwave
I know, I know. The microwave is right there. Ninety seconds and you are eating. I get it. But here is what is actually happening inside that box of radiation: the water molecules in your crust are vibrating so violently they steam themselves into rubber. Your cheese turns into a glossy little lake. Your toppings go rogue. And the bottom of the slice? Soggy. Always soggy.
You deserve better. Chicago pizza deserves better.
The Skillet Method
This is the one I come back to every time. Three minutes, no preheating, no oven, no babysitting. The trick is starting in a cold pan: the bottom of the slice crisps slowly and evenly instead of scorching before the top is warm. Here is the whole thing.
Jonathan's Method
Skillet + Steam = Perfect Reheated Slice
- Put the slice in a cold pan. No preheating. Drop your cold slice straight into a dry, cold skillet, non-stick or cast iron both work. No oil, no butter, nothing.
- Medium heat, two minutes. Turn the burner to medium. The pan and the slice come up to temperature together, and the bottom crisps slowly instead of burning.
- Add a few drops of water. Cover for one minute. Flick three or four drops of water into the pan beside the slice, not on top of it. Slam a lid on right away. The steam melts the cheese from above while the pan keeps crisping the crust from below.
- Pull it out and eat. After the minute under the lid, the cheese is glossy and melted, the crust is crackling, and the slice is as close to fresh as day-old pizza can get.
Why It Works
Good reheating is about doing two things at once. You want conduction on the bottom (direct, high, dry heat) to crisp the crust. And you want steam or radiant heat on top to melt the cheese evenly without turning it into an oil slick. The microwave can't give you either. A skillet with a lid gives you both at once in about three minutes. A ripping-hot baking sheet in a preheated oven does the same job for a crowd. And the foil trick on deep dish protects the cheese from scorching while the middle catches up.
"The skillet crisps the bottom. The steam does the cheese. That is the whole secret, and it is the best slice of day-old pizza you will ever eat."
The Oven Method
When you are reheating a pile of slices instead of just one, the oven earns its keep. The trick is to preheat a baking sheet along with the oven, crank it to 450°F and let the sheet get ripping hot. That hot metal mimics a pizza stone. When the oven is ready, slide your slices directly onto the baking sheet and give them three or four minutes. A quick blast of heat from below, crisp bottom, no soggy parchment.
This is also the move when you are feeding a group. The skillet is one slice at a time. The oven feeds a table.
The Deep Dish Save
Deep dish is a different animal. A slab of Lou Malnati's or a wedge of Giordano's is basically a casserole. There is so much mass in the middle that high heat will cremate the edges before the center even thinks about warming up.
Drop the oven to 350°F and cover the slice loosely with foil. The lower temperature buys the center time to catch up, and the foil shields the crust and cheese while the heat slowly works its way through the middle. Give it 10 to 15 minutes depending on thickness, pull the foil off for the last minute if you want the top to re-crisp, and you will have cheese pulling like day one.
Or, You Know, Just Eat It Fresh
The best pizza never needs reheating. That is the deeper lesson here. Come on a tour and you will eat so much fresh pizza, straight out of the oven, from three of Chicago's best pizzerias, that leftovers are barely a concept. You will learn the styles. You will meet the owners. You will take home a little cardboard box of heaven at the end, and at least now you will know what to do with it on Monday.
But until then, skillet, oven, or foil-covered deep dish save. Pick the one that fits the slice in your fridge. Report back.
