So you’ve got some boil-in-the-bag seafood leftovers from the weekend, or perhaps you’re looking to finish off the last of yesterday’s clambake, and you’re wondering how to reheat it. Well, you’ve come to the right place! Reheating seafood needs to be done properly, which is why we’ve laid out the best, safest, tastiest methods for you below.
To learn how to reheat seafood (boil in a bag method), simply follow our step-by-step tutorials below. For all additional information, or if you have any other questions, please see our FAQ section at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to reheat a seafood boil (Oven Method #1)
This method works best if you’re reheating a dry mix, or clambake.
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C)
- Remove your seafood boil bag(s) from the fridge (provided it’s been in there no longer than four (4) days)
- Line a baking tray (or two) with baking paper or foil (either is fine)
- Spread out the contents of your seafood boil bag(s) on the trays, nice and evenly
- Put the trays in the oven and allow the seafood boil/clambake to heat through for 10-15 minutes
- Check that your food is piping hot inside and out before removing from the oven
- Note: If the food needs longer, pop back in and check again after five (5) minutes; repeat this process until the seafood boil is reheated thoroughly
- Note: If the food needs longer, pop back in and check again after five (5) minutes; repeat this process until the seafood boil is reheated thoroughly
- Serve and enjoy!
How to reheat a seafood boil (Oven Method #2)
This method works best if you’re reheating a seafood boil bag or seafood broth.
- Preheat your oven to 350F (180C)
- Remove your seafood boil bag(s) from the fridge (provided it’s been in there no longer than four (4) days)
- Pop your seafood into a heavy duty casserole dish (with a lid). You can either pour the broth and seafood right into the dish, or put it in inside its bag.
- Place the casserole dish in the oven and allow the seafood boil/clambake to heat through for 10-15 minutes
- Check that your food is piping hot inside and out before removing from the oven
- Note: If the food needs longer, pop back in and check again after five (5) minutes; repeat this process until the seafood boil is reheated thoroughly
- Serve and enjoy!
How to reheat a seafood boil (Stovetop Method #1)
This method works best if you’re reheating a seafood broth.
- Remove your seafood broth from the fridge (provided it’s been in there no longer than four (4) days)
- Tip the broth, veggies and seafood into a large saucepan (no need for a lid)
- Place the saucepan on a medium-high heat on the stove
- Bring the broth to a simmer and heat through for 10-15 minutes until the broth and its contents are piping hot
- Note: If the food needs longer, pop back in and check again after five (5) minutes; repeat this process until the seafood boil is reheated thoroughly
- Serve and enjoy!
How to reheat a seafood boil (Stovetop Method #2)
This method works best if you’re reheating a seafood boil bag, or clambake.
- Remove your seafood broth from the fridge (provided it’s been in there no longer than four (4) days)
- Set your steamer (with a lid) on the stove and get the water boiling.
- Note: If you don’t have a steamer, you can use an ordinary pot or pan two-thirds full of boiling water, and boil the seafood in its bag/clambake directly in the water for around 10 minutes.
- Tip your clambake into the steamer compartment, or pop the seafood boil-in-the-bag in still in its bag, and heat through for 10-15 minutes, until the leftovers are piping hot
- Note: If the food needs longer, pop back in and check again after five (5) minutes; repeat this process until the seafood boil is reheated thoroughly
- Serve and enjoy!
And there you have four different, safe, hygienic, and tasty methods for reheating leftover boil-in-the-bag seafood, seafood boils, or clambakes. If you have any other questions, check out our FAQs down below!
FAQs
What is boil-in-a-bag seafood?
Known also as a seafood boil, boil-in-a-bag seafood is a culinary delight of the American table. A product of African seafood cooking combined with the native vegetables of North America – corn and yam (sweet potato) – a seafood boil typically consists of shrimp, lobster, crab, scallops, sausages, potatoes and sweetcorn. These ingredients are cooked together in a large bag with stock and spices to form a tasty soup, or steamed in the bag without broth as a clambake.
Is it safe to reheat seafood?
Typically, boil-in-a-bag seafood, or clambakes, are made in large quantities to feed a lot of hungry people at once. As happens in such situations, it’s quite common to find yourself laden down with leftovers for days. Naturally, you don’t want to let those leftovers go to waste, which is why you’re here: looking for ways to reheat your seafood so that it’s safe to eat.
We’re happy to tell you that it is safe to reheat seafood. However, as with meat, reheating seafood requires care and attention. Whilst vegetables tend to remain fresh and fine for eating for long periods of time, meat, fish, and seafood go off much quicker. That’s why we highly recommend paying close attention to our instructions up above, so that you can ensure you reheat your seafood safely.
The most important thing to ensure is that your seafood boil is heated through until piping hot inside and out. Do that, and you should always be fine.
How long does cooked seafood keep for?
As soon as you find yourself with leftovers, make sure you put them in an airtight container (you can put them in a container in their original bag, if you like), and store them in the refrigerator immediately. In the fridge, your seafood boil-in-a-bag mix will last up to but no longer than four (4) days.
Of course, your leftovers are going to be tastiest and healthiest eaten the next day, or two days after they are originally cooked. Do not eat seafood that was cooked more than four (4) days ago.
How many times can you reheat cooked seafood or a seafood boil?
This goes for just about any food you plan to reheat, but it is especially important to note for seafood boils and boil-in-a-bag seafood: you should only ever reheat your seafood boil once (1 time), and no more. Reheating meat, fish, or seafood multiple times is a surefire way to get food poisoning, which can – in worst case scenarios – land you in hospital.
What is the best way to reheat boil-in-a-bag seafood?
The answer to this question depends upon what kind of seafood boil you’re looking to reheat. If you’ve got a seafood stew or soup of sorts, with a broth or sauce, then you’ll need to use a reheating method which keeps all of the liquid in – such as reheating in a casserole dish in the oven, or in its bag in a pan of boiling water on the stove.
Alternatively, if you’re looking to reheat a boil-in-the-bag clambake, you could always opt to reheat it on a tray lined with parchment paper/baking paper in the oven, since there’s no broth to worry about. This method gets rid of any unwanted sliminess, too, since it dries out and heats up the seafood mix. However, if you wanted to keep the boil-bag and thus retain the juices of the seafood, you could also use the stovetop boiling pan method.
Can you reheat a seafood boil/boil-in-the-bag seafood in the microwave?
Technically, you can reheat plenty of things, including your clambake or seafood boil, in the microwave. However, having said that, we would urge you not to try it. The microwave tends to make things like meat, fish and seafood go greasy and rubbery in texture, sometimes impairing the taste too. It’s better instead to take a little more time and reheat your boil-in-the-bag seafood using one of the methods we describe above.
