A fresh, hot Popeyes biscuit is a precious thing: tender, salty, and greasy—everything you want a fast food (or, sometimes, a homemade) biscuit to be. But something terrible happens once they cool. Something dark. They harden into impenetrable pucks of sadness, unworthy of consumption by man or beast. (I would not feed a cold Popeyes biscuit to my dog. I love her too much.)
You might think “ordering fewer biscuits” or “eating them all very quickly” would be the move to make to avoid having leftovers, but the family meal includes a predetermined amount, and I always order for a family of four. Luckily, I have discovered a way to revive a sad Popeyes biscuit. (Update: Yes, I have tried wrapping one in a damp paper towel and microwaving it for 30 seconds, but I’ve found that can leave the biscuit vaguely rubbery in spots, and you do not get that oh-so-delicate crust like you do with the air fryer.)
I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that an appliance capable of reheating cold, cardboard-y french fries is also capable of reheating a biscuit, but I was mildly shocked but how well it handled the task. Unlike french fries, however, you want to approach the biscuits with a gentler heat. If you come in too hot, you run the risk of crisping up the outside of the biscuit, while the inside retains the texture of cold hardtack.
By setting the whipping winds of your tiny convection oven at 250℉, you can get the grease in a fridge-cold biscuit moving and grooving without drying anything out. After 10 minutes, you’ll have a tender, hot biscuit that is once again fit to eat. You may need to increase the time as you add biscuits to the basket, but only a couple minutes. And even though time is money, 15 or so minutes for revived Popeyes biscuits is quite a steal.
Updated at 3:30 pm on 05/11/21 to include a note about the microwave.