Sous Vide Chicken Wings Recipe: The PERFECT Wings

I love chicken wings. I’ve tested making them all sorts of ways over the years. Friends, this is the 3-step method that provides the best results consistently. Prepare yourself for the perfect chicken wings. Juicy meat, crispy skin. Perfection.

What sets this method for cooking chicken wings apart from others is anchored in using two techniques: sous vide and dry brining. In addition to frying, of course.

Step 1 – Why Sous Vide Chicken Wings

Cooking sous vide doesn’t just ensure the chicken meat is perfectly cooked. It’s particularly effective with chicken wings because it takes away any chewiness by melting away the collagen-rich connective tissue.

In addition, cooking sous vide tenderizes the meat and dials up the chicken flavor. There’s no better way to amp up the juiciness than to cook the wings in their own juices, low and slow. Yeah baby, as my three year would say.

Step 2 – Why Dry Brine Chicken Wings

After I sous vide I dry brine the wings overnight. Dry brining deeply seasons the meat. Dry brining also helps the meat retain its natural moisture while cooking. Furthermore, it aids in creating crispier skin on the wings as the meat’s surface will be drier than it has ever been. That’s three wins for dry brining, if you’re counting.

Step 3 – Why Fry Sous Vide Chicken Wings

Frying sous vide wings as the final step is the best way to keep crisp the skin without overcooking the meat. You need the most intense blast of heat and no doubt the oil helps in crisping.

Benefits of This Method for Wings

This is the perfect combination of methods to produce a fantastic chicken wing. That in itself should be enough.

Added bonus, you can sous vide frozen chicken wings perfectly safely, without the need to thaw. Just add a half an hour to your cook time. I keep a bag of party wings in my freezer at all times.

Need more? You’re par cooking the wings to finish quickly when the time comes. You can freeze the wings sous vide after the dry brine to have on hand for a quick fry whenever you like.

Last one. You cook the chicken wing meat exactly to your liking in an easily repeatable way. I like 160°F for 1.5 hours. Play with the temperature in 5 degree increments. Extend the time up or down by half an hour. You do you. Once you’ve found your golden temp and time, play on repeat.

Time and Temperature Range for Sous Vide Chicken Wings

My general guidance would be to stay between 140-175°F for temperature and 1-3 hours for time. Time and temp should be treated as inversely correlated. In other words, if you’re cooking at a lower temp like 140°F use the longer cook time of 3 hours. If you’re cooking at 175°F, 1 hour will suffice.

One thing to note is that collagen begins to melt at 160°F. That’s why my two base recommended temperatures are at or above 160°F. At the end, an internal temp of 175°F is ideal for chicken wings, which we get to with deep frying to finish.

Drawbacks of This Method for Wings

Time. Not labor intensive time, but time nonetheless. It does take some forethought.

If this is a real issue for you, and if you have an air fryer, you can use their fryer for about three minutes a side after cooking sous vide for pretty darn good chicken wings. You could skip the dry brining step with this method, saving you A LOT of time.

Ingredients

Sous Vide Wings

• Chicken wings
• Kosher salt
• Peanut oil

Buffalo Sauce

• Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce
• Butter
• Garlic powder
• Pepper

See recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.

Substitutions

In place of peanut oil, canola oil or corn oil are also great oils to fry chicken.

If you don’t have Frank’s RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce on hand, but you do have Frank’s RedHot Sauce, you can just add a stick of butter per one cup of the sauce. You can also use any sauce of your choosing.

If you don’t have garlic powder or pepper, no big deal.

Special Equipment Needed

• Sous vide machine (there are a lot of affordable options)
• Wire rack
• Instant read thermometer (to read oil temperature)
• Spider strainer or skimmer

Step-by-Step Directions

1. Set your sous vide machine to 160°F.
2. Bag the chicken wings. Use a vacuum sealer or water displacement method to void the bag of air. You may need to portion the wings into more than one bag. Drop the bag into the sous vide bath for 2 hours when it reaches temp.
3. Remove wings from the bag(s), wipe off gelatin and pat dry. Set wings on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and salt. Place uncovered in fridge for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours or so.
4. Just before serving, heat Frank’s, butter, garlic powder and pepper in a small saucepan. Use medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. The sauce is ready when the butter has completely melted.
5. Fry the wings in small batches in 400°F oil in a deep pot or wok. Do your best to keep the oil at 400°F by adjusting the heat. Move the wings around occasionally with a skimmer or spider strainer to ensure all sides are cooked evenly. You’re looking for a golden brown color, which should take 3-4 minutes. If it takes longer, your oil isn’t hot enough.
6. Dry the wings on a paper towel. Add them to a bowl along with the hot sauce and toss to coat.

Modifications

Adjust the time and temperature to your liking. If you like wings with some springiness to them versus fall off the bone tender, try 165°F for 1 hour.

Use any sauce of your liking.

You can finish the wings another way rather than frying if you prefer. See below for what works for the various methods of finishing sous vide chicken wings from our experience. Ultimately, you’re looking for a golden brown.

Sous Vide Chicken Wing Finishing Time and Temp by Method

You can skip the dry brining step if you need to save time. If you do, salt before you cook the chicken wings sous vide. Make sure you pat the wings dry before finishing, unless you are smoking the sous vide chicken wings to finish.

Chicken Wings Expert Tips

• I know it’s tempting to skip the dry brining step, but don’t if you can help it.
• Buy whole wings and cut them to save a lot of money.
• Do not use EVOO when frying chicken wings.
• Do not be temperature obsessed with chicken wings. The perfect wings will be well above the 165°F people generally look for.
• If you finish your wings sous vide on the smoker, spritz every half hour with apple juice to enhance smokiness.
• Boneless wings aren’t really chicken wings. Go with the low end of our temperature range if using boneless wings.
• Here’s a helpful read for estimating how many wings you need for a party: How Many Wings in a Pound? Tips for Party Portion Planning.

FAQs – Chicken Wings Sous Vide

Sous Vide Chicken Wings Recipe: The PERFECT Wings

Rishi

3 steps to the perfect sous vide chicken wings. There's no better way to prepare chicken wings. Juicy meat, crispy skin—perfection.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Inactive Cook Time 10 hours hrs

Total Time 10 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Calories 470 kcal

Equipment

• Sous vide machine
• Deep pot or wok
• Wire rack & baking sheet

Ingredients

  

Chicken Wings

• 4 lbs chicken wings
• Kosher salt
• Peanut oil or canola oil or corn oil

Buffalo Sauce

• 1 cup Frank's RedHot Wing Sauce or Frank's RedHot Sauce + 1 stick of butter
• 4 tbsp butter (half a stick)
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

 

Chicken Wings

• Set your sous vide machine to 160°F
• Bag the chicken wings in a single layer. Use a vacuum sealer or water displacement method to void the bag of air. Drop the bag into the sous vide bath for 2 hours when it reaches temp.
  
• Remove wings from the bag(s), wipe off gelatin and pat dry. Set wings on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and salt. Place uncovered in fridge for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours.
  
• Just before serving, heat Frank's, butter, garlic powder and pepper in a small saucepan. Use medium-low heat. Stir occasionally. The sauce is ready when the butter has completely melted.
  
• Fry the wings in small batches in 400°F oil in a deep pot. Do your best to keep the oil at 400°F by adjusting the heat. Move the wings around occasionally with a skimmer or spider strainer to ensure all sides are cooked evenly. You're looking for a golden brown color, which should take 3-4 minutes. If it takes longer, your oil isn't hot enough.
  
• Dry the wings on a paper towel. Add them to a bowl along with the hot sauce and toss to coat.
  

Notes

You may need to portion the wings into more than one bag for cooking sous vide.

For springier wings, cook at 165°F for one hour.

You can sous vide frozen wings. Just add half an hour to the sous vide time.

Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing, celery and carrots.

You can finish the wings another way rather than frying if you prefer. See below for what works for the various methods of finishing chicken wings from our experience.

Sous Vide Chicken Wing Finishing Time and Temp By Method

Method	Temperature	Time	Notes
Deep fry	400°F	3-4 minutes	PREFERRED METHOD
Air fryer	400°F	10-12 minutes	flip halfway through
Oven	475°F	10-12 minutes	flip halfway through
Grill	as hot as it gets	6-10 minutes	flip halfway through
Smoker	225°F	2 hours	crank the heat up at the end

You can skip the dry brining step if you need to save time. If you do, salt before you cook the chicken wings sous vide. Make sure you pat the wings dry before finishing, unless you are smoking the chicken wings to finish.

Keyword Appetizers, Chicken Wings, Football Food, Keto