Best-Ever Sous Vide Chicken Wings with Buffalo Sauce

Last updated on November 14, 2019

This tried-and-true sous vide chicken wings recipe is an easy sous vide appetizer to make for a party or game day. Buffalo sous vide wings cook in just one hour and are ridiculously juicy, tender and moist. In this sous vide chicken wings recipe you’ll learn the perfect time and temperature to use. Plus, learn how to finish sous vide hot wings in the oven broiler, on the grill, and in the air fryer. 

If you’re like me, a proud owner of a Joule, Anova, or another precision cooker, the idea of a new sous vide experiment brings you joy. Sous vide enthusiasts are a special breed of people who cook for fun. We are always up for the challenge and science behind finding out, “will it sous vide?”.

These sous vide chicken wings with buffalo sauce are phenomenal.

Why sous vide chicken wings are better than baked chicken wings

Sous vide chicken wings taste way better then baked wings.

Why?

Low and slow chicken wings sous vide style are cooked at the ideal time and temp to break down the collagen. Collagen is a protein in the chicken skin that can become very chewy when wings aren’t cooked sous vide.

The problem with baked wings is that it takes a long time to break down the collagen. By the time the collagen breaks down, the chicken wings are dry.

And no one likes dry chicken!

Thank goodness for sous vide machines…

Preparing chicken wings for the sous vide bath

In a bowl, season chicken wings and (optional) red onions with salt and pepper.

Add a very light coat of buffalo sauce, and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Arrange chicken wings in in a single layer in a vac seal bag and vacuum seal the wings.

Chicken wings like to float, so hold them down in the water with these balls, clips, or magnets.

How long to sous vide chicken wings

The sous vide temperature for chicken wings is 145.5 and they sous vide for 1 hour.

Getting sous vide chicken wings with crispy skin

After the sous vide bath, it’s important to completely dry the chicken wings with paper towel.

This step removes moisture, making it easier to get crispy sous vide chicken wings.

Then you can finish them with one of the methods below…

Sous vide chicken wings oven finish

My preferred method for finishing sous vide buffalo chicken wings is in the oven. Broiling sous vide chicken wings is the finishing method for the sous vide wings recipe at the bottom of this post.

It takes just a couple minutes and doesn’t require special tools.

Here’s how you oven finish sous vide wings.

Once the wings are out of the sous vide bath, drizzle them with buffalo sauce and broil on high for 3-5 minutes. The skin will get crispy, while the inside of the chicken remains tender and juicy from the sous vide bath. 

Other ways to finish sous vide chicken wings

Sous vide chicken wings oven finished isn’t the only way to eat them.

In fact, if you like playing with your food as much as I do, you’ll be happy to know that sous vide buffalo chicken wings provide many opportunities to utilize other fun kitchen gadgets.

Here are some options…

• Torch them with a searzall (aka the coolest handheld broiler known to man)
• Fry them in an air fryer
• Fry them in a fryer
• Pan fry sous vide chicken wings on the stove
• Grill ’em
• Smoke them with an indoor smoking gun (sous vide smoked chicken wings are SO good!)

Experiment with these finishing ideas to find your favorite.

Sous vide chicken wings grilled

Sous vide chicken wings finish on a grill in just a few minutes. In fact, they can burn very quickly when grilled. So work quickly to grill each side and get them off the heat.

Once the sous vide grilled wings are done, transfer them them to a bowl, drizzle the wings in sauce, and toss to coat. Serve as is, or quickly put them back on the grill for a thicker, more crisp skin.

Sous vide chicken wings air fryer finished

You can finish the wings to achieve a crispy skin with an air fryer or traditional fryer instead of broiling them in the oven. 

To finish sous vide wings in the air fryer, set the fryer to 400°F.

Toss sous vide wings in olive oil and air fry sous vide wings for 5 minutes. Remove from air fryer, shake wings in the fryer basket, and air fry for another 3-5 minutes until you have perfectly crispy sous vide wings.

Sous vide chicken wings fried on the stove

To fry sous vide chicken wings on the stove, add 2-3 inches of canola oil to a medium sized pot. Bring the oil temperature to 375 degrees and use a spider strainer to quickly drop, fry, and remove the chicken wings when golden brown.

Brining sous vide chicken wings

Once you learn how to make this basic recipe, you can continue building on the flavor. If you have the time and like an experiment, try brining chicken wings before sous viding them. Brining sous vide chicken wings for at least six hours (preferably overnight) adds a more intense flavor and moisture.

Sous vide wings from frozen chicken

Frozen chicken wings sous vide style take an extra 30 minutes to cook. 

Sous vide chicken wings for 24 hours

Don’t bother with a 24 hour cook time. There’s really no point!! Even at a super low temperature, they’ll completely disintegrate because they are so small.

If you want to try a recipe with a long cook time, try sous vide pulled pork, 24 hour sous vide short ribs, or sous vide spare ribs.

Notes & tasty tips for making this recipe

• Try this recipe for a party! My first attempt at these sous vide buffalo chicken wings was for Super Bowl. They’re a great sous vide appetizer to share with friends because of the quick cook time and minimum amount of space needed.
• What are other crowd-pleasing party recipes? Try these sous vide sausage peppers and onions and sous vide onions.
• How do you flavor the chicken? I used one my favorite condiments, buffalo sauce, to flavor the chicken. I always add an extra coat of buffalo sauce after they’re cooked and serve them with a side of bleu cheese dressing. Experiment with any of your favorite sauces. I think they’re excellent glazed with equal parts BBQ sauce mixed with sriracha. Try it!
• Is there anything you can’t sous vide? There isn’t a thing in this world I don’t want to try to sous vide, other than homemade pizza. Personally, I don’t know why people sous vide pizza. There’s no need to mess with perfection!

More recipes with cheese you might like…

• How to make pizza at home with store bought dough
• 50+ gourmet grilled cheese ideas
• Pear and goat cheese pizza
• Buttery sweet potatoes oven baked with bleu cheese

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Let me know when you make these sous vide wings. Be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe. It means so much to hear from Sip Bite Go readers and I love seeing photos of your food! Don’t forget to tag me @sipbitego on Instagram so I can see how the recipe turned out. And sign up for the Sip Bite Go newsletter.

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Sous vide chicken wings with buffalo sauce (Sip Bite Go)

This recipe is perfect for 1-2 people. Scale up to make sous vide chicken wings in large batches for parties and football games. Buffalo chicken wings sous vide style are ridiculously juicy, tender and moist. In this recipe you’ll learn the perfect sous vide chicken wings time and temp, and how to finish them in the oven broiler, on the grill, or in the air fryer.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 2 people

Calories 440 kcal

Author Jenna Passaro

Ingredients

• 1 LB chicken wings
• 1/4 cup red onion sliced
• salt and pepper
• 3 tbsp buffalo sauce (or Whole30 compliant buffalo sauce) divided
• 1 tbsp cilantro

Instructions

1. Set temperature on sous vide machine to 145.5 F.

2. In a bowl, season chicken wings and onions with S+P, 1 tbsp of buffalo hot sauce, and cilantro. Arrange chicken wings in in a single layer in a vac seal bag. Vacuum seal wings.

3. Sous vide chicken wings at 145.5 F for 1 hour.

4. After 1 hour in the sous vide bath, dry sous vide chicken wings with paper towel and arrange sous vide wings on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with Franks buffalo hot sauce and broil finish in the oven on high for 3-5 minutes. *see recipe notes for alternative finishing options

5. Serve sous vide chicken wings with an extra drizzle of Franks hot sauce and bleu cheese dressing.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Sous vide chicken wings grill finished: Sous vide chicken wings can burn easily when grilled. Work quickly to grill each side of the sous vide wings and get them off the heat. Transfer them them to a bowl, drizzle the sous vide wings in sauce, and toss to coat. Serve as is, or quickly put them back on the grill for a thicker, more crisp skin.

Sous vide chicken wings air fryer finished: Set air fryer to 400°F. Toss sous vide wings in olive oil and air fry sous vide wings for 5 minutes. Remove from air fryer, shake wings in the fryer basket, and air fry for another 3-5 minutes until you have perfectly crispy sous vide wings. 

Sous vide chicken wings fried on the stove: Add 2-3 inches of canola oil to a medium sized pot. Bring the oil temperature to 375 degrees and use a spider strainer to quickly drop, fry, and remove the chicken wings when golden brown.

Frozen chicken wings sous vide style take an extra 30 minutes in the sous vide bath.

Let’s see your sous vide chicken wings! Find me @sipbitego on Instagram and #sipbitego so I can see your post!

Nutrition Facts

Sous vide chicken wings with buffalo sauce (Sip Bite Go)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 440

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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