Sous Vide Chicken Wings (Korean-style)
Sous vide chicken wings are moist, tender, and packed with flavor when finished with our sticky, sweet, and spicy Korean-style sauce. The sous vide method is a great way to ensure perfectly cooked wings every time.
So, is it worth the extra time? Check out the pros and cons below.
What to expect
Ultimately, this is a recipe for sous vide chicken wings. We finish them with a delicious sweet and spicy Korean-style sauce but you can, of course, choose many other sauces instead. Go ahead, miss out on this one! ?
As always, there are various ranges for sous vide cook time and temperatures to choose from and you will have to experiment. I like 156F/69C for 1 1/2 hours. Or 165F/74C for 1 hour.
You might be asking yourself: Are sous vide chicken wings worth it? Here’s my take.
- Pros: You get tender, juicy wings that aren’t dried out, with little risk of overcooking or undercooking (I love that sous vide takes the stress out of cooking!). The prep is super easy, you can make them ahead, and you can even cook them straight from frozen.
- Cons: They do take extra time, and there’s an additional step needed to finish them off.
So decide for yourself. In my view, they are worth it if you have the time.
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
Wings: You can buy split wings or whole wings (cut the tips off). I prefer to get ones that are not too small as they are juicier and have more meat on them.
Korean-style sauce: A combination of gochujang, maple syrup, garlic, ginger, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce. Gochujang paste is a spicy savory paste used in Korean cooking, made from red chili peppers, fermented soybeans, rice, and salt.
Substitutes
- Gochujang can be replaced with garlic chili paste or Thai red curry paste (that’s what I use if I don’t have any on hand). Here are several substitutes for gochujang.
- Fresh garlic and ginger can be substituted with powder or frozen cubes (I love those).
- Maple syrup can be substituted with apricot or peach preserves, brown sugar or honey.
- Apple cider vinegar can be substituted with lemon or rice vinegar
Finishing options
- Broiling -my preference for these wings
- Grilling – usually my favorite method, but you have to make sure your grill is well greased for no sticking.
- Deep frying – great if you want crispy wings. The downsides are smelly oil, an extra step of drying out the wings overnight in the fridge and a longer finish time as you have to fry in batches.
- Instructions are in the recipe notes for all methods.
Step by step instructions
Shortcut
Buy a jarred sauce at the grocery store e.g. teriyaki, Korean kalbi marinade (thickened with cornstarch), sweet chili sauce, etc.
Best sides for chicken wings
So hard to choose – almost anything goes. Here are a few recommendations. These wings can be served as a main course or appetizer.
How many chicken wings in a serving: Figure about 1 pound/450 grams per person – give or take for smaller and bigger eaters.
Side Dishes
- Grilled peaches
- Herb potato salad (no mayo)
- BBQ sweet potatoes and apples
- Healthy vegetable quinoa salad
Salads
More chicken wing recipes
Love sous vide cooking? Then check out all our best sous vide recipes with tips for beginners.
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Sous Vide Chicken Wings (Korean-style)
Equipment
- Sous Vide equipment (sous vide machine or immersion circulator plus water bath container)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken wings (split or whole wings, tips cut off)
- seasoning: kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder
- garnish: sesame seeds, chopped green onion optional
Korean-style sauce, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons gochujang paste, Note 2
- 3 cloves garlic or 3 teaspoons minced (or 3/8 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce light is fine
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 teaspoon ginger powder)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, Note 3
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or more to taste (or lemon, lime or rice wine vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- PREPARE SOUS VIDE WATER BATH: Fill water in the sous vide container as per manufacturers instructions. Set the temperature to 156F/69C for 1 1/2 hours (or 165F/74C for 1 hour) and allow water to heat to that temperature.
- PREPARE AND BAG CHICKEN WINGS: Season both sides of chicken wings with salt, pepper and garlic powder. To bag wings with vacuum sealer method. fold back top of vacuum seal bag about an inch to create a flap (this ensures no food touches the top of the bag where it gets sealed). Insert the wings in a sous vide bag in a single layer. Unfold the flap and vacuum seal the bag. Note 4 for displacement method with ziploc bag.
- SOUS VIDE CHICKEN WINGS: When water temperature has been reached, submerge sealed bag with wings into water bath. Cook for 1 1/2 hours or a maximum of 3 hours. If using 165F/74C, cook 1-2 hours.
- MAKE KOREAN SAUCE: Mix all sauce ingredients together in microwavable measuring cup or small bowl. Microwave 1 minute. Sauce will be slightly thickened. Taste and adjust to your liking by adding more of the ingredients you think it needs e.g. sweet, tart, salt, etc.
- FINISH CHICKEN WINGS UNDER BROILER:°Prepare oven and pan: Heat oven to BROIL setting and place oven rack a few inches from heat source (top of oven). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray it with oil to prevent sticking. °Cool down wings: Remove chicken wings from hot water bath and place bag in a bowl of ice water for 8-10 minutes. This will cool down chicken and allow more time to broil and glaze it without affecting texture and doneness. Then dry wings well with paper towels. °Sauce the wings: Place half the sauce and cooked wings in a bowl and toss to coat well. DON'T do this if you are deep frying wings. °Broil and garnish: Place wings on wire rack in single layer. Broil for 3 minutes until starting to char. Turn over wings, brush on more sauce and broil another 2 minutes. Transfer wings to a serving plate, brush with more sauce, add sesame seed and chopped green onion if you like and serve with extra sauce if you have any left. Note 5 for other finishing methods
Recipe Notes
- Shortcut for sauce: Buy a glaze or sauce such as teriyaki, Korean kalbi marinade, sweet chili Thai sauce. Even your favorite BBQ sauce.
- Gochujang paste substitute: use garlic chili paste or Thai red curry paste. Or try one of these substitutes for gochujang.
- Maple syrup substitute: brown sugar, white sugar, honey or apricot/peach preserves (use sugar-free for lower calories)
- Water displacement method with ziploc bag: Place wings in ziplock bag in single layer. Lower bag into water (which will push as much air out as possible) just until seal is above water line. Seal bag.
- Alternative finishing method for wings:
- Grill: Heat grill to high for 10-15 minutes. Scrape grill to clean, spray oil on grill or dip paper towel in oil and wipe over entire grill. Make sure grill is very hot. Grill wings for 2 minutes per side to get grill marks, brushing with remaining sauce as you turn them. Remove to plate and brush with more sauce.
- Deep fry (for crispy skin): You will get better results if you dry wings on rack in fridge uncovered overnight. Heat a few inches vegetable oil in skillet to 400F/204C. Quick fry small batches of wings at a time for 2-3 minutes total until chicken skin is crispy and golden brown. Don’t overcrowd pan. Transfer with spider strainer to plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with more wings (you might have to lower temperature a bit). When finished, toss wings in large bowl with sauce and serve.
- Make ahead or freeze:
- A few days ahead: cool cooked wings in bag, place in fridge for up to 3 days. Finish them off before serving.
- To freeze: Chill wings in ice bath or at room temperature. Place in freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw wings when ready to use, then finish them on grill or broiler.
- To store and reheat leftovers: Place leftover finished wings in airtight container. Warm the wings in a 350F/177C oven for 5 -7 minutes or in the microwave for a minute or two.
