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I’ve been making wings in my air fryer for a bit now. They make for a great quick lunchtime meal, that’s for sure. But, I’m always on a quest for something different, a twist. Brining wings (or any poultry) helps tenderize the meat and keeps it juicy during the cooking process. Sous vide provides a perfectly-cooked, consistent dish that is amazingly tender. Combine those and cook the wings in the air fryer and wow! Crazy good brined sous vide air fryer wings!

It’s brine time!

I used a standard brining solution for my brined sous vide air fryer wings. You can add other ingredients if you want to infuse other flavors. Adding herbs, hot sauce or spices can make a big flavor impact. Try different combinations to see what you like. Not that there’s anything wrong with salt, sugar and pepper. Depending on which sauce you’re going to use on your wings, you might not want a strong wing flavor that ends up fighting with your sauce for taste.

My air fryer

The air fryer that I own doesn’t have a lot of bells (ok, it does have a bell) and whistles, but it makes for crazy good chicken wings.

DASH Deluxe Electric Air Fryer + Oven Cooker with Temperature Control, Non-stick Fry Basket, Recipe Guide + Auto Shut Off Feature, 1700-Watt, 6 Quart – Aqua

Also try my crab boil brined wings! They’re different and delicious!

Frank’s RedHot Original Buffalo Wings Sauce, 1 gal – 1 Gallon Bulk Container of Buffalo Hot Sauce with a Bold, Spicy Flavor Perfect for Wings, Dressings, Dips and More

Check out my always-growing list of over 200 favorite store-bought wing sauces and seasonings!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Brined Sous Vide Air Fryer Wings

These wings make for a great quick lunchtime meal,

Prep Time18

Cook Time15

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: wings

Servings:

Calories: 845kcal

Equipment

immersion circulator

Ingredients

3-4 pounds chicken wings flats and drumettes separated, tips saved to make stock
¾ cup kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 gallon water
Your favorite wing seasoning
Your favorite wing sauce

Instructions

In a large resealable container, combine the salt, sugar, pepper and water. Stir until the salt and sugar are well dissolved.
Add the wings. Cover and place in the fridge for 1-33 hours.
Set up your sous vide for 155 F.
Remove wings from brine. Shake off excess brine and transfer to a sealable bag. Vacuum seal making sure to remove all of the air.
Sous vide the wings for 3 hours.
Remove the wings from the sous vide bag and spread out on a sheet pan. Pan dry and transfer to the fridge overnight. This will let the skin dry to get crispier. If you are in a hurry you can skip this step.
Preheat your air fryer for 5 minutes at 350 F.
Toss wings in your favorite seasoning. Lightly spray your air fryer basket with non-stick spray. Add to the air fryer basket and cook for 6 minutes. Flip and cook 6 more minutes. If the wings need to be crisper at this point, turn the heat up to 400 F and cook another 3 minutes.
Toss with sauce before serving. Click here for our guide on how to sauce your wings.

Notes

You can do the final wing cook using whatever technique you prefer, and not just in an air fryer. Use my guide for cooking wings as a basis, but remember that the wings are already cooked. You are just warming them and crisping the skin. So whichever technique you use you won’t need as much time. I use a general rule of half the cook time as I’d need for raw wings.