Last Updated on October 27, 2024 by Lisa Keys

The best sous vide fried chicken is perfectly cooked with a juicy interior and crispy exterior. Have you tired using an immersion circulator? It takes the worry out of serving raw chicken or chicken that is dried out.
Sous vide chicken is cooked to a precise temperature that you have complete control over. The biggest benefit is that you can cook the chicken longer and at a lower temperature. The meat is more moist and tender and cooked equally throughout. It is completely safe to eat as the long cook pasteurizes the meat.
How to make sous vide fried chicken
Immersion Circulator Cooking Tips
- Set your water bath up on an insulated hot pad or trivet to avoid heat transfer to your counter.
- Fold the top half of the cooking bag down before adding food. This keeps the bag clean and ensures a tight vacuum seal.
- Place food in bag in a single layer with some space between the pieces for even cooking.
- Submerge the bag completely in the water.
- Attach the bag to the vessel so water is circulating around it.
- Place a cover over the water bath vessel to avoid water evaporation.
- You can find more cooking tips here.
There are many ways to serve sous vide fried chicken. Are you ready to give it a try? It makes a fabulous family dinner with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Or, try it drenched in your favorite hot Nashville sauce on top of a crispy waffle. However, if you want to know my personal favorite? It's this recipe for an Asian inspired steam bun sandwich. I hope you like it.
Sous Vide Fried Chicken Steam Bun with Gingered Slaw & Pickled Red Onions
Equipment
- 1 immersion circulator
Ingredients
- 6 boneless chicken thighs, skin-on
- Salt and pepper seasoning I use Trader Joeโs Umami
- 2 cups tempura mix
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce of your choice optional
- Peanut oil for frying
- 6 Asian steam buns plain sandwich size
- 6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 cup pickled red onions
- fresh cilantro
Ginger Slaw
- ยฝ cup mayo
- โ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Momโs Mala Sichuan chili sauce or other hot sauce of your choice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus additional for garnish
- ยฝ tablespoon packed grated fresh ginger
- 1 bag rainbow or broccoli slaw mix
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt
- few grinds fresh black pepper
Instructions
Sous Vide Chicken
- Prepare water bath for sous vide cooking to 148F. Set timer for 3 hours.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper or your choice of seasoning; arrange in single layer in vacuum seal bag; seal.
- Sous vide chicken for 3 hours.
- Immediately place sealed chicken in 50/50 ice water bath; let chill for 15 minutes.
- Remove chicken from bags, pat dry with paper towels.
Sous Vide Fried Chicken
- Whisk tempura mix and salt on a plate.
- Whisk buttermilk, egg and hot sauce in a bowl.
- Dredge chicken in dry tempura mix then drop in buttermilk mixture to coat.
- Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of buttermilk mixture into remaining dry tempura mix and stir with a fork forming small clumps.
- Dredge chicken again in tempura mixture pressing so clumps adhere.
- Heat oil to 375F. in large skillet.
- Fry chicken until golden brown and crispy; about 2 to 4 minutes.
Assemble Sandwich
- Cook buns in steamer basket until soft and heated through, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Open buns and spread inside with hoisin sauce. Top with gingered slaw, chicken, pickled onions and cilantro.
Ginger Slaw
- Whisk dressing ingredients; toss with broccoli slaw. Season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
I love everything about sous vide cooking. If you are in to meal prep this method of cooking is an absolute must to save you time. In addition, one of the greatest gifts of sous vide cooking is that you can turn inexpensive cuts of meat into culinary masterpieces. For instance, this pot roast is my most popular blog recipe. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions in the comments.
Bill
Absolutely delicious. Been hooked on sous vide for a while.
Bill Keys
Absolutely delicious. Been hooked on sous vide for a while.
Lisa Keys
It's a great tool to have in our arsenal of cooking tools.
Louis Matino
Interesting idea to batter fry pre cooked chicken.
Lisa Keys
When frying you are only cooking the exterior while simply warming up the interior. It's perfectly juicy on the inside and shatteringly crisp on the outside.