Sous Vide Hamburger - Perfectly Cooked Every Time!

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For a thick and juicy hamburger cooked just the way you like, you’ll want to try these Sous Vide Hamburgers! 

You might be skeptical about cooking hamburgers in a water bath, but I promise, the results are worth it!

If you love medium or medium rare hamburgers like us, you know it’s easy to overcook beef patties using traditional cooking methods.

When you cook sous vide style, you set the temperature of the water bath, so your hamburgers are cooked to your desired doneness without any guesswork. No more battling with burgers falling apart on the grill, getting overcooked, or just cooking unevenly!

All they need is a quick sear in a hot skillet (or a grill), and you get to enjoy the best burgers of your life! 

Be sure to serve them up with some duck fat parmesan truffle fries, air fryer frozen french fries or these baked parsnip fries, for the ultimate burger and fries meal!

If you love burgers, you’ll also want to try this goat cheese stuffed bison burger! You can sous vide these using the same method here!

Check out the sous vide hamburgers story!

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator. This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use binder clips) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 16 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

Tools Used

• Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker
• 12 quart container for water bath
• Vacuum sealer
• 4 ounce canning jars

If you don't have a lot of experience cooking sous vide yet, you may want to pop over and read what sous vide cooking is and some tips.

More classic sous vide beef recipes

• Sous Vide Pastrami
• Sous Vide Pot Roast
• Sous Vide Roast Beef
• Sous Vide London Broil
• Sous Vide Brisket

Why Sous Vide Burgers?

1. While it takes 45 minutes to 2 hours for the burgers to cook in the water bath, it doesn’t involve much active time. You don’t have to keep a close eye on the burgers to ensure they cook perfectly.
2. Whether you like your burgers medium or well done, the sous vide is a foolproof way to cook burgers to your desired doneness.
3. The recipe keeps it basic with just ground beef and steak seasoning for the burgers.
4. The sous vide method works best for thick burger patties as it keeps them tender and juicy without overcooking them.
5. The recipe recommends using the water displacement method instead of vacuum sealing so the burger patties don’t get too compressed. 

Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and amount is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

You’ll need 2 pounds of ground beef for these burgers. For the best results, I recommend using 80/20 ground beef. This means the ground beef is 80 percent lean to 20 percent fat. If you use 90/10, it’s going to be leaner beef and the burgers may turn out a little dry.

The ground beef is seasoned with 1 tablespoon of steak seasoning (I like Montreal Steak seasoning the best). Feel free to change up the seasoning with different dried herbs and spices.

You can also try these other seasoning options:

• Garlic or onion powder
• Paprika or even cayenne pepper for some spice
• I actually love them seasoned with my homemade Cajun seasoning
• Fajita seasoning can be good if you want a Southwest flair

To sear the burgers after they come out of the water bath, you’ll need 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.

To build the burgers, you’ll need hamburger buns, sliced cheese, pickles, tomato, lettuce, red onion and any other toppings you enjoy!

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 130F degrees (or use the chart below to choose your ideal temperature). You might be wondering if it is safe to eat a burger at this temperature - the answer is yes...when you cook them sous vide.

Burgers cooked at at least 130F degrees for 2 hours will be pasteurized and safe to eat.

Form it into 8 patties about 1-inch thick. Use half the seasoning to season the outside of the burgers.

Place in a ziplock freezer bag and use the water displacement method to remove the air from the bag.

Cook for 2 hours. Remove burgers from the bag and pat them dry. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat while the burgers rest. Season the outsides with the second half of the seasoning.

Add the avocado oil, then the burgers. Sear for 60-90 seconds per side, until a crust is formed. If you want your cheese melted, add it to the burgers at this point when searing the second side so it gets nice a melted.

Remove and serve on buns with condiments.

**Water displacement method is recommended to avoid smashing the burgers.

Now, while I believe a medium-rare burger is perfect, I know everyone has their preferences, so here are some time/temperature options:

Food Safety

The great thing about sous vide is it allows you to more safely cook a hamburger because cooking at at least 130F degrees for 2 hours completely pasteurizes the beef.

If you choose to cook your hamburgers rare (under 130F degrees), it is not safe to chill them and then reheat them, so you will want to eat them right away. You also do not want to cook them for longer than 2 ½ hours.

Otherwise, you can safely sous vide burgers at 130F degrees for 2 hours and chill/freeze them for future use without worry about food safety.

Filling Options

You can also mix different fillings into your burgers if you'd like - try some of these options:

• Form the patty around 1 tablespoon of goat cheese, brie, blue cheese, Mozzarella, or Pepperjack. Honestly, try any kind of cheese you like, it'll be awesome!
• You can also stuff them with 1 tablespoon of cream cheese for some tang and creaminess. Season the cream cheese with garlic, onion, or any other seasoning to add an even better oomph.
• Mix ¼ cup chopped up bacon in with the ground beef (add more or less bacon to your preference).
• Stuff them with 1-2 tablespoons of avocado or guacamole (this avocado dip is delicious in/on burgers!).
• Stuff them with sauteed mushrooms.

For any of the above options, just form the patty around the stuffing and then lightly flatten the burger, ensuring no filling is showing.

Expert tips

1. Only season the outside of the burger. Once before cooking and once again before searing. Mixing the seasoning into the beef before cooking can cause it to become tough.
2. When using the water displacement method, use the instructions above to remove the air from the sealable bag to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
3. The burgers should be fully submerged in the water bath. If air gets in the bag while the burgers are cooking and the bag starts to float, just open the ziplock bag, remove the air and reseal it again.
4. To prevent floating, you can also use a sous vide sinker weight or something heavy to weigh down the bag.
5. Make sure you’re using a large enough bag and water bath container to fit 8 burger patties. You may need to use two ziplock bags with 4 burgers in each one.
6. You’ll want to arrange the burgers in the ziplock bag(s) in a single layer as best you can. If they’re overlapping, they may not cook evenly.
7. The cooking time is based on 1-inch thick burger patties. If your burgers are thicker, you will need to cook them longer. 
8. Letting the burgers rest when they come out of the water bath helps get a good sear. You’ll also want to pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.
9. When making the burgers, be careful not to overwork the beef or pack the patties together too much. This will result in tough burgers.
10. Instead of searing them in a cast iron skillet, you can use a grill. Depending on the size of your skillet or grill, you may need to sear the burgers in batches.
11. You’ll only want to sear the burgers for 60-90 seconds per side. Any more than this and they may overcook in the center.

Common questions

Storage, Reheating and Freezing

What's so awesome about these burgers is how easy they are to make in advance. **Note if you're going to cook them below 130F degrees, you should not cool them then reheat them per the food safety guidelines discussed above.

You can prepare the patties, season them, place them in a bag and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months until you're ready to make them.

To cook straight from frozen, add an extra 40 minutes to the cook time.

You can also cook them (at least 130F degrees), cool them in an ice bath and store them in the fridge for 5-7 days, or the freezer for 3 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.

To serve them, just heat a skillet over high heat, add the avocado oil and sear them for 60-90 seconds a side straight out of the bag (ensure they are thoroughly thawed. Then serve!

Make it a meal

Here are some of our favorite side dishes to serve with burgers:

• Spicy Mac and Cheese
• Crispy Oven Fried Squash
• Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• Truffle Mashed Potatoes
• Air Fryer Mac and Cheese
• Sous Vide Corn on the Cob
• Duck Fat Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out!