Sous Vide Skirt Steak (Sous Vide Bulgogi)

Name: Sous Vide Skirt Steak (Sous Vide Bulgogi)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 250 min
Total time: 980 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds skirt steak; 1/2 pear (diced); 4 garlic cloves (smashed or minced); 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil; 2 teaspoons oyster sauce; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ginger (minced); Lettuce (optional - for serving); Sticky rice (optional - for serving); Kimchi (optional - for serving)

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Sous Vide Skirt Steak is marinated and cooked to tender and juicy perfection with a sweet and savory bulgogi sauce. You’ll love this sous vide bulgogi served in lettuce wraps with Korean sticky rice and kimchi!

Preparing your skirt steak using the sous vide method results in a tender and flavorful steak, that’s perfectly and evenly cooked (even when you cook sous vide frozen steak). A sous vide cooker allows you to control the cooking temperature, so you don’t need to worry about overcooking your steak.

And the best part? It’s a pretty hands off way to prepare steak. Just marinate and let your sous vide cooker do the rest.

You’ll quickly sear the steak at the end to create a deliciously browned crust. Then slice and serve. It’s that easy!

We love this thinly sliced steak served with bulgogi sauce and paired with lettuce, sticky rice and kimchi.

You can also serve it over a plate of rice, on a salad, in tacos or on pizza. The possibilities are actually endless!

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.

Check out the sous vide skirt steak web 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

Other sous vide recipes to try

Ginger Soy Sous Vide Tri Tip with Asian Chimichurri
Sous Vide Veal Chops with Miso Mushroom Sauce
Sous Vide Filet Mignon with Creamy Horseradish Sauce
Sous Vide Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri

What is bulgogi?

Bulgogi is a Korean dish of marinated beef or pork that is grilled or pan seared and then thinly sliced.

We’re preparing it a little differently in this recipe. While we’re using a bulgogi marinade, the beef will be cooked sous vide style before pan searing at the end and thinly slicing.

If you love bulgogi, you might also want to try these spicy Korean pork bulgogi tacos or this bulgogi beef Korean pizza. They are deeeeelish!!

Ingredients

The full list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

You’ll need 1 ½ pounds of skirt steak. This is a long and flat cut of beef from the plate area of the cow. It will be marbled with a coarse grain. Given its size and grain, it’s easy to cut into thin strips.

The marinade will double as the serving sauce and is typical of a bulgogi sauce which includes ingredients like brown sugar, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and pear.

For the best flavor, make sure you’re using fresh garlic and ginger.

You can substitute low sodium soy sauce, but you may wish to add a dash of salt to the marinade to compensate. Just taste and adjust accordingly.

You can use an Asian pear, but if they’re not in season or available where you are, any type of pear will work. Just make sure it is ripe and finely diced.

Please don’t substitute the sesame oil with another type of oil. Sesame oil has a unique flavor, so switching it out will impact the taste of the marinade.

Cooking temperature

Skirt steak is normally cooked to medium-rare. To achieve this, you’ll want to set your sous vide water bath to 131F degrees.

If you prefer to cook your steak to medium, set the water bath temperature anywhere between 133-140F degrees.

Step by step instructions

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Place the skirt steak in a vacuum sealable bag with the marinade ingredients. A ziplock bag can also be used if using the water displacement method (see above).

Use a vacuum sealer to remove the air and store in the fridge overnight to marinate.

Once the meat has marinated, heat a sous vide water bath to 131F degrees and cook the beef for 4 hours.

Remove the beef from the water bath and place in an ice bath for 10 minutes.

Remove the beef from the bag, reserving the juices, and pat dry.

Heat a grill or a cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking and sear the beef for 60 seconds per side, until a brown crust is formed.

Slice and serve in lettuce wraps with Korean sticky rice, kimchi and drizzled with reserved bag sauce.

Expert tips

Removing the air from the bag is an important step that should not be skipped to avoid bacteria entering the bag.
For the best results, be sure to marinate the steak overnight in the fridge. This will give the steak time to absorb the marinade flavors.
Make sure to pat the beef dry before pan searing or grilling. This will help with browning.
Don't sear your skirt steak for more than 60 seconds per side as it will overcook.
Make sure you cut the steak against the grain as thinly as possible.

Common questions

Do you need to marinate the steak for this recipe?

Yes, since skirt steak is a tougher cut of beef you want to marinate it to help tenderize it. Marinating the steak will also result in the best bulgogi flavor since the steak has time to absorb the marinade.

How long does it take to sous vide skirt steak?

For a medium-rare steak, I normally cook it in the water bath for about 4 hours at 131F degrees.

Can you use frozen steak for this recipe?

Yes, you can sous vide frozen skirt steak. Just add an hour to the cooking time.

Do you need to sear the steak at the end?

Yes, searing or grilling over high heat at the end is essential if you want your skirt steak browned. You'll want to sear the steak for 60 seconds on each side before slicing and serving.

How do you cut skirt steak?

You'll want to cut the steak into thin slices against the grain. If your skirt steak is particularly long, you may want to cut it into manageable pieces first before cutting it into slices.

Make ahead instructions

You can cook the skirt steak in advance and store it in the fridge.

To do this, follow the recipe instructions up to the ice bath. Once you remove the bag of beef from the ice bath, just transfer the bag to the fridge to store for up to 5 days.

To reheat the steak, place it in a 131F degree water bath for about 10-15 minutes, until the steak is warmed. Sear and serve per the recipe instructions.

Freezing instructions

After the ice bath, transfer the bag of beef to the freezer and store for up to 3 months.

To thaw, leave the bag of beef in the fridge overnight and then heat it in a 131F degree water bath for about 10-15 minutes, or until the steak is warmed. Sear and serve per the recipe instructions.

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