How to Make the Best Sous Vide Steak

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If you have ever dreamed of the perfect steak, juicy and cooked to perfection on the inside, with a flavor packed crust on the outside, this sous vide steak is going to be your new favorite recipe.

Learning how to cook a steak sous vide will give you perfect results EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Not even kidding.

When you cook a steak using traditional methods (grill, oven, stove, etc.), you are cooking it at an extremely high temperature just to get it to the doneness you want.

This requires you pay close attention and time it just right to get it perfect.

But what if there was another way....a way that enabled you to set the perfect temperature, walk away, and come back later with a steak cooked to your liking without worry of it being over or undercooked?

There is - it's called sous vide (we discuss exactly what sous vide is in a minute). While it does take longer to cook a steak sous vide, the results are 100% worth the effort. You can even cook your steak straight from frozen!!

A quick sear after you remove the steak from the sous vide water bath gives it that perfect flavorful crust. Your steak will always be tender, juicy and just melt-in-your-mouth perfect.

While this recipe works great for sirloin, ribeye, and strip steaks, below are recipes for some different cuts of meat as well:

• sous vide flank steak
• sous vide top sirloin filet
• sous vide porterhouse
• sous vide hanger steak
• sous vide skirt steak
• sous vide filet mignon
• sous vide chuck steak
• sous vide tenderloin
• sous vide hamburgers

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• What is Sous Vide?
• Ingredients
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Serving Options and Variations
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storage and Reheating Options
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why This Recipe Works

• Cooking a steak sous vide allows you to cook it to the exact doneness you prefer, whether it be rare or well done (not recommended, but to each their own) with very little effort and perfect results every time.
• This recipe works for ribeye, strip, or sirloin steaks so it's pretty versatile.
• It enables you to cook your steaks in advance if desired, and keep them in the fridge/freezer until ready to use them. Perfect for meal prep too!
• You don't need to have advanced cooking skills to make this recipe - it is ultra, ultra simple to make.
• If you want to impress your guests at a BBQ, this is 100% the way to go - they will think you are a cooking genius!
• You can cook 1 steak or 8 steaks at the same time (as many as you can fit in your water bath without overcrowding).

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). 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 and the benefits of 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 sous vide magnets) 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
• Vacuum sealer
• Vacuum-seal bags

You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!

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 the benefits of sous vide cooking.

Ingredients

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

With sous vide cooking, for the best results we want to look for steaks that are 1 ½ to 2" thick. Please don't buy anything less than 1", the results will just not be as good.

You also want to look for steaks that are Choice or Prime cuts. I would stay away from Select cuts because they tend to be subpar quality.

This basic sous vide steak recipe will work for sirloin, ribeye, or any strip steak. I listed some additional recipes above if you are looking to sous vide a different cut of beef.

This recipe is pretty basic...we are only using salt, pepper and a little butter (always unsalted for cooking) and avocado oil for searing. We use avocado because it's great for high heat cooking - you can also use canola, coconut, or peanut oil.

The awesome thing about sous vide is you can take full advantage of using sauces!

Step By Step Instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 125F degrees. This temperature will result in a rare cooked steak, which I believe is the best way to have steak! That said, I've included a temperature chart below so you can select the doneness to your liking.

Temperature	Time	Doneness
125F Degrees	1-2 ½ hours	Rare (cool red center)
132F Degrees	1-3 hours	Medium rare (pink throughout, very juicy)
137F Degrees	1-3 hours	Medium (slightly pink in the center, still juicy)
145F Degrees	1-3 hours	Medium well (very little pink, less juicy)
150F Degrees+	1-3 hours	Well done (not recommended)

Season the steaks with salt and pepper and place them in a vacuum seal bag. You can also use Ziploc freezer bags and use the water displacement method described in the post above.

We do not include any fats in the bag (contrary to what you might see on other sites) as they actually leach flavor from the beef. Searing the beef in fats afterwards is the best way to help the beef retain it's beefy flavor.

Cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours. You can leave it in the water bath for up to 3 hours, but it will start to get a little mushier in texture if you leave it in longer than 3-3 ½ hours.

Also note if you are cooking it below 130F degrees (in the danger zone of temperature), you should not leave it in the water bath for longer than 2 ½ hours for food safety purposes.

Remove from bag and pat dry with paper towels. The drier it is, the easier it will sear and develop a crust quickly.

Heat a skillet over high heat until smoking and add the avocado oil.

Place the steaks in and cook for 45-60 seconds per side.

**You can also cook these steaks on a grill or use a kitchen torch (not a brulee torch) to finish the steaks. Read more about the best sous vide torches.

I prefer cast iron because its the easiest. Some people don't like using the torch as it can leave a chemical flavor on the steaks.

After flipping the steaks over, add the butter to the skillet and baste the steaks for the remaining 45-60 seconds (spooning butter over top of the steak).

You can skip this part if you prefer and just sear in the avocado oil and melt some butter on the steaks, but this really adds a wonderful richness to them

Remove, slice against the grain (this keeps it tender) and serve.

Expert Tips

1. Make sure the bag does not float while cooking. It should be fully submerged. If it floats, add sous vide weights/magnets or a heavy spoon, towel or a sous vide rack to keep it submerged.
2. Pat the steak fully dry with paper towels before searing. The drier the steak is, the quicker it will form a crust when searing.
3. If not serving right away, place the steaks in an ice bath for 15-20 minutes when you remove the bags from the sous vide water bath (do not open the bag - keep the steaks sealed in the bag). Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and sear when ready to serve.
4. You can also use a grill or a kitchen blow torch instead of a cast iron skillet.

Serving Options and Variations

Because this is a basic recipe, there are many different ways it can be served and/or flavored. Use on of these recommendations below, or let your own creativity flow! Let me know what you do in the comments below the post.

• The richness of steak always pairs well with a fresh herby sauce like this cilantro chimichurri, red chimichurri, or this Argentinian chimichurri.
• The horseradish sauce from this sous vide filet mignon recipe is FIRE and perfect on all steaks.
• Many times, your steak will create a sauce in the bag as it loses some of it's moisture while it cooks (its ok, its supposed to lose this moisture). This sauce is typically a wonderful base for gravy or any other type of sauce. Just test it for saltiness as you may need to dilute it.
• Add fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or parsley when basting the steak with butter. You can also add fresh smashed garlic cloves.
• Honestly, steaks are amazing served with some classic mashed potatoes (or sous vide mashed potatoes), these air fryer french fries, Parmesan truffle fries or even these sous vide sweet potatoes.
• A good compound butter can be amazing on a steak
  • Try this blue cheese butter from the sous vide new york strip recipe;
  • Mix 1 stick of room temperature unsalted butter with the following and roll into into a cylinder, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer.
    • 2 teaspoons truffle seasoning and ½ teaspoon salt for truffle butter
    • 1 seeded chipotle pepper, 2 teaspoon chopped cilantro, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from peppers) for chipotle butter
    • 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon chopped thyme, parsley and chives (each), ½ teaspoon salt for garlic herb butter
    • 3 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt for honey butter

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage and Reheating Options

If you don't plan to serve the steaks right away (or you're using them for sous vide meal prep), place them in a ice bath (do not open the sous vide bags) for 15-20 minutes then transfer them to the fridge for 5-7 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months.

You can reheat the steaks in a 125F degree water bath for 15-20 minutes (an extra 10 minutes if frozen) then follow the instructions above for searing.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Reheat gently (30 seconds at a time) in the microwave, or sauté quickly in a pan to avoid overcooking.

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