Sous Vide Steak

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An easy-to-follow guide on how to Sous Vide Steak! With this method you get perfectly tender steak every time, perfect for a special dinner. Delicious steak-house quality, especially when served with fondant potatoes or baked potatoes and a wedge salad.

What is Sous Vide Steak?

Have you ever heard the term Sous Vide and not fully understood what the heck that meant? Sous Vide is a french term that means ‘under water’. So when I say we will cook this steak “sous vide” I mean, we will cook it in water using a sous vide machine which will hold the water at the same temperature for an extended period of time, cooking the steak your preferred temperature without overcooking. While I get that may seem gross or weird, I assure you its a fantastic way to get steak perfectly cooked every single time.

Using a Sous Vide Machine

I found my Sous Vide Machine off of Amazon for a reasonable price. I have the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Nano and it works extremely well. I also got some vacuum sealed bags for the steak which removes the air, preventing it from floating. You want the steak fully immersed in the water to have it cook evenly. Zip top bags with all the air removed manually also can work, as long as you have something heavy holding the steak down in the water.

Main Ingredients Needed

Just like you would cook a steak on the grill with a lot of the same ingredients, this is very similar! I love flavoring my steak with garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. The slower cook time keeps the meat moist and ensures it won’t over cook, letting the flavorings work their way into the meat.

• Steak (see notes below)
• Salt, Pepper
• Fresh Herbs (thyme and rosemary are always classic choices)
• Garlic

Best Steak for Cooking Sous Vide

Depending on the occasion and price you are willing to spend, here are some great cuts that will work beautifully in the sous vide machine. A good rule of thumb is if it’s good to grill, it would be great to cook sous vide.

• Filet Mignon – pricey but extremely tender
• Ribeye – easy to find, great flavor
• NY Strip – more affordable, middle of the road great steak
• T-Bone – best of both worlds! Gives you Filet Mignon and NY Strip Steak
• Sirloin – cheapest option on this list, also not as tender as the others listed

How to Sous Vide Steak

You know how when you cook something low and slow, it becomes more and more tender? That’s sort of the idea with this. If you keep it cooking steadily at a temperature that will get it to be medium rare, it will stay medium rare for hours. It’s a great make ahead option.

Bring Water to Temperature using the Sous Vide Machine

Fill large container or pot with water. Add sous vide machine and set to desired temperature. It will take some time for the water to come up to temperature, depending on how efficient your machine is.

Season Steak

Remove steak from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature for 30-45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then rub with fresh herbs and chopped garlic. Place meat into plastic bags and vacuum seal. Alternately, place in gallon-size ziploc bags, remove all the air and seal.

Cook Steak Sous Vide

Add steak to the preheated water and cook according to the times and temperatures you’d like your steak to cook at. Plan for at least an hour.

Cooking Times and Temperatures

These cooking directions are based on a steak that is 1-1 1/2 inches thick. If your steak is less than 1 inch thick, you can shorten the initial cooking times to 40 minutes to start. Also, please keep in mind that steaks cooked below 130 degrees F should not be cooked longer than 2 1/2 hours for food safety reasons.

• Very rare to rare: 120°F / 49°C to 128°F / 53°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 2 hours 30 minutes
• Medium-rare:129°F / 54°C to 134°F / 57°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 4 hours
• Medium: 135°F / 57°C to 144°F / 62°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 4 hours
• Medium-well: 145°F / 63°C to 155°F / 68°C Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum time of 3 hours 30 minutes
• Well done: 156°F / 69°C and up Cook for a minimum of 1 hour; for a maximum of 3 hours

Sear Cooked Steak

Once your steak has cooked as long as you’d like, remove it from the water and open the bag. It will look brown, questionable and be very juicy. Dab the extra juices off the steak and set aside. While you can totally eat the steak as is right now, we want it to look like a steak so we will sear it off quickly in a hot pan.

Place a cast iron pan over medium high heat until its very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or butter and sear the steaks until browned on both sides. You’re only searing the meat to get color on it since it is already cooked through perfectly to temperature.

Remove from pan, rest 10 minutes, then slice and enjoy!

Can you Sous Vide Frozen Steak?

Yes, you can absolutely cook steak sous vide from frozen. Pull it from the freezer and add it directly to the hot water. Because it’s a frozen piece of meat, add an extra 60 minutes of cook time. Before searing, you may want to add some seasonings for flavorings, but beyond that, the directions stay exactly the same.

What to Serve with Sous Vide Steak?

I have tons of side dishes that you could look through but here are just a couple that go well with Sous Vide Steak:

• Add it to this Steak Salad
• Pear Salad
• Roasted Green Beans
• Oven Roasted Asparagus
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes
• Scalloped Potatoes

More Meaty Main Dishes to Try!

• How To Cook Steak On The Stove
• The Best Steak Marinade
• Garlic Steak
• Cast Iron Steak with Bourbon Pepper Cream Sauce

Anyways, I hope you come to love this recipe and come to realize that Sous Vide Cooking is precision cooking at its finest, especially when it comes to steak! Yum!! Have a great day, friends!