Sous Vide Steak

4.82 from 16 votes

Published 3/1/2023 • Updated 3/19/2024

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Since learning how to sous vide steak years ago, it’s the ONLY way we cook it at my house. My husband is literally obsessed with cooking his steak perfectly medium rare and there is no other way to get that precision. Sous vide steak is truly the best way to cook steak because you can set your sous vide water bath to an exact temperature to make sure the entire steak is perfectly cooked (not just the center!).

Sous vide steak with butter and fresh parsley on top.

Why sous vide steak?

When I tell you that using your sous vide to cook steak is the very best way, I am not joking. We use this method at my house every time we cook steak (– even before searing on the grill so that you can really manipulate the doneness. Set your water bath to an exact temperature to make sure the entire steak is perfectly cooked. Is your water bath 130ºF? Then the entire steak will be 130ºF, not just the inside!

restaurant style steak = sous vide steak

If you’ve ever ordered a steak at a fancy restaurant and it came out fairly quickly, it was probably sous vide. Especially if it was perfectly cooked throughout the whole piece of meat.

The sous vide has been a restaurant tool for a while and we’re all just catching up!

What kind of steak is best for sous vide?

There are many different cuts of steak you can use for this sous vide steak recipe. We tested this recipe using: 1/2 lb. New York strip steak, 3/4 lb. ribeye steak, and a 1 lb. t-bone steak, and they all turned out delicious

Our favorite was the New York strip steak because it turned out so juicy and tender and this is what we photographed.

Here are other cuts of steak you can use:

Ribeye
Skirt
T-Bone
Porterhouse

Steak in a stasher bag with butter and herbs.

Ingredients You Need

You only need a few ingredients before you add your steak to the sous vide. Here is everything you need.

New York strip steak- we used New York strip for this sous vide steak recipe, but you can use any cut of steak. Just be sure the steak is at least 1 inch thick!
Coarse sea salt + black pepper– you salt your steak before you place it in the sous vide. Be sure you use both coarse salt and pepper rather than finely ground.
Fresh herbs- we used a combination of rosemary, thyme, and oregano for this recipe. You can use one or all of these herbs. You add herbs to the sous vide bag and it slowly adds herby flavor to the steak.
Butter– don’t forget to add the butter to the sous vide bag before you add it to the sous vide. The butter melts in the sous vide and adds delicious butter flavor to the steak.
Olive oil– the olive oil is for post sous vide when you sear your steak to brown the outside. Feel free to sub the olive oil for more butter.

Containers You Can Use for Sous Vide Steak

There are many different types of containers you can use for sous vide steak. We’ve tried lots of different options and you can use what you have. My go-to is a large pot, but you just need to make sure that you steak can be fully submerged with water.

Large pot
12 qt. plastic bin
Small cooler
Kitchen sink

What is the best sous vide steak temp?

The sous vide temperature all depends on how you like your steak. Set the sous vide about 5 degrees lower than you want the internal temperature to be because once the cooking time is over, you sear or grill the steak for a nice and crispy outside.

Rare- 130ºF
Medium Rare- 140ºF
Medium- 155ºF
Well Done- 165ºF

Our recommendation is to set the sous to vide to 130ºF because after searing for 1 minute on each side, the internal temperature will be about 140ºF which is medium-rare.

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How to Sous Vide Steak

First, fill a large container with water and attach the sous vide to the container. Set the sous vide to 130ºF and let the water come to temperature.
Salt and pepper the steak and let the steak sit for 10-15 minutes. Then place the steak into a stasher bag, Ziploc, or food saver bag with butter and herbs.
Place steak into the sous vide and let it sous vide for at LEAST 2 hours. You can leave it in the water for up to 4 hours.
Remove steak from the sous vide, discard liquid in the bag, and set steak aside on a plate.
Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat and add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. When olive oil is fragrant, add steak to the pan and sear for one minute on each side.
Remove from heat and let the steak sit for 10 minutes. Serve with chimichurri and enjoy!

How long to sous vide steak?

We recommend cooking steak sous vide for 2 hours for maximum tenderness, however, you can cook it for up to 4 hours.

Can you overcook steak sous vide?

Technically you can not overcook steak in the sous vide as it will sit in the same temperature of water for however long you leave it.

However, if you let your steak sit for longer than 4 hours, the tendons will begin to break down and it will no longer have that fabulous chew you crave with steak. It will be more shredded-like.

Sear your steak before serving!

While you can eat your steak straight out of the water bath, we recommend searing before serving so that the outside is nice and crispy.

On the stovetop

We love to use a cast iron skillet to sear our steaks. It gets hot really fast and leaves the perfect amount of char on the steak.

Add olive oil or butter to the cast iron skillet. Once the oil or butter has melted and is fragrant and the steak to the pan and cook for one minute on each side. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes before eating.

here’s a tip

Basting the steak can add tremendous flavor!

To baste your steak add a little extra butter and a couple of sprigs of fresh herbs (we love thyme and rosemary) to the skillet after you add the meat to the skillet.

When butter melts take a spoon and spoon butter over the top of the steak throughout the 2 minutes it is in the pan!

On the grill

You can also grill your steaks once they are cooked. Preheat your grill to 450ºF and sear for one minute on each side over direct heat. Let the steak rest for 5 minutes before eating.

What to Serve with Sous Vide Steak

Grilled Carrots– These grilled carrots are sweet and savory, perfectly cooked, and full of amazing flavor! Throw these grilled carrots on the grill and serve them alongside any of your favorite BBQ dishes.

Butter Lettuce Salad– This butter lettuce salad has a combination of vegetables, fruit, nuts, cheese, and is drizzled with a simple lemon vinaigrette. Everything on a bed of tender butter lettuce makes a perfect and delicious salad.

The Best Arugula Salad- This is a simple and delicious arugula salad recipe. It is made with arugula, dried fruit, veggies, and fruit. It is the perfect side dish to any meal!

Oven Roasted Asparagus- Oven roasted asparagus is the best way to eat asparagus! It’s a healthy side dish recipe that’s cooked to perfection.

Steak Salad: Use your sous vide steak on our delicious steak salad recipe for the ultimate healthy meal.

4.82 from 16 votes

Best Sous Vide Steak Recipe

Sous vide steak comes out perfectly cooked every time. Set your water bath to a certain temperature to make sure the whole steak is cooked to a certain degree.

By: Linley Hanson

Prep: 30

Cook: 2

Total: 2 30

Servings:

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Ingredients

▢ 1 lb. New York strip steaks*, 2 1/2-lb. steaks
▢ 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
▢ 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
▢ 2 herb sprigs, rosemary, thyme, or oregano
▢ 2 tablespoons of butter
▢ 2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions

First, prepare sous vide water bath by filling a large pot with water. The pot needs to be large enough to hold your steak and the water needs to be deep enough to hit the water line on your sous vide. Next, place your sous vide into the water bath. For a medium-rare steak, set the water bath to 130ºF. See the recipe notes for other temperature recommendations.
Next, generously salt and pepper both sides of the steak and place steak into a medium-sized Stasher bag or Food Saver bag. Each steak should be placed in its own bag, so if you’re cooking 4 steaks, use 4 bags.
Next, place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each steak and a sprig of herb.
Remove the air from all of the bags and tightly seal them. If you’re using a Stasher bag, try your best to remove as much air as you can.
Place steaks into the preheated water bath and cook at 130ºF for 2-4 hours. 2 hours is enough time to get the entire steak to the proper temperature, but you can cook for up to 4 hours before the tendons start to break down.
After 2 hours, remove the steak from the water bath and transfer it onto a plate.
Now it’s time to sear the steak for that amazing texture. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add the olive oil.*
When olive oil is fragrant, place the steak in the pan and sear for 1 minute per side. Then, immediately remove them from the heat.
Serve with chimichurri or a delicious vegetable side.

Tips & Notes

You can technically cook as many steaks at once as you’d like.
Sous vide steak temps: Rare- 130ºF, Medium Rare- 140ºF, Medium- 155ºF, and Well Done- 165ºF.
Option to leave the steak in the sous vide for up to 4 hours for ultra-tender steak, but 2 hours is just perfect, as well! Both will come out medium-rare.
Grilling directions: You can also sear steak on the grill by heating the grill to 450ºF and searing the steak on each side for 1 minute.
Check out this temperature chart by Spruce Eats for other temperature options.
We tested this recipe with a 1/2 lb. New york strip, .7 lb ribeye, and a 1 lb tbone and they all turned out perfectly!
This recipe was slightly updated on July 26, 2021.

Watch It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”Utctfsv4″ upload-date=”2019-05-27T09:00:00.000Z” name=”Sous Vide Steak” description=”Want perfectly cooked stead every time? Follow our Sous Vide Steak recipe to make an amazing tender, juicy steak!”]