Sous Vide Steak

How to cook steak sous vide (my full process)

The Sous Vide Water Bath

Setting up the water bath is the easiest part. I use a big stockpot for weeknight dinners when I’m cooking one or two steaks. If I’m cooking for a crowd, I switch to a sous vide circulator (I use the Anova with wi-fi) clipped to a larger plastic tub that lets me clip multiple bags to the sides and cook different cuts at the same temperature.

Fill the vessel with warm water before attaching the circulator. Starting with warm water cuts the preheat time in half. I set my circulator to 131 for medium rare, then let it come to temperature while I prep the steaks. The whole setup takes me about 5 minutes.

Bagging the Steak for Sous Vide

I’ve tried both vacuum-sealed bags and regular gallon Ziploc bags, and I reach for the Ziploc almost every time. It’s cheap, it doesn’t squeeze the meat out of shape, and you can fit two steaks in one bag if you position them vertically side by side (not stacked on top of each other, which blocks even cooking).

If you do vacuum seal, stick to one steak per pouch. The vacuum pressure can deform thinner cuts and press them together if you pack more than one.

Getting the air out of a Ziploc is simple once you’ve done it a couple times. I partially seal the bag, dip it slowly into the water bath (seal side up), and let the water push the air out as the bag sinks. Once the waterline is just below the seal, I zip it the rest of the way. If the bag floats after sealing, there’s still air trapped inside and I start over. Trapped air means uneven cooking because the water can’t make contact with all sides of the steak.

Once the bag is sealed, I clip it to the side of the pot with a binder clip and make sure the entire steak is submerged. If the water level is low, I just add more.

How long to sous vide steak (by thickness)

For most steaks that are 1 to 2 inches thick, I cook for 1 to 2 hours. A 1-inch steak is done in about 1 hour; a 1.5 to 2-inch cut needs closer to 2 hours. The water bath is forgiving since the temperature stays locked, so if dinner runs late and you go to 3 hours, the steak will still be fine.

Where I draw the line is 4 hours. Past that point, the texture starts to shift. The steak gets softer and loses moisture. I learned this the hard way when I forgot about a couple of strip steaks one afternoon. They were still medium rare in color but the bite was mushy, not what you want.

If you’re cooking from frozen (yes, you can), add about 1 extra hour to the bath time and plan on an extra minute per side when you sear. I do this regularly when I forget to thaw steaks and it works perfectly.

Can you overcook steak in a sous vide bath?

The short answer is yes, but not in the way you’d think. The temperature won’t climb past what you set, so the interior stays at your target doneness. What changes is the texture. The longer the steak sits in the bath, the more the muscle fibers break down. At 1 to 2 hours, you get a pleasant, traditional chew. At 4 hours, the steak feels noticeably softer and starts losing juice.

I’ve pushed it to 5 hours once out of curiosity and the ribeye came out almost mushy. Still pink, still technically medium rare, but the eating experience was off. So I keep my window at 1 to 2 hours for standard cuts and never go past 4.

This is even more critical with seafood. I’ve overcooked shrimp in the bath by just 20 minutes and they turned to mush. Steak is more forgiving, but it’s not bulletproof.

How to sear steak after the sous vide bath

First you must cool the steak

Once your steak comes out of the bath, pat it completely dry with paper towels. Moisture is what prevents a good sear. The steak will look gray and unappetizing at this stage, and that’s totally normal. The sear is what builds the brown crust and the Maillard flavor.

Here’s a step I never skip: I refrigerate the steak for about 10 minutes before searing. Straight out of the bath, the interior is sitting right at 131 degrees (or whatever you set). If you throw it directly onto a screaming hot pan, the sear pushes that interior temp higher and you lose the medium rare you worked for. Cooling it down first gives you a bigger buffer, so you can sear for a full 2 minutes per side and still keep that edge-to-edge pink.

What ways can you finish or sear your steak?

Seared on the grill

I preheat my grill to 500 degrees and oil the grates before the steak goes on. The whole sear takes about 1 to 2 minutes per side. I use this method when I’m already grilling something else or cooking for a group, because it’s fast and I can sear 4 steaks at once without crowding a pan.

Pan seared (my everyday method)

This is how I finish my steak 90% of the time. I preheat my cast iron (I use a Finex for even heat and cooler handles) over medium-high, add a couple tablespoons of avocado oil, then lay the steak in and drop a knob of butter alongside it. I sear for 1 to 2 minutes per side, spooning the melted butter over the top the entire time. I picked that up watching Gordon Ramsay years ago and now I can’t do it any other way. The butter basting builds a richer crust than oil alone.

My other go-to pans are these All-Clad stainless steel skillets. Great heat distribution, easy to clean, and they handle high-heat searing without warping.

Blow torch finish

The torch gives you the fastest sear and crisps up fat caps beautifully. I hold it about 3 inches from the surface and move steadily across each side for about 2 minutes. The downside is that if you linger too long in one spot, the steak picks up a faint gas taste. I’ve found that pairing the torch with a quick pan sear on one side (torch the top while the bottom sears in cast iron) gives the best of both worlds without overdoing either.

Meal prep sous vide steak for the week

One of the things I love most about this method is how well it works for meal prep. I cook 4 to 6 steaks on a Sunday afternoon, pull them from the bath, pat them dry, and store them in the fridge. When I’m ready to eat during the week, I drop the steak back in the water bath for 30 minutes to warm the interior, then give it a quick sear. The result is just as good as a freshly cooked steak.

This is huge for a keto kitchen because protein is the meal and having it prepped ahead means I’m not scrambling at 6pm. I pair reheated steaks with a side salad or roasted broccoli and dinner is on the table in under 10 minutes. If you’re looking for more low carb protein meal prep ideas, my keto chicken fried steak and keto beef stew both reheat well too.

Marinades and aromatics for the bag

I keep it simple most of the time (salt, pepper, done) but when I want to switch things up, I add aromatics directly to the bag before the cook. A sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme and 2 to 3 crushed garlic cloves are my go-to combination. The warm water gently infuses the flavors into the meat over the 1 to 2 hour cook.

You can also add a thin layer of marinade to the bag. I’ve used soy sauce and garlic, a simple herb butter, and a coffee-chili rub. The key is to keep it thin because too much liquid dilutes the sear later. Whatever you add to the bag, you’ll taste it in the finished steak, so I stick to flavors I know I want throughout.