How to Cook the Perfect Steak Using Sous Vide

In this instructable, my friend Justin and I will show you how to cook the perfect steak using sous vide. Sous vide is a method of cooking in which the item being cooked is placed in a bag or sometimes a jar and cooked in a water bath for a long period of time at a very low temperature. This ensures even cooking throughout. I had my doubts about cooking my steak sous vide style, but oh my does it taste amazing, perfectly medium rare, just how I like it. With that said, you can adjust the temp and get medium, medium well, and well done if you prefer. Cooking a steak using sous vide is easy to do, I we can do it, you can do it, let's get started!

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Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial or do both. :)

You can print the recipe here if you want.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of Steak (we use a New York strip in the video)
• 1/2 tsp. of salt (2g)
• 1/2 tsp. of onion powder (2g)
• 1/2 tsp. of pepper (2g)
• 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder (2g)
• Avocado oil for searing (you can use other oils)
• 2 Tbsp. of butter for basting

**You can play with the amounts of the seasonings according to your tastes.

Tools:

• Sous Vide machine
• Container (Igloo or Special Sous Vide container)
• Cast iron skillet or normal skillet or use your BBQ Grill
• plate
• paper towels or clean kitchen towels
• straw
• ziplock freezer bag or silicon reusable bag

Cooking Temps for Steak:

• Rare (120 F/49 C)
• Medium-Rare (129 F/54 C)
• Medium (135 F/57 C)
• Medium Well (145 F/63 C)
• Well-Done (156 F/69 C)

*Some cuts of steak take less time then others but generally 1 to 3.5 hours is long enough to get the desired doneness.

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First let's season our steaks. We are using a New York Strip cut in this demonstration. Season the steak with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Make sure to get both sides. You may also season the steak once it is in the bag already.

Now we need to bag the steak, a little trick to keep the seasonings and steak juices off the zip lock part is to fold the top part of the bag over. Place the steak in and we are ready for the next step.

Now we need to vacuum seal the steak. We do this so the bag and steak doesn't float at the top. You can use the straw method where you push most of the air out then suck the rest out with a straw then seal it really quick. Or you can use the water method where you place the bag in the water and allow the water pressure to force the air out then seal it. OR you can use a professional vacuum sealer too if you like. :) Also you will notice we are just using a small deep igloo container for our sous vide, but you can buy containers more specific to it. The container doesn't matter a ton, as long as it is really deep.

Next we attach our sous vide machine to our container and turn it on to our desired temp. Since we want a medium-rare steak we are going to set it at right around 129 F. And let it cook for 3 hours. Some cuts of meat will take less time.

Here is a handy chart for temps:

Cooking Temps for Steak:
Rare (120 F/49 C)

Medium-Rare (129 F/54 C)

Medium (135 F/57 C)

Medium Well (145 F/63 C)

Well-Done (156 F/69 C)

*Some cuts of steak take less time then others but generally 1 to 3.5 hours is long enough to get the desired doneness.

*Also one note if you really want a super well done steak, there really isn't a reason to cook via sous vide, just slap in on the grill or skillet and cook until there is no pink whatsoever in the middle. : )

After the 3 hours are up we take the steak out of the bag and pat it dry with paper towel or a clean cloth towel. Notice how the steak looks grey? That is perfectly normal. Then after it is dry place the steak in the fridge for about 10 minutes while the skillet and oil are heating up. It is important that the steak gets dry. We don't want there to be excess water on the steak.

Next we heat up our skillet with about 2 Tbsp. or so of oil. We are using avocado oil, but you can use your favorite oil. The heat is set to medium high, so we have it really hot. Then drop in the steaks and sear each side. It doesn't take very long, all together the searing only takes about 2 minutes total for all the sides. See how the grey steak winds up looking amazing. :) Top them off with butter at the end if you like.

Alternatively you can sear off the steak on your BBQ grill if you like. Especially if you already have the grill ready for other foods like veggies or pineapple, etc.

Now remove the steaks from the skillet and place on a plate or cutting board and allow the steak to rest for a few minutes. Now cut into it and enjoy! :)

Now watch those steps in action by checking out the video tutorial. :)