Here's How Long You Need To Sous Vide Steak To A Perfect Medium Rare

For delicious, perfectly cooked steak, try sous vide, an often overlooked but super easy cooking method. Sous vide, a French phrase meaning "under vacuum," is a culinary technique that involves slowly cooking food in a temperature-controlled water bath. How long you sous vide your steak to achieve the perfect medium rare temperature depends on the type of steak and the cooking temperature. If, like most chefs, you like your steak medium rare, leaning towards rare, a good place to start is cooking it at 129 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours. 

However, the best part about sous vide, is that offers you the ultimate cooking flexibility — there is a range of cooking times and temps that'll deliver tasty medium rare steak. For fattier cuts of steak like ribeye, porterhouse, T-bone, and strip steak, you can cook it at 129 to 134 degrees Fahrenheit for one to four hours. Leaner cuts like tenderloin can be cooked at the same temperature range, for a tad bit less (45 minutes to four hours). These cooking times and temperatures are for steaks one and a half to two inches thick. Follow a few more helpful tips and sous vide will be your new favorite cooking technique for delicious, perfectly made steak.

One of the biggest benefits of cooking steak sous vide is that it takes the pressure off in the kitchen. When grilling or pan-frying steak, you have a short timeframe to nail the perfect temperature for your meat. Sous vide cooking, however, is a gentle process that will keep your steak at the ideal temperature for longer, giving you plenty of time to pull it before it becomes overdone. It also allows you to leave the steak in the water bath for hours until you're ready to eat. 

There are a few kitchen tools needed to sous vide steak, including an immersion or precision circulator, such as the KitchenBoss Sous Vide Cooker Machine, a vacuum sealer, like the FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Machine, a water bath container, and a skillet (cast iron is ideal). Follow a guide on what to do if you don't have a vacuum seal for your sous vide. 

Begin by preheating your water bath using the immersion circulator to the proper temperature. Start with hot water in the container to help it preheat faster. After seasoning and/or marinating your steak, vacuum seal it or use a different method to completely remove the air from a resealable plastic bag. Fully submerge the bagged steak in the heated water bath and allow it to cook for the appropriate time. Remove the steak and pan-fry it in butter or oil for 30 seconds per side to give it a nice, tasty sear.