Those of us who like meat know the importance of preparing a sous vide steak well. Whether it’s steak, tenderloin, or any other cut of beef, it’s important to find the exact combination of time and temperature where we get the best flavor and texture you want.
We’ll go step by step on how to prepare a perfect fillet at low-temperature sous vide steak and achieve professional results at home with the Anova Precision Cooker.
Whether you’re cooking a ribeye, entrecote, loin, sirloin, or any other cut, just follow the steps and adjust as needed for a juicy Anova steak.
I remember one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant in Provo, UT and the Avila steak they served us was spectacular, I won’t forget it. But alas, eating a well-prepared steak in a restaurant is not the same as eating steaks at home.
I think we know how long and complicated a process preparing a large piece of meat to grill is. In thinking about it, it’s easy and it’s not too much trouble, but when we actually start prepping, we realize how much effort it is. Then when the actual grilling comes, how many times is the steak’s center cooked the way you originally planned?
Preparing a filet, ribeye or tenderloin for low-temperature cooking, sous vide steak, is the easiest thing you can imagine. You’re going to think about the time you had that amazing steak. And you made it at home.
Table of Contents
Anova Sous Vide Steak Recipe
Cooking sous vide filet could not be easier, you just have to season it, vacuum seal it, and put it in the water at 60ยบC / 140ยฐF for 2 hours.
I’ll explain in-depth and step by step, including different times and temperatures according to the steak cut, size, and how well done you like your steaks. One question before we get into it, do you know how to tell if steak is bad? Hopefully that’s not in question.
Ingredients
- 2.5 in thick steak
- Salt
- Pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
1. Set Up Anova Precision Cooker and Container
The first thing we have to do is pre-heat the water with our sous vide cooking system. I personally use the Anova Precision Cooker.
Depending on the degree of doneness that you like your meat, follow the below temperature table as a guideline:
- Rare (cool red center): 125ยฐ F 52ยฐ C
- Medium Rare (warm pink center): 135ยฐ F 57ยฐC
- Medium (warm pink center): 145ยฐ F 63ยฐ C
- Medium Well (slightly pink center): 150ยฐ F 66ยฐ C
- Well Done (little or no pink): 160ยฐ F 71ยฐ C
*Head to this post if you need suggestions for a sous vide container.
2. Season Your Steak
We generously season our steak, without fear. I add a lot of flaked salt and lightly massage the fillet to spread the salt and pepper. And if you want to add a little smoky flavor, you could try smoked sea salt.
Now is also the time to add any marinade into the bag.
Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and even some fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary or bay leaf, but it’s not necessary. I don’t usually add herbs, just the salt, pepper, and maybe a little Worcestershire marinade sauce.
3. Vacuum Seal the Bag
Vacuum seal the seasoned steak. Getting the air out of the bag is key to ensuring the meats will stay in the water to evenly cook.
We own and love the FoodSaver FM5200. It makes vacuum sealing your bag a breeze! (Find all of our favorite vacuum sealers for all budgets here.)
If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can put the steak in a ziplock bag, but it must be of good quality and safe for cooking food.
You’ll want to get as much air out as possible, so the bag doesn’t float in the water.
4. Sous Vide the Steaks
Once the water’s temperature has reached the desired level for your meat’s doneness, put the seasoned fillet and vacuum sealed bag in the water bath.
Depending on your sous vide immersion circulator and the temperature you’re heating to, it could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. The higher the temperature, the longer it’ll take. The lower the watts of your cooker, the longer it’ll take.
*You can also use sous vide balls to heat your water quicker and keep the temperature even.
And remember the magic of sous vide, if you leave it past your time, that’s ok because you get about a 15-minute window to get the steak out. Otherwise, you start getting into the danger zone of pasteurization when bacteria starts growing.
5. Sear the Steak
Once the cooking time has passed, you’ll have a perfect steak cooked at the doneness you want. Objective achieved.
But we have an additional, essential step. We want to make it look good before putting the steak on a plate. Searing sous vide steak on all sides will also keep the steak’s juices inside, so when you cut into the steak, the juices will flow out. Is your mouth drooling yet?
Simply put a good oil for searing steak in the pan, heat until it starts to smoke, lower the steak and sear the fillet on all sides. About 30 seconds for each side will be enough, but we will know from the color, what we are looking for is that beautiful brown.
There are alternatives to this method, and anything goes if you dare. You can baste in butter instead of oil, which browns more. It can also be finished broiled in the oven or on the grill, which is amazing.
There is one oil we would avoid searing with, which you can read about here.
- Related: Anova Precision Oven Review
6. Serve and Enjoy
All you have left to do is to put the steak on a plate, sprinkle a little salt on top, and start eating.
Anova Sous Vide Steak
Equipment
- Anova Precision Cooker
- Sous Vide Container
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 2.5 inch thick steak
- Salt
- Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Set Up Anova Precision Cooker and Container
- Season Your Steak
- Vacuum Seal the Bag
- Put Steaks in Sous Vide Container
- Sear the Steak
Pros and Cons of Sous Vide Cooking Steak
Sous Vide Pros
- Easy to use. Minimal learning curve.
- Set it and forget it. You can leave your house and not have to worry about your steak!
- Zero smells. The overpowering smell of steak can fill a home whether you like the scent or not.
- Seals in flavor. Whatever season your steak is seasoned with be close to the steak for the entire time.
- Incredibly juicy. There’s no loss of juice when cooking your steak in the sous vide.
- Restaurant quality. Everyone will be so impressed with how amazing your steak tastes!
Sous Vide Cons
- Take a longer time than grilling.
Anova Culinary’s Sous Vide Time and Temperature Guide
Check out Anova Culinary’s Sous Vide Time and Temperature Guide for a variety of steak cuts and how long to cook them and at what temperature.
You can even sous vide frozen steak if you wanted with the general guideline to increase the time by 50%.
Best Steak Cuts for Sous Vide
When the fillet is understood to be a cut of red meat, it can take many forms and come from different parts of the animal.
For this recipe, any cut of steak is worth it, because the technique is always the same, choosing the necessary temperature for the desired point and waiting the time it takes to get it, which will depend mainly on the thickness.
There are many great steak cuts for sous vide like the ribeye, porterhouse, sirloin, tenderloin, filet mignon, and more. Just head into your butcher shop and ask for the cuts you want. While you’re at it, you can also get a nice pork tenderloin to sous vide.
I love ribeyes and filet mignon cuts usually. If I want more marbled cuts, I’ll go for the ribeye. If I want a lean steak, I’ll go with the filet.
What cut of steak do you feel like today?
When I first started my sous vide journey, I made sure to get a good sous vide starter kit and that included the Anova Precision Cooker.