Sous Vide Sirloin Steak

This method of cooking takes out the guesswork and ensures succulent evenly cooked sous vide sirloin steak that’s perfectly tender. Sous vide cooking is a gamechanger, especially when it comes to steak! The easiest, most foolproof method to prepare restaurant quality steak at home. You basically only need 5 minutes of effort!

What is sous vide?

Sous-vide translates to “under vacuum” in French. It’s basically a cooking technique that involves vacuum sealing food in a bag and cooking it in a water bath at a controlled temperature. In order to do this, you need a sous vide machine which usually looks like an immersion blender stick that you clip onto a tub of water to heat the water and maintain the water circulation at this precise temperature.

Why use a sous-vide method to cook steaks?

The precise temperature ensures that the steak is cooked evenly throughout, and that you can specifically choose the doneness level you want. This is great for consistency!

By sealing the steak in an airtight bag, you retain the flavor and natural juice for a moist and delicious end product.

You only need a handful of ingredients, and a really simple cooking method to get fancy restaurant style steaks at home.

You can batch cook sous-vide a bunch of steaks at the same time, so this really speeds up the process (rather than pan-cooking steaks one at a time).

Why are sous vide sirloin steaks so good?

Sirloin is an easy cut of meat to overcook, so it’s great when you can use a sous-vide to prevent that from happening.

When you sous-vide sirloin steaks, you get an incredible end product, almost the equivalent of more expensive cuts of meat.

Sirloin steaks are leaner than rib-eye steaks, so they are a great choice for someone who wants flavor without the excess fat.

Ingredients you need for sous-vide steak:

Sirloin steaks: I got steaks that were around 8 oz (200-250g), and 1.5-2 inches thick each.

Salt, pepper and garlic powder: this is really all the seasoning you need, but if there’s anything else you want to use feel free. I like using flaky salt, and fresh ground black pepper.

Butter: This is for pan searing the steak after it’s done sous-vide, and infusing the steak with extra flavor.

Garlic cloves: If you want to toss some into the pan when searing the steak.

Fresh thyme or rosemary if desired

Step by step guide to sous vide steaks:

1. Pat steaks dry, and season both sides generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Place in an airtight ziploc bag, or vacuum sealed bag. Make sure all the air is out of the bag to help prevent bags from floating in the water bath. (See prevent floating in sous vide tips below). Prepare a container by filling with enough water to come up the side of the sous vide stick, and turn on the machine to the temperature of your choice (see cooking temperature chart below). Once water has got to the correct temperature, place sealed bags of steak inside.
3. Cook for the duration of time that you want- anywhere between 1-3 hours. I usually do 1.5-2 hours. The best part is you won’t overcook the steak no matter how long it stays in (up to 4 hours that is).
4. Once the steak is cooked in the sous vide, remove from the bags. Pat the steak dry, in order to help it sear better.
5. Heat a large skillet over high heat (I really like using a cast iron pan). Once REALLY hot, place one steak at a time in the skillet. If your skillet needs it, add a little vegetable oil, mine doesn’t, the fat from the steak is plenty to keep it from sticking. Sear the steaks one minute a side, then press the sides of the steak into the skillet too, to render any fat.
6. Add some butter, and herbs if using to the skillet, plus peeled garlic cloves if you like. Spoon the butter over the steak, just a quick step to baste the steak with all that buttery flavor.
7. Rest for a few minutes before slicing and enjoying!

Time and temperature chart for sous vide steaks:

Preferred Doneness	Temperature	Time
Rare (cool red)	120°F / 49°C to 128°F / 53°C	1hr-2hr30
Medium Rare (warm red)	129°F / 54°C to 134°F / 57°C	1hr-4hr
Medium (warm pink)	135°F / 57°C to 144°F / 62°C	1hr-4hr
Medium Well (slightly pink)	145°F / 63°C to 155°F / 68°C	1hr-3hr30
Well Done (barely pink)	156°F / 69°C and up	1hr-4hr

My preference is for medium steaks. We cooked them at 135 F for 2 hours, then seared for 1 minute a side and they came out perfectly!

How to prevent sous vide bags from floating:

If bags float in the water bath, that means there is air in them. So the trick is to displace as much air as you can. You can do this one of several ways.

1. The most effective way would be using a vacuum sealer. This uses a simple machine, quite affordable that comes with special bags and seals the bags completely tight, sucking out all the air.
2. You can also ask your butcher to place the steaks with seasoning inside vacuum sealed bags.
3. What I did in this post, to show you, is place a straw inside the food saver bag. Once I placed the steaks inside, tightly seal the bag most of the way, insert straw, pinch and seal the bag around the straw. Suck out air using the straw, then remove the straw and seal the bags the rest of the way. You can see this somewhat demonstrated in the video in the recipe card.
4. Finally, you can weigh down the bags. Use a dull metal object externally that you place on top of the bags like a baking rack, can opener, steamer baskets, mug etc. You can alternately place a dull butter knife inside the bag with the steak before closing.

What to serve steak with:

Any starchy side will always be a hit. You can serve with mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower, fries, baked potatoes, etc.

I also like air frying whatever veggies I have on hand, like zucchini or carrot, to round out the meal.

If you want to make a quick gravy, you can do it with the juice left over in the sous vide bags. In a skillet, heat up about 2 tablespoon of butter and once melted add 2 tablespoon of flour. Toast on medium heat for a minute or so, then strain in the sous-vide juices. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until gravy thickens.

Storing leftover sous-vide sirloin steaks:

If you don’t want to sear and eat the steaks right away, or are wondering how far in advance you can sous-vide steak, you are in luck. You can sous-vide the steak in bags. If you don’t open the bags, the steaks will last in the fridge for 5 days. When you are ready, just take them out and sear as instructed in the recipe card.

Sous-vide steak expert tips:

• Choose your temperature wisely in the sous-vide. Refer to the temperature chart above. Your steak will do nearly all its cooking in the sous-vide, besides that final sear in a hot pan.
• Season the steak generously before vacuum sealing or placing in airtight bag, to really get optimal flavor.
• When searing the steak, pat it dry so that it really gets a nice crust. Sear for just one minute a side so you don’t end up over cooking your steak.
• Let the steak rest for a few minutes after searing to lock in the juices of the meat.

Recipe FAQs:

For more sous-vide recipes:

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