Want to create restaurant quality steak in your own kitchen…perfectly…every SINGLE time you cook? We are talking about juicy, perfectly cooked, mouth watering steak. Kinda like this:
Yep, steak cooked just the way you like it on the inside and seared to perfection on the outside. Want to know the secret? Sous vide cooking. Not too sure what that is? Don’t stop reading now. You have come this far. Stick it out for a couple more minutes and we promise you won’t be disappointed.
Cooking not really your thing? Then cooking sous vide steak is perfect for you.
Now, this is not one of those cooking methods that looks easy to master on all of those infomercials, but is impossible to achieve at home. This is a tried and true cooking method that will take your steak cooking to a whole new, delicious level. We kid you not. Home cooks and chefs are blowing themselves away (not literally of course!) with the food they plate up after only their first sous vide steak cook.
So what is the sous vide cooking technique? In a nutshell, sous vide cooking involves immersing vacuum sealed or zip lock bagged food (in this instance steak), in a low temperature water bath. You leave the food pouch in the water bath at a constant low temperature for a considerable time to cook slowly and gently. Once cooked, you then remove that steak from the food pouch and finish it off by either searing it or using a food torch to create a crispy outer layer. Instagram is a great way to see some of the home cook sous vide steak masterpieces being created around the globe.
Cook sous vide steaks once only created in restaurant kitchens
Sous vide cooking was once only a method that could be used in commercial cafe and restaurant kitchens. It was not accessible to home cooks as the equipment was bulky and expensive. The great news is that sous vide cooking has now become super accessible to the home cook. Two kitchen tools have made this possible. The first is a kitchen appliance called an immersion circulator (and often also known as a precision cooker).
The second kitchen appliance is called a sous vide water oven such as the SousVide Supreme Demi water oven. Many home cooks favor the sous vide immersion circulator over the water oven as these appliances are smaller, take up way less room than a sous vide water oven and are generally cheaper. Sous vide immersion circulators can be used in any of your pots at home. The other advantage is that you can attach an immersion circulator to the side of larger containers when you want to cook large quantities of food.
Fun facts about sous vide steak cooking:
- Home cooks with little prior cooking experience are constantly surprised by how good their own home cooked sous vide steak tastes
- You don’t need to spend a fortune to set yourself up for sous vide cooking
- Sous vide cooking works just as well with cheaper cuts of steak as it does with premium cuts
- By using a larger water bath you can easily serve sous vide steak at your next large dinner party and achieve the same, consistent, exceptional results
What cuts of steak work best for sous vide cooking?
You can cook any cut of steak like a pro with sous vide cooking. Even cheap cuts of meat produce restaurant quality succulence and taste. This is because the meat is cooked at low heat over a long period of time. In fact, many home cooks prefer to use cheaper meat cuts for their sous vide cooking.
Here are some examples of different cuts of meat that people have put in a sous vide water bath to create absolutely stunning steak meals:
- NY strip loin (PC: Pinterest)
- Rump steak (PC: Pinterest)
- Rib eye (PC: Pinterest)
- Prime rib
- Skirt steak
- Dry aged rib steak (PC: Food Porn Diary via Pinterest)
- Filet mignon (PC: Omaha Steaks)
- Tri tip (PC: Pinterest Nick Kokonas)
- Chuck roast (PC: Pinterest)
- Flank (PC: Pinterest)
- Brisket (PC: Pinterest)
- Beef cheeks (PC: Pinterest)
Delicious sous vide steak is just one kitchen toy away
One kitchen toy stands between you and restaurant quality steak brilliance in your own kitchen. The toy comes in two forms:
- A sous vide water oven such as the SousVide Supreme water oven pictured below. This is an all in one machine that has a water bath in-built and looks something like this:
2. A sous vide immersion circulator (sometimes also called a precision cooker) such as the Anova Culinary Sous Vide Immersion Circulator. This is a “stick” that you can put in your own pots or any other water container you choose. For larger cooks some home cooks use their sink or larger plastic containers (BPA free options are available). A sous vide immersion circulator looks something like this:
Give sous vide steak a go
If you are not a natural star in your kitchen, don’t be concerned. It is extremely likely you will surprise yourself with the delicious, juicy, succulent steaks you are able to serve up with the sous vide method of cooking. No matter what cut of steak you use, you will love the results. Your friends with rave about your cooking ability and your family will want to come over for dinner WAY more often (actually – is that a good thing??). Sous vide cooking really does revolutionize the way you cook steak. And it’s easy, fool proof and requires you to spend minimal time in your kitchen.
The sous vide cooking community is massively supportive
Home cooks are creating amazing meals with sous vide cooking. And the sous vide cooking community is super supportive…and it is growing by the day. In years gone by, you would need to wait for sous vide cook books to be published, or TV shows to screen, to understand each of the steps of sous vide cooking. You now have 24 hour 7 day a week support from other sous viders around the world. You will find sous vide lovers and their steak stories across a wide range of social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook, YouTube channels, online sous vide forums and more! And there are thousands of recipes available online. This includes dishes for those just starting their sous vide journey, right through to very experienced cooks ready to up their sous vide cooking game.
Got a question about cooking sous vide steak? Put it out there on social media and someone will most definitely have the answer or some ideas for you . Of course we are right here to help too. There is no reason to be intimidated by insta pics of sous vide steak perfection. Jump on board the sous vide steak revolution – when you nail your first ever sous vide steak you will never look back.
Further resources and reading
The Food Lab’s Complete Guide to Sous Vide Steak
Head to our Recipes page for some sous vide cooking inspiration. We have curated sous recipes for a huge range of meals including steak (of course!) and other proteins, vegetables, desserts and even cocktails. Use the filter at the top of the Recipe page and click on steak to explore our extensive curated sous vide steak recipe catalogue. Once you start cooking sous vide steak you will be hooked. Oh and a word of warning. Dinner out gets a little harder. You start comparing restaurant steak dishes with your own home cooked steak masterpieces.
If you are a little curious about sous vide cooking and want to learn more before taking the leap, head to our Resources page. We’ve pulled together a comprehensive range of helpful information about sous vide cooking. Read about recommended sous vide products as well as sous vide specific recipe websites, Youtube channels, apps and much, much more.
And if you like the sound of all of this, join the Sous Vide Hub community. We will keep you across the latest sous vide products, recipes and hints and tips PLUS you will get exclusive subscriber offers and discounts. Click here to join us.