Sous Vide Rib Eye Steak Recipe (2024)

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Sous vide ribeye steak is perfectly cooked every time. With sous vide cooking you can get consistent results so your beef is brown and crusty on the outside and juicy in the middle. Make a steak house quality dinner at home!

Ribeye is one of my family’s favorite dinners – and nothing beats being able to make a tasty, juicy steak without leaving the comfort of your home. By using a sous vide immersion cooker you can make sure your meat is perfectly cooked every time, just like a fancy restaurant.

Sous vide is excellent for making all kinds of easy dinners, like sous vide chicken breast or sous vide lamb chops. Ribeye is another dinner that can really be perfected by using sous vide cooking.

When grilling or pan frying steak at home it is very difficult to make sure it is not over cooked or under cooked. Even with a instant read meat thermometer you can miss the precise moment at which your meat has reached the optimal temperature and end up with meat that is over done.

This is especially annoying because steak is costly! When I buy expensive meat I don’t want a mediocre meal, I want a delicious meal. Before I got a sous vide I rarely cooked steaks at home but now it is quick and easy to make a perfect meal.

Why You Will Love Sous Vide Ribeye

  • Cooked precisely, to the exact level of doneness desired
  • Simple recipe requires only a few minutes of hands on attention
  • Delicious and juicy steak

What is Sous Vide Cooking?

A sous vide circulator works by heating a large pan of water to a uniform temperature. Food is cooked by sealing it in a ziploc bag or vacuum sealed bag and immersing it in the hot water bath.

As the food cooks in the bag it reaches the temperature of the water, but it can’t get any warmer. So a meat cooked in a sous vide at 134 F will reach exactly 134 F but not warmer. So it is not possible to overcook your meat. From edge to edge your steak will be the temperature that you desire.

After the sous vide cooking you will want to sear the ribeye quickly in a cast iron skillet or on the grill. This gives the steak a nice crusty brown exterior, which goes perfectly with the juicy, pink interior.

What is the Best Ribeye Sous Vide Temperature?

Here are the suggested temperatures for cooking sous vide ribeye:

What temperature is best will depend on your taste. I cook my sous vide ribeye somewhere between 130 and 134 degrees F, depending on what I feel like eating.

Seasoning Sous Vide Steak

Before cooking the sous vide ribeye the meat needs some seasoning. You can sprinkle the steak a seasoning like lemon pepper seasoning or just use a generous amount of salt and pepper.

I also like to include herbs and aromatics in the bag with the ribeye to help flavor it as it cooks. Garlic works well or shallots along with herbs like thyme, rosemary and parsley. I generally just use whichever fresh herbs I have around.

Sous Vide Rib Eye Steak Recipe (5)

How to Make Sous Vide Ribeye Step by Step

1. Set the Temperature of the Sous Vide

Use the chart above to set your sous vide to your desired temperature. My Anova sous vide will beep and let me know when the water has reached the desired temperature.

2. Prepare the Ribeye

While the sous vide reaches temperature put ribeye in a bag for sous vide cooking. You will want to season it with salt and pepper or your favorite seasoning along with garlic or herbs before sealing it in the bag.

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Sous vide cooking works best with meat that is thick, at least 1″ thick. Thinner beef won’t give you the desired contrast between a juicy interior and a crusty brown exterior.

If you don’t have a vacuum sealer you can use a plastic bag with a zipper to hold the meat using the water displacement method.

3. Put the Ribeye in the Sous Vide

Once the water bath has reached the cooking temperature it is time to put the steak in. If you used a vacuum sealer you can just drop the bag in the water.

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If you used a plastic bag use the water displacement method to seal the bag. Leave the zipper slider partly open at the top, and carefully lower the bag into the water, keeping the top out of the water.

As the bag lowers the water pressure will push any excess air out of the bag. Once the meat is submerged close the bag completely. Check out this post for a step by step explanation of the water displacement method with a video.

4. Sous Vide the Ribeye

When the cold meat enters the water the temperature of the water bath will decrease by a few degrees. Start timing the cooking once the water gets back to the temperature it is set at.

Let the ribeye cook in the water bath for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. This gives you a large window of time to work with!

5. Make Mushrooms or Onions if desired

Since you need to heat up a frying pan to sear the steak you might as well saute some mushrooms or onions to serve with it. About 15 minutes before you want to eat heat a heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat.

Add some butter or oil and mushrooms or onions and saute the vegetables for about 10 minutes, until they have softened. Then push them to the side of the skillet or remove them to a plate while you sear the steak.

5. Sear the Ribeye

Turn the heat on the cast iron skillet up to medium high and add some oil or butter to the skillet. Take the beef out of the water bath, open the bag, remove any herbs or aromatics and pat the ribeye dry with paper towels.

Then sear the ribeye in the cast iron skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side. A nice brown crust will develop which adds extra flavor and makes the steak look good. You can also sear it on a grill.

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Keep the heat medium/high and only brown it for about 2 minutes on each side. If you keep it on the heat too long the interior will start to cook, which will ruin the entire point of using the sous vide!

What to Serve With Sous Vide Ribeye

After the ribeye browned set it aside to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Cover the ribeye with the mushrooms or onions and serve.

This tasty, perfectly cooked ribeye steak is delicious served with compound garlic butter and mashed potatoes. This recipe will give you a perfectly cooked dinner every time!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Sous Vide Cooking Safe?

Sous vide is a safe way to cook your food. To ensure food safety you need to kill off any harmful bacteria that are in the food. Killing bacteria depends both on the temperature you heat the food to and the time for which you cook it.

In sous vide cooking you cook the food at the lower temperature for a longer time, so the food is safe. However this cooking time is almost completely hands off.

Can I Sous Vide Frozen Steak?

Sous vide cooking works amazingly well with frozen steak. The meat will need to stay in the sous vide cooker for a little longer, but other than that there is no difference in the recipe.

As a rule of thumb for sous vide cooking frozen meat you should double the minimum cooking time. So for this recipe frozen ribeye should be cooked for at least 2 hours.

Being able to use frozen meat makes buying in bulk easy. Buy a large package at the grocery store, season the meat and package them individually in bags and freeze. Then when you are ready to make steak you can just take out as many steaks as needed and put them in the sous vide.

Find More Sous Vide Recipes

  • Sous Vide Chicken Breast
  • Sous Vide Beef Tenderloin
  • Sous Vide Lamb Chops
  • Sous Vide Chicken Thighs

Yield: 2

Sous Vide Ribeye Steak

Sous Vide Rib Eye Steak Recipe (11)

Sous vide ribeye steak is perfectly cooked steak every time.

Prep Time5 minutes

Cook Time1 hour

Searing Time10 minutes

Total Time1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Sous Vide Steak

  • 2 ribeye steak
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • rosemary, thyme or parsley
  • 1/2 shallot or garlic

Searing the Steak

  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 4 ounces mushrooms or onions (optional)
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Put the sous vide cooker in a water bath and set temperature of the cooker to 134 F or your desired temperature (see notes).
  2. While the water reaches the desired temperature prepare the steaks. Season them with salt and pepper. Add a sprig of rosemary or parsley on top of the steaks along with sliced shallots or garlic.
  3. Seal the seasoned steaks in vacuum bags or place them in zipper bags.
  4. Once the cooker reaches 134 F place the steaks in the water, submerging them completely.
  5. The temperature of the water will decrease once the cold steaks are added. Once it gets back up to temperature start timing the cooking. Cook the ribeye steaks for 1 - 3 hours.
  6. About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat heat a frying pan on medium heat and add the butter. If you want mushrooms or onions then saute them mushrooms until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
  7. Turn the cast iron skillet up to medium high heat and add the olive oil. Take the steaks out of the sous vide cooker. Remove any herbs and pat the steaks dry with a paper towel.
  8. Sear the steaks for 2 minutes on each side until nicely browned.
  9. Let the ribeye steaks rest for 5 minutes and serve with mushrooms or onions.

Notes

If cooking frozen rib eye steaks increase the minimum cooking time to 2 hours.

Cooking temperature chart

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

2

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 478Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 23g

Nutrition facts are estimates.

Sous Vide Rib Eye Steak Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to sous vide a ribeye steak? ›

Ribeye steak typically takes between 2-4 hours to sous vide. We recommend cooking in a precision cooker for two hours, but you can cook your steak longer if you'd like to cook it past medium-rare. Account for another 4-6 minutes to sear and 5-10 minutes to rest after cooking.

What seasonings to use for sous vide steak? ›

Seasonings – coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper is all that was used for this reverse-seared steak. Herbs – I used fresh thyme sprigs to enhance the flavor of the steak during the sous vide and searing process. Other herbs you could use are rosemary, sage, or oregano.

What temperature do you sous vide prime rib steaks? ›

For a medium-rare prime rib that you're going to sear, we recommend setting the water bath to 130 degrees. If you'd prefer medium, go for 135 degrees or 145 degrees for medium-well. Your sous vide prime rib will likely be ready in about six hours, but you can cook it for up to 12 hours.

Should you sear before or after sous vide? ›

Even if you do a pre-sear, the crust itself will go away and can only be established by searing it after the sous vide process is over. Not all food needs a post-sear, such as some fish or chicken and beef that is going into a sauce and you don't want or need the extra flavor for.

How do you season a ribeye steak before sous vide? ›

Season steaks generously with salt and pepper. Place in sous vide bags along with herbs, garlic, and shallots (if using) and distribute evenly. Seal bags and place in water bath for desired time according to charts.

What is the best thickness for sous vide ribeye steak? ›

The thickness of the meat is very important. The time it takes for the meat to reach the right temperature to the core increases exponentially with the thickness. The optimal thickness for a steak is about 2.5cm. Avoid that the steak is much thicker, otherwise the sous-vide cooking takes too long.

Should I add butter to sous vide steak? ›

Here at Sous Vide Tools we often like to add a small amount of butter to the bag and find that for best results, flavoured butter works really well to add a little something extra during the cooking process. Our preference is to place butter into the bag itself, rather than on top of the product.

Should I marinate a steak before sous vide? ›

Another thing to note is that cooked meat doesn't absorb marinades, and the outside of meats cook in roughly 5 to 10 minutes sous vide, so you always want to marinate first before sous vide cooking — even if you leave the marinade in the bag.

Do you put butter or oil in sous vide steak? ›

Kenji Lopez-Alt said that he doesn't suggest adding fat (butter or olive oil) to the bag when cooking steak sous vide. He theorized that the added fat was absorbing fat-soluble flavor compounds from the meat and then being poured down the drain with the bag juice/butter.

Should you sear prime rib before sous vide? ›

Sous vide ensures tenderness and succulence, and finishing your prime rib on the grill brings more benefits. Sear once in a skillet before cooking sous vide to achieve the flavors of the Maillard reaction—and then again, after, for an outer crust that's on par with the best steakhouses.

Should I season prime rib before sous vide? ›

Season the rib roast with the salt and pepper and let it sit uncovered on a baking rack (over a plate) in the fridge overnight. Heat a sous vide water bath to 131F degrees. Place the rib roast in a vacuum seal bag with the roasted garlic and fresh thyme and seal. Cook in the water bath for 8-12 hours.

How long to sear prime rib after sous vide? ›

Remove pouch from water bath and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat grill to hot. Grill for two minutes per side.

What temperature do you sear steak after sous vide? ›

By using the ice bath, you can build up a thermal barrier that will prevent your steak from greying. And by searing quickly above 400°F (204°C), you will get that delicious Maillard crust. So buy some steaks, and sous vide with the confidence that you're about to cook them to total perfection.

Is 4 hours too long to sous vide a steak? ›

After 3 to 4 hours, the texture of your steak will change. It will become more mushy. That is why it is recommended that you only cook until done (1 to 2 hours). So, overdoing it, as you describe it, would be cooking it too long so that the texture becomes undesirable.

How long does it take to sous vide a 1 inch thick steak? ›

My rule of thumb is TWO to FOUR hours for a TWO INCH STEAK, ONE to TWO hours TOPS for a ONE INCH STEAK and no longer. Sure, you can do it for MUCH longer (I've had steaks that has been sous-vided for more than EIGHT hours) but you're really not going to like the texture.

What is the best temperature to sous vide steak? ›

What Temperature Should I Sous Vide?
Sous Vide Steak Temperature Chart
Very Rare to Rare120°F (49°C) to 128°F (53°C)1 to 2 1/2 hours
Medium Rare129°F (54°C) to 134°F (57°C)1 to 4 hours
Medium135°F (57°C) to 144°F (62°C)1 to 4 hours
Medium-Well145°F (63°C) to 155°F (68°C)1 to 3 1/2 hours
2 more rows

How long does it take to sous vide a 2 inch steak? ›

For sirloin sous vide, set aside about one hour of time per inch of steak thickness. So, for a one-inch sirloin, you'll need about two hours, and a two-inch sirloin needs about three hours. Regardless of thickness and your preferred doneness level, you shouldn't need longer than four hours to sous vide sirloin steak.

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