Sous Vide Steak Recipe
This sous vide steak recipe is cooked in a water bath with herbs and garlic and then pan seared to perfection for the ultimate meal.
Ingredients
- 2 1-pound New York strip steaks
- 8 garlic cloves
- 20 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 peeled shallot
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- coarse salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by patting dry the steak on all sides with a paper towel.
- Next, season the steak on all sides as you would before cooking it with coarse salt.
- Place it on a rack over a sheet tray and place it in the refrigerator uncovered for 2 to 24 hours.
- When you’re ready to prepare it, add a sous vide wand to a large pot or container that’s filled ¾ of the way with cold water.
- Preheat the wand to 100°.
- Remove the steak from the refrigerator and season it on both sides with freshly ground black pepper.
- Add your steak to a large vacuum seal bag along with 3 to 4 sprigs of fresh thyme and 4 garlic cloves.
- Seal the vacuum bag until compressed and airtight. Please see my video on how to use a plain plastic zip bag to achieve a very similar process.
- Submerge the steak in the sealed bag into the container or pot and cook at 100° for 1 to 2 hours.
- Remove the bag from the water and then remove the steak from the bag.
- It will have been sitting in its own rendered juice and fat for a few hours so to ensure it gets a good brown crust, pat it dry on all sides with a paper towel.
- Add the olive oil to a 10” cast iron or carbon steel pan and heat over high heat until the oil smokes lightly.
- For a medium rare internal steak, place the steak in the pan, turn the heat down to medium, and let the steak cook for 1 minute
- Next, using tongs, move the steak around in a circular motion for 1 minute. Doing this will help completely brown the top of the steak, which is known as a Maillard crust.
- Flip the steak over, turn the heat down to low-medium, and cook it for 1 minute. Add the garlic, shallots, thyme, and butter to the pan with the steak.
- Baste the steak for 2 minutes to help brown and flavor the steak more. Let the steak rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Slice the steak and serve it as is or with some Maître D’ Butter.
Notes
Make-Ahead: Sous vide steak is meant to be eaten as soon as it is done cooking.
How to Store: Cover and keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. This recipe will not freeze well.
How to Reheat: This recipe does not reheat well, but if you do need to reheat it, then re-sear it in a hot pan with lightly smoked oil until warm.
When the steaks are smaller in weight, you may need to adjust cooking times by 1 minute per side.
Feel free to use your favorite steak seasoning.
If you let the steak sit seasoned for more than 24 hours, it causes it to begin drying out.
The best pans for searing the steak are cast iron or carbon steel. However, you can use whatever you have.
Maillard reaction, also known as the browning reaction, is an interaction between sugar and amino acids in the steak when heated to 285°and 350° over high heat, browning the meat to enhance the flavor and add more crispness. This is not the same as caramelizing.
Since I prefer my steak medium rare, I prefer to remove it from the oven at 100° internally so that I have more wiggle room when pan searing to ensure it is not overcooked.
You will need at least a 12” pan to sear multiple steaks simultaneously.
This is the sous vide wand I used.
Please see my video on how to use a plain plastic zip bag to achieve a very similar process a vacuum sealed bag.
When food is in the danger zone between 40° and 140° for longer than 2 hours, bacteria grows at an extremely fast rate which can lead to food borne illnesses.
Sous vide is also an excellent way to slowly reheat food without overcooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 1209kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 95gFat: 87gSaturated Fat: 36gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 37gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 393mgSodium: 241mgPotassium: 1543mgFiber: 2gSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 826IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 171mgIron: 9mg