Chefsteps Sous Vide Steak

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Ingredient

Quantity

Yield

Timing

Equipment and Materials

Optional Equipment and Materials

1

Select a Cooking Temperature

Decide on the degree of doneness that you prefer, and then set your water bath to this temperature.
If you don't own an immersion circulator, you can use an improvised technique like this one.
For rare: 129 °F / 54 °C
For medium-rare: 135 °F / 57 °C

2

For medium: 140 °F / 60 °C
For medium-well: 147 °F / 64 °C

3

For well-done: 158 °F / 70 °C
Leather: Just boil your steak.

4

Package the Steak

Vacuum pack your steak, or use the water displacement technique shown here.

5

Cook Sous Vide

Cook until the core temperature of your steak reaches the temperature of the water bath. How long this will takes depends on the size and shape of your steak, the starting temperature, and the desired core temperature.
The good news is that your steak won't overcook if you leave it in too long, so you can use these cooking times for guidance:
For a 0.5 in / 1.25 cm steak this is about 15 minutes.
For a 1 in / 2.5 cm steak this is about 45 minutes
For a 1.5 in / 3.8 cm steak this is about 90 minutes.
For a 2 in / 5 cm thick steak this is about 2 hours.

6

Unpack Steak

Unpack the steak
Use the accumulated cooking juices as part of a pan-sauce if desired.

7

Sear

Finish the steak with a searing step, such as pan-roasting or grilling.
If pan-roasting, consider adding some butter and an herb like thyme and using this to baste the steak.

8

Season to Taste

Season the steak with salt and pepper to taste.

Salmon and albumin

My family really only like salmon cooked sous-vide in oil, we also don't really have much access to good seafood in Denver unless you pay an arm and a leg.

I've done quite a bit at 50C as well as much shorter cook time at 57.5C. Is brining the best way to get rid of the albumin, if so is a typical 6.4% brine what should be used? And for how long?
Johan Edstrom

So-called albumin protein is mostly a function of cooking temperature more than anything else. Worth trying 113 °F / 45 °C to see what you think of that temperature, you will certainly see less albumin percolating to the surface of the flesh.

Adding salt via a brine tends to help retain juices in the flesh—for complex reasons that I hope to explore in a future course—and so at any given temperature you'll see less juice percolate to the surface, which means you'll see less albumin.

Have you checked out the salmon 104 °F recipe on our course page?
Chris Young

I love Salmon, Sushi first!! :) I have always Cedar Planked my salmon and have love the results. Now that I have seen the 104F video, I am going to have to give it a try.
Allen Johnson

@Johan, 43C is my favourite temp too, as 40C is barely warm once it gets served. Have the same problem in UK too with fish, salmon is great, but good seafood here costs a bomb!
Grace