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When it comes to cooking steak, nothing beats using the sous vide technique. This is our guide to cooking perfect sous vide ribeye steak.
Sous vide is nothing more than a hot water bath set at the temperature you want the meat to cook at. So, if you set the sous vide to 130 degrees, the meat will cook to exactly that temperature. This means it is easy to cook exactly to medium rare, medium etc.
At Fun Diego family, one of our favorite tools is our Anova Precision Sous Vide Cooker. Ever since buying this gadget, we have been wowing guests with our perfectly cooked steaks.
This recipe is our guide to sous vide ribeye steak. However, it can work as a basic template for other steaks such as sirloin. However, if you are doing a larger roast you will want to look at our sous vide guide to eye of round roast.
When buying ribeye steak, you will want to look for choice or prime cuts. In almost all cases we go for choice, because prime is expensive and hard to find. We did a taste test of prime and choice cuts and found that many people actually preferred the choice.
We keep our spice mixture simple. However, we are heavy on the salt, adding 2 tablespoons of kosher salt per pound. We also add a healthy amount of black pepper and red pepper for extra kick. This may sound like a lot, but most of it is on the surface and can be easily wiped off.
The only other additions are garlic and sprigs of rosemary and thyme. You can prepare these steaks for the sous vide bath in five minutes. I like to apply the spice about an hour before cooking, to help let the salt penetrate the meat.
Sous vide is simple. You set the temperature you want, put the meat in a sealable bag, drop in the water and walk away.
For our ribeye, I like to go for a temperature of 131 degrees for a nice medium rare. This method uses a reverse sear technique where you briefly cook the meat on a skillet after it finishes the sous vide bath. If some people want a medium or higher temperature, you can simply use the skillet to cook their portion to a higher temperature.
I bought a vacuum sealing system along with my Anova cooker. However, this unit broke down. Luckily, it is easy to use any sealable plastic bag. Simply squeeze out as much air as possible and seal tightly.
Generally, we find the ribeye steaks we buy are 1 pound each. Two pounds is enough to feed a family of four and this recipe is designed for that amount. However, it is easy to adjust the recipe up or down by adding more or less spices. Everything else remains the same.
You need to let the steaks cook in the sous vide bath for at least an hour to assure they reach the proper temperature. We sometimes use steaks right from the freezer. In this case, I cook them for at least two hours.
When the steaks are pulled from the bath, I immediately put them into a hot skillet with melted butter. Amazing Ribs has a recipe for sous vide ribeye steak smoked on the grill. This recipe calls for soaking the steaks in an ice bath after removing from the sous vide.
Personally, I don’t like to smoke steaks like ribeye. Nevertheless, the Amazing Ribs guide shows that this method can also work on the grill. Personally, I keep it simple and do it all in the kitchen.
When serving the meat, I like to cut it in slices and serve it on a platter. This allows everyone to pick the portions they like. We often use leftovers to serve the next day with ramen noodles.
Dave Cole
This is a recipe to cook perfect ribeye steak using sous vide
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Ribeye steak Choice or Prime
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt per pound
- 2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper per pound
- 2 teaspoon red pepper per pound
- 4 cloves garlic per pound, minced
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil per pound
- 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary optional
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme optional
- 3 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
Mix together salt, black pepper and red pepper. Coat steaks with oil, garlic and spices and let sit in refrigerator for at least half an hour. Heat Sous Vide to 131 degrees for medium rare or 135 for medium.
Place steaks in vacuum bag. Add sprigs of rosemary and thyme if using. Seal bag and place in sous vide bath. Let cook in sous vide for at least 1 hour but no more than 4 hours.
Heat a skillet oh high heat with butter. Remove steaks from water and bag. Place steaks in skillet and cook until char crust develops. About 4 minutes per side. Serve immediately.
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