Those of us who like meat know the importance of preparing a sous vide steak well. Whether it’s steak, tenderloin, or any other cut of beef, it’s important to find the exact combination of time and temperature where we get the best flavor and texture you want.

We’ll go step by step on how to prepare a perfect fillet at low-temperature sous vide steak and achieve professional results at home with the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker. When I first started my sous vide journey, I made sure to get a good sous vide starter kit and that included the Anova Precision Cooker.

Whether you’re cooking a ribeye, entrecote, loin, sirloin, or any other cut, just follow the steps and adjust as needed for a juicy Anova sous vide steak.

Ingredients For a Perfect Low-Temperature Sous Vide Steak

2.5 cm thick fillet

Salt

Pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

I remember one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten at a restaurant in Provo, UT and the Avila steak they served us was spectacular, I won’t forget it. But alas, eating a well-prepared steak in a restaurant is not the same as eating steaks at home.

I think we know how long and complicated a process preparing a large piece of meat to grill is. In thinking about it, it’s easy and it’s not too much trouble, but when we actually start prepping, we realize how much effort it is. Then when the actual grilling comes, how many times is the steak’s center cooked the way you originally planned?

Preparing a filet, ribeye or tenderloin for low-temperature cooking, sous vide steak, is the easiest thing you can imagine. You’re going to think about the time you had that amazing steak. And you made it at home.

Cooking sous vide filet could not be easier, you just have to season it, vacuum seal it, and put it in the water at 60ºC / 140°F for 2 hours. I’ll explain in-depth and step by step, including different times and temperatures according to the steak cut, size, and how well done you like your steaks.

1: Heat the Water

The first thing we have to do is pre-heat the water with our sous vide cooking system. I also use the sous vide Anova Culinary Precision Cooker. Depending on the degree of doneness that you like your meat, follow the below temperature table as a guideline:

Rare: 54ºC

Medium Rare: 56ºC

Medium: 60ºC

Mediu Well: 65ºC

Well Done: 70ºC

2: Season the Fillet

2.5 cm thick fillet

Salt

Pepper

We generously season our steak, without fear. I add a lot of flaked salt and lightly massage the fillet to spread the salt and pepper. And if you want to add a little smoky flavor, you could try smoked sea salt.

Now is also the time to add any marinade into the bag.

3: Vacuum Seal the Steak

Add a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and even some fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary or bay leaf, but it’s not necessary. I don’t usually add herbs, just the sale, pepper, and maybe a little Worcestershire marinade sauce.

Vacuum seal the seasoned fillet. Getting the air out of the bag is key to ensuring the meats will stay in the water to evenly cook.

If we do not have a vacuum sealer like the Anova Precision Vacuum Sealer, you can put the fillet in a ziplock bag, but it must be of good quality and safe for cooking food.

You’ll want to get as much air out as possible, so the bag doesn’t float in the water.

4: Cook the Steak

Once the water’s temperature has reached the desired level for your meat’s doneness, put the seasoned fillet and vacuum sealed bag in the water bath container.

Depending on your sous vide immersion circulator and the temperature you’re heating to, it could take anywhere from 10-30 minutes. The higher the temperature, the longer it’ll take. The lower the watts of your cooker, the longer it’ll take.

For a 2.5 cm fillet that I’ve chosen, it’ll be 2 hours of cooking. I like mine done at medium doneness. And remember the magic of sous vide, if you leave it past your time, that’s ok because you get about a 15-minute window to get the steak out. Otherwise, you start getting into the danger zone of pasteurization when bacteria starts growing.

5: Grill the Steak

Once the cooking time has passed, you’ll have a perfect steak cooked at the doneness you want. Objective achieved.

But we have an additional, essential step. We want to make it look good before putting the steak on a plate. Searing the steak on all sides will also keep the steak’s juices inside, so when you cut into the steak, the juices will flow out. Is your mouth drooling yet?

Simply put a good jet of oil in the pan, heat until it starts to smoke, lower the steak and sear the fillet on all sides. About 30 seconds for each side will be enough, but we will know from the color, what we are looking for is that beautiful brown.

There are alternatives to this method, and anything goes if you dare. You can use butter instead of olive oil, which browns more. It can also be finished in the oven or even on the grill, which is amazing.

Think about it, prepare a sous vide steak at home and take it to a barbecue to get the best steak you have ever eaten. In fact, you can even dip the steak in oil in a deep fryer, it’s not crazy, but think about you like best. You’re able to get creative here because you know that the inside of your steak is perfectly cooked.

6: Serve and Enjoy

All you have left to do is to put the steak on a plate, sprinkle a little salt on top, and start eating.

Doubts About the Sous Vide Steak

Cooking a sous vide steak is not the most normal or what you start with, but I assure you that it is one of the best ideas you can have if you want to achieve the perfection of high-end restaurants. And you get it at home without spending a lot of money.

As with any other recipe, we can cook sous vide without having a dedicated precision cooker like the ones we advise you to use, but it is somewhat more difficult.

What we have to do is use a probe thermometer, put it in the water bath, and manually control the temperature until the desired temperature is achieved. The problem is that this requires being careful often to see that the temperature does not drop or rise, and it will always be less accurate.

But for cooking times such as those required by this steak, we can achieve very good results.

Check out Anova Culinary’s Sous Vide Time and Temperature Guide for a variety of steak cuts and how long to cook them and at what temperature. You can even sous vide frozen steak if you wanted with the general guideline to increase the time by 50%.

Best Steak Cuts for Sous Vide

When the fillet is understood to be a cut of red meat, it can take many forms and come from different parts of the animal. For this recipe, any cut of steak is worth it, because the technique is always the same, choosing the necessary temperature for the desired point and waiting the time it takes to get it, which will depend mainly on the thickness.

There are many cuts of beef that are great for steaks like the ribeye, porterhouse, sirloin, tenderloin, filet mignon, and more. Just head into your butcher shop and ask for the cuts you want.

I love ribeyes and filet mignon cuts usually. If I want more marbled cuts, I’ll go for the ribeye. If I want a lean steak, I’ll go with the filet.

What cut of steak do you feel like today?