Sous Vide Filet Mignon: Temperature and Time

Sous vide filet mignon cooks at 131°F (55°C) for medium-rare. A filet 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick needs at least 2 hr 15 min in the bath, is at its best between 2 hr 15 min and 3 hr 15 min, and should come out by 4 hr.

Time rises quickly with thickness: a 2 in (5.1 cm) filet needs at least 3 hr 45 min. Every time on this page comes from the calculator.

Why a lean, thick steak suits sous vide

Filet mignon is a steak cut from the tenderloin. The beef industry's cut guide calls tenderloin steak the most tender steak, says it meets government guidelines for lean, and lists 7 g of fat in a 3 oz cooked, trimmed serving.

J. Kenji López-Alt's tenderloin steak recipe for Anova is written for steaks 1.5 to 2 in thick. It says lean tenderloin is easily overcooked and, without fat inside the muscle, becomes dry. America's Test Kitchen's sous vide steak recipe describes the gray band of overcooked meat that pan-roasting leaves around the outside of a steak.

In a water bath the whole filet heats to the temperature of the water and stops there, so no outer band is cooked past the center.

Filet is lean and tender, so it does not need extra time beyond heating through. For a whole tenderloin roast, use the beef tenderloin guide.

Filet mignon temperature and doneness

The default is 131°F (55°C), medium-rare: warm red to pink throughout, tender and juicy.

Medium, at 140°F (60°C), is pink throughout and firmer. Jason Logsdon of Amazing Food Made Easy says a filet loses its moisture quickly once it is heated above 135 to 140°F (57 to 60°C), and Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking puts the start of substantial water loss at 140 to 150°F (60 to 66°C).

At 150°F (65.6°C) a filet is faintly pink, firm and drying out, with a grainy texture. At 160°F (71.1°C) it has no pink and is firm and dry. López-Alt's point is that the fat inside the muscle helps keep a marbled steak moist and tenderloin lacks it. The ribeye guide covers the cut at the other end of that comparison.

López-Alt goes the other way and prefers tenderloin very rare to rare, between 120 and 128°F (48.9 and 53.3°C). The calculator's rare setting is 125°F (51.7°C), and it comes with limits that matter for a thick steak. The rare table below covers them.

How long to sous vide filet mignon, by thickness

Stand the filet on a board and measure through the thickest part. The calculator covers filets from 0.75 to 2.5 in (1.9 to 6.4 cm).

At 131°F (55°C) the minimum is the heat-through time, the time for the center to come within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath. A 1 in (2.5 cm) filet needs 1 hr 15 min and a 1.5 in filet needs 2 hr 15 min.

A 2 in filet needs 3 hr 45 min. That is close to the usual 4 hr texture limit, so the maximum shown is the minimum plus 1 hr: 4 hr 45 min. Expect a softer texture than a thinner filet would have.

The minimum for a 2.5 in filet is 6 hr, which is its pasteurization time.

At 140°F (60°C) a 1 in filet needs 1 hr 30 min, a 1.5 in filet needs 2 hr 30 min and a 2 in filet needs 3 hr 45 min.

Why these times are longer than recipe times

The López-Alt recipe gives 45 minutes to 4 hours for medium-rare tenderloin steaks 1.5 to 2 in thick. Logsdon gives 1 to 2 hours as usual for filet.

The calculator's minimums are longer for two reasons. They are built on Baldwin's heating tables, which bring the center to within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath, and a thicker steak takes longer for the center to get there.

The time is also for a wide, flat piece. A filet is about as wide as it is thick, so heat also enters from the sides, and the time shown is on the long side for it. Baldwin's table shows how much shape matters: at 50 mm, just under 2 in, it lists 3 hr 30 min for a slab and 2 hr for a cylinder. The calculator uses the slab time. The steak temperature chart sets the filet next to the other cuts, and how long to sous vide steak explains why thickness sets the time.

Rare filet mignon

A 1 in filet needs 1 hr 15 min at this setting. A 1.5 in filet needs 2 hr 15 min, which leaves 15 minutes before the 2 hr 30 min limit.

Rare is not recommended for a filet thicker than 1.5 in. The table marks the 2 in and 2.5 in rows "not recommended", and the calculator does the same at 1.75 in. At 1.75 in the center needs 3 hr to warm through, which is longer than the 2 hr 30 min limit for food cooked at 130°F (54.4°C) and below. Choose a temperature of 131°F (55°C) or higher, or use a thinner piece.

From frozen, rare is recommended only up to 1 in, where the minimum is 2 hr. A frozen 1.5 in filet needs 3 hr 30 min to warm through, so thaw it first or choose 131°F (55°C) or higher.

Mechanically tenderized, blade tenderized or injected beef needs the pasteurization time, which is not possible at 125°F (51.7°C). Choose 131°F (55°C) or higher for it.

How to sous vide filet mignon

1. Heat the bath. Set it to 131°F (55°C), or to the temperature you chose above.
2. Season. Salt and pepper on all sides, including the tall sides.
3. Bag in a single layer. Use a vacuum sealer, or a zipper-lock bag sealed with the water displacement method.
4. Cook for the time that matches the thickness. Keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water, and not overlapping. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.
5. Dry. Pat the filet dry on the faces and the sides.
6. Sear and serve. The López-Alt recipe says a sous vide steak does not need to rest.

Searing a tall steak

A filet has a tall side wall that never touches the pan while the steak lies flat, so the sear has two parts.

The López-Alt recipe heats 1 tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet until it smokes, lays the steak in, and flips it every 15 to 30 seconds for about a minute and a half in total. Then the steak goes on its side: held with tongs and rotated along its edge until the sides are browned, about 45 seconds more. A tablespoon of butter in the pan is optional.

Logsdon leaves the filet in its bag on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes after the bath to bring down the temperature of the outside, then sears it quickly, about one minute per side.

The sear is needed because the bath cannot brown anything. Baldwin's guide puts good browning at surface temperatures around 300°F (149°C). The general steak guide covers grill and torch finishes.

Cooking filet mignon from frozen

At 131°F (55°C) a frozen 1 in filet needs at least 2 hr. A frozen 1.5 in filet needs 3 hr 30 min, with a maximum of 4 hr 30 min. The frozen heat-through time is 1.55 times the thawed time.

The frozen steak guide covers freezing steaks flat and timing them.

Safety

The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for steak is 145°F (62.8°C) followed by a 3 minute rest, as listed on FoodSafety.gov. The rare, medium-rare and medium settings are below that.

At 131°F (55°C) a filet is heated through at the minimum time but not pasteurized. That is normal for a whole, intact cut of beef cooked to this doneness. To pasteurize a 1.5 in filet at this temperature, cook it for at least 3 hr 45 min. A 1 in filet needs 3 hr and a 2 in filet needs 4 hr 45 min.

Use that longer time, or a higher temperature, when cooking for pregnant women, children under 5, adults 65 and older, or anyone with a weakened immune system. Use it as well if the label says mechanically tenderized or blade tenderized, or the meat has been injected.

At 140°F (60°C) a filet 1 in thick or more is pasteurized at the minimum time. That lower temperature pasteurizes the steak only because it is held for the full minimum time shown, so do not shorten it.

The sous vide safety guide explains pasteurization and the limits below 131°F (55°C).