Sous Vide Sirloin Steak: Temperature and Time

Sous vide sirloin steak cooks at 131°F (55°C) for medium-rare. A steak 1.25 in (3.2 cm) thick needs at least 1 hr 45 min in the bath, is at its best between 1 hr 45 min and 2 hr 45 min, and should come out by 4 hr.

The time depends on how thick the steak is. Every time on this page comes from the calculator.

Sirloin and top sirloin

In American butchery the sirloin sits behind the short loin, the section that T-bone, porterhouse and strip steaks are cut from. The beef industry's cut guide lists top sirloin steak as a lean cut from the top sirloin butt.

Wikipedia's entry on sirloin steak says top sirloin is the most prized part and is sold under that name, and that the larger, less tender bottom sirloin is typically sold simply as sirloin steak. The bottom sirloin is also where the roast in the tri-tip guide comes from.

The calculator has one sirloin setting for both. It sets the time by thickness and adds no tenderizing time.

Sirloin temperature and doneness

The bath temperature sets the doneness.

The default is 131°F (55°C), medium-rare. Choose 140°F (60°C) for a medium steak that is pink throughout, firmer and still juicy.

Rare, at 125°F (51.7°C), is bright red and very soft. It is below the pasteurization floor and has a shorter time limit, covered in the safety section below.

At 150°F (65.6°C) sirloin 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. The steak temperature chart compares the doneness levels across cuts.

Why lean sirloin dries at higher temperatures

Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking says that above 140 to 150°F (60 to 66°C) muscle fibers shrink along their length and lose a substantial amount of water.

Fat inside the muscle offsets some of that loss. Anova's sous vide steak guide says the intramuscular fat in highly marbled cuts such as ribeye and strip helps keep them moist, and that lean tenderloin, lacking that fat, dries out when overcooked.

The beef industry's nutrition figures list 4.9 g of fat in a 3 oz cooked serving of top sirloin and 10 g in the same serving of ribeye, the cut in the ribeye guide.

How long to sous vide sirloin steak, by thickness

Measure the steak at its thickest point.

At 131°F (55°C) the minimum is the heat-through time, which is the time for the center to come within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath. A 1 in (2.5 cm) steak needs 1 hr 15 min and a 1.5 in (3.8 cm) steak needs 2 hr 15 min.

Some steak charts print one range that spans several thicknesses. The Anova guide's chart gives 1 to 4 hours for medium-rare steaks 1.5 to 2 in thick. The calculator's minimum is built on Baldwin's heating tables and rises with thickness, because a thicker steak takes longer for the center to reach the bath temperature. A 2 in steak needs three times as long as a 1 in steak.

At 2 in (5.1 cm) the minimum is 3 hr 45 min, which 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 steak would have.

At 2.5 in (6.4 cm) the center takes more than 4 hr to heat through, so the minimum shown is the pasteurization time, 6 hr, with a maximum of 7 hr.

How long to sous vide steak explains why thickness sets the time and how the minimum, best window and maximum are set.

Medium sirloin

At 140°F (60°C) a 1.25 in steak needs 1 hr 45 min and is pasteurized at that time. From 1 in up, do not shorten the medium minimum: the steak is pasteurized only because it is held for that full time. A 0.5 in (1.3 cm) steak is heated through at 30 min and pasteurized after 50 min.

How to sous vide sirloin steak

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, right before bagging. The Anova guide says a steak seasoned well ahead of a long cook can take on a firm texture like a mildly cured ham.
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 and sear. Pat both sides dry, then use a very hot skillet or a hot grill. The Anova guide heats 1 tablespoon of neutral oil until it smokes and sears the steak for about a minute and a half in total, flipping every 15 to 30 seconds, then browns the edges for about 45 seconds more.
6. Serve. The same guide says a sous vide steak does not need to rest after searing.

The sear comes last because the bath cannot brown anything. Baldwin's guide puts good browning and a roasted flavor at surface temperatures around 300°F (149°C), far above any bath temperature.

Cooking sirloin steak from frozen

Frozen steaks go straight into the bath and stay longer. At 131°F (55°C) a frozen 1 in steak needs at least 2 hr, and a frozen 1.25 in steak needs 2 hr 45 min with a maximum of 4 hr. The right-hand column of the tables above has the frozen minimum for every thickness.

Freeze steaks in a single flat layer so the thickness is the same as when thawed. The frozen steak guide covers freezing steaks flat, timing them and searing them.

At 140°F (60°C) a frozen 2 in steak needs 5 hr 45 min and carries no warning.

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 sirloin 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 1.25 in steak at this temperature, cook it for at least 3 hr 30 min. A 1 in steak needs 3 hr and a 1.5 in steak needs 3 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. If the label says mechanically tenderized or blade tenderized, or the meat has been injected, use the longer time as well.

An acidic sauce or marinade can make beef take up to twice as long to pasteurize. If the steak is in one, do not rely on the pasteurization time shown.

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.

Rare is recommended only for a sirloin up to 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick, and from frozen only up to 1 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. For a thicker steak, choose a temperature of 131°F (55°C) or higher, or use a thinner piece. The sous vide safety guide explains these limits.

Common problems

The steak is dry and grainy. The bath was too hot for a lean cut. The 150°F (65.6°C) and 160°F (71.1°C) settings are in the range where Baldwin describes substantial water loss.

The steak is chewy. Sirloin is a little chewier than ribeye or strip. Time inside the window changes that only slightly: the Anova guide describes a steak held for four hours as having a little less chew than one held for one hour, and a steak held for 24 hours or more as shredding when chewed.