Sous Vide Steak: Temperature and Time by Thickness

Sous vide steak cooks at 131°F (55°C) for medium-rare. A steak 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.

The time depends on how thick the steak is, not on its weight. Every time on this page comes from the calculator.

Steak temperature by doneness

The bath temperature sets the doneness. The steak heats to the temperature of the water and stops there.

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.

At 150°F (65.6°C) the steak 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. Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking gives the cause: above 140 to 150°F (60 to 66°C) muscle fibers shrink along their length and lose a substantial amount of water.

Rare, at 125°F (51.7°C), is bright red and very soft. It is not pasteurized and has a shorter time limit, covered in the safety section below.

The steak temperature chart sets the five settings side by side.

How long to sous vide steak, by thickness

Measure through the thickest part of the steak, including the bone if there is one. The calculator covers steaks from 0.5 to 2.5 in (1.3 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) steak needs 1 hr 15 min. A 2 in (5.1 cm) steak needs 3 hr 45 min, three times as long for twice the thickness.

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. The table marks that row "see warning", and the safety section below has the warning.

Some steak guides print one range that spans several thicknesses. Anova's sous vide steak guide gives 1 to 4 hours for medium-rare steaks 1.5 to 2 in thick. The calculator's minimum for a 1.5 in steak is 2 hr 15 min, more than double the low end of that range. It is built on Baldwin's heating tables, and a thicker steak takes longer for the center to reach the bath temperature.

Medium steak

At 140°F (60°C) a 1.5 in steak needs 2 hr 30 min and is pasteurized at that time. A 1 in steak needs 1 hr 30 min, which is its pasteurization time.

At 150°F (65.6°C) and 160°F (71.1°C) a 1 in steak needs 1 hr 15 min and a 1.5 in steak needs 2 hr 30 min. How long to sous vide steak explains why thickness sets the time and how the minimum, best window and maximum are set.

How long is too long

For a steak up to 1.5 in thick the maximum is 4 hr at 131°F (55°C) and 140°F (60°C), and 3 hr 30 min at 150°F (65.6°C). At 160°F (71.1°C) it is 3 hr for a steak up to 1 in and 3 hr 30 min for a 1.5 in steak.

At these four settings the limit is about texture. The Anova guide describes a steak held for 4 hours as having a little less chew than one held for 1 hour, and a steak held for 24 hours or more as shredding and flaking. At 125°F (51.7°C) the 2 hr 30 min maximum is a safety limit.

A 2 in steak at 131°F (55°C) has a minimum of 3 hr 45 min, 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.

Which cuts suit sous vide

The steak setting heats a tender cut through, with no tenderizing time added. America's Test Kitchen's sous vide steak recipe names strip, rib eye, shell sirloin, top sirloin and tenderloin, and tells cooks to avoid tougher cuts such as top round, bottom round, blade and flank.

The cuts differ in fat and shape, and that changes the temperature and the sear:

• The ribeye guide covers the steak with more fat than the others and bone-in rib steaks.
• The filet mignon guide covers a lean, thick steak and how to sear its tall sides.
• The New York strip guide covers the fat cap and how to brown it.
• The sirloin steak guide covers top sirloin, a lean steak that dries at the higher settings.
• The flank steak guide covers a cut on that avoid list, which has its own settings.

A T-bone or porterhouse contains a large section of strip and a smaller section of tenderloin. The Anova guide picks the temperature for the strip side. The steak setting covers bone-in steaks, and the thickness you enter includes the bone.

How to sous vide 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 leaves the salt off a steak that is sealed to freeze or cook later, because salting long before cooking can give 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. The Anova guide adds no butter or oil, because fat-soluble flavor compounds dissolve into the added fat and are poured off with it.
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 the steak dry on both sides, then sear it in a very hot skillet or on a hot grill.
6. Serve. The Anova guide says a sous vide steak has no temperature gradient inside and does not need to rest after searing.

Searing after the bath

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.

Skillet. The Anova guide heats 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a heavy skillet over high heat until it smokes, then flips the steak every 15 to 30 seconds for about a minute and a half in total. It then holds the steak on its edge with tongs for about 45 seconds more to brown the sides.

Grill. The Anova guide puts the steak directly over the hot side of the grill and turns it every 15 to 30 seconds, about a minute and a half in total.

Torch. The Anova guide does not recommend a torch as the only finish and prefers it combined with a skillet.

Cooking 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 1.5 in steak needs 3 hr 30 min with a maximum of 4 hr 30 min. The right-hand column of the tables above has the frozen minimum for every thickness.

The frozen heat-through time is 1.55 times the thawed time. Freeze steaks in a single flat layer so the thickness is the same as when thawed. The frozen steak guide has the method in full.

Is sous vide steak safe at 131°F?

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 steak 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 steak at this temperature, cook it for at least 3 hr 45 min. A 1 in steak needs 3 hr and a 2 in steak 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. The USDA's page on mechanically tenderized beef explains that the needles or blades carry bacteria from the surface to the inside of the meat.

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.

Rare is recommended only for steaks 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.

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.

The sous vide safety guide explains how time and temperature work together.