How to Sous Vide Steak: Easiest Method for Any Cut

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Published June 13, 2026

If you’ve ever cooked a gorgeous steak only to slice into it and find the middle gray, overdone, or somehow both rare AND well-done at the same time (how does that even happen?), let me introduce you to the method that changed everything for us. Learning how to sous vide steak completely took the guesswork out of cooking beef in our house, and now it’s hands-down one of our favorite ways to put dinner on the table.

Here’s the backstory: every year we buy a whole cow from a local rancher. It’s SO much cheaper per pound than the store, and our freezer stays stocked all year. The only catch? You end up with a freezer full of all kinds of different cuts. Case in point: my husband grabbed this one for today’s demo, the label got tossed before I could read it, and I genuinely have no idea what cut of steak I’m going to sous vide here. Your guess is as good as mine.

And you know what? It doesn’t matter even a little bit. That’s the magic of sous vide. Whether it’s a fancy T-bone or a humble chuck roast, I’d cook it almost exactly the same way and it would turn out tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked edge to edge. Let me show you how.

Sliced sous vide steak on a white plate with a dinner roll, roasted carrots, and brussels sprouts

Table of Contents

What You’ll Need for Sous Vide Steak

You really don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment to sous vide a steak, which is part of why I love it:

  • A sous vide immersion circulator. This is the little wand that heats and circulates the water to hold it at an exact temperature. Mine is a SousVide Art, and it has worked great for us.
  • A container for the water bath. Mine is literally a plastic storage tote with a hole cut in one edge of the lid for the circulator to clip into. That’s it. Nothing fancy, I promise.
  • Vacuum-seal bags and a hand pump. The kind I use comes with a little clip and a small handheld pump (more on that below). No expensive vacuum sealer required.
  • Your seasoning of choice. I used Traeger Rub in garlic and chili pepper, and it’s so good on beef.
  • A cast iron grill or skillet for searing at the end.
  • Steak! Fresh or frozen, any cut. Truly.

What Is Sous Vide, Anyway?

If the term is new to you, sous vide (pronounced “soo veed”) is a French method that just means cooking food slowly in a temperature-controlled water bath. You seal your food in a bag, drop it in the water, and the circulator holds that water at the exact temperature you want your food to reach.

The beauty of it is that your steak can’t overcook. If you want it at 135°F, the water stays at 135°F, so the steak comes up to 135°F and just… stays there, perfectly cooked from edge to edge. No gray ring, no guessing, no standing over the stove poking at it. It’s about the most forgiving way to cook a steak that I know of.

My Step-by-Step Sous Vide Steak Process

Grab your steak, fresh or frozen. Seriously, it doesn’t matter here. Let’s get started!

1. Season generously

Cover both sides of the steak generously with the Traeger Rub. Don’t be shy here; that seasoning is what builds flavor on the crust later.

Holding a jar of Traeger garlic and chili pepper rub above a raw bone-in steak before sous vide cooking
Sprinkling Traeger rub seasoning over a raw bone-in steak on a baking sheet to prep for sous vide

2. Bag it and seal it up

Slide the steak into a vacuum-seal bag. Mine comes with a little clip that you slide along the top of the bag to make sure it’s really well sealed. Then I use the little hand pump to suck all the air out of the bag.

Sealing a seasoned bone-in steak into a zip-top bag to prepare it for sous vide cooking
Using a handheld pump to remove air from the bag before cooking steak with the sous vide method

You want the bag sealed good and tight around the meat so the water can do its job.

Seasoned bone-in steak rubbed with spices and sealed in a bag, ready to sous vide

3. Into the water bath

Lower the bag into your sous vide container and make sure the steak is fully submerged. (Again, my “container” is just a plastic tote with a hole in the lid. They do sell containers that are made just for sous vide, like this one. I like to keep it simple, though.)

Holding a clear plastic container used as a sous vide water bath with the immersion circulator behind
Immersion circulator clamped to a clear plastic tote filled with water to cook steak sous vide

4. Set it and forget it

I set my Immersion Circulator to 135°F, which gives me a beautiful medium. Then I let it go for 2 to 3 hours for a steak.

SousVide Art immersion circulator display set to 135°F for cooking steak to medium doneness
Bagged seasoned steak submerged in a clear container of water while cooking with an immersion circulator

Here’s a handy temperature guide for how to sous vide steak for:

  • 130°F for medium-rare
  • 135°F for medium
  • 140°F for medium-well

And a quick note on bigger, tougher cuts: when I’m doing a chuck roast, I leave it in the water bath for 24 to 36 hours. I know that sounds wild, but it breaks down all that connective tissue and it comes out unbelievably tender. That long, low cook is exactly why this method works on any cut you pull out of the freezer.

5. Sear to finish

After 3 hours, we pulled the steak out and gave it a quick sear on a hot cast iron grill to get that gorgeous browned crust. This step happens after the water bath, not before, and it only takes a couple of minutes per side.

Seasoned beef searing on a hot cast iron griddle on the stove

Getting that crust on both sides is what takes your sous vide steak from “perfectly cooked but kind of pale” to “restaurant-worthy.”

Two seared slices of beef roast resting on a wood cutting board with melted butter on top

6. Slice and serve

Slice your sous vide steak up and serve it. That’s it! So yummy, and honestly such a great way to feed a group of people. We had ours with roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts, and sweet little rolls, and it was the perfect summer dinner.

Close-up of sliced sous vide steak showing an even pink interior and seasoned crust, plated with sides

Here are recipes for some of my favorite sides to serve with steak:

Why I Love the Sous Vide Method (Especially in Summer)

Beyond how foolproof it is for making steak, sous vide is my go-to in the warmer months because it doesn’t heat the whole house the way the oven does. The water bath does its quiet thing on the counter; you do a quick sear at the end, and dinner’s done without turning your kitchen into a sauna.

It’s budget-friendly, it’s forgiving, it works on whatever cut you’ve got, and it makes you look like you really know what you’re doing in the kitchen. What’s not to love?

Sliced sous vide steak on a white plate with a dinner roll, roasted carrots, and brussels sprouts
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Close-up of sous vide steak slices showing a tender pink center and seasoned seared crust

Sous Vide Steak

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  • Author: Crystel Montenegro Home
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Cook Time: 3 hours
  • Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Sous Vide
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

The easiest, most foolproof way to cook perfectly tender steak every time, no matter what cut you’ve got. Cooked low and slow in a water bath, then seared for a gorgeous crust.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 steak (about 2 lbs; any cut works, fresh or frozen)
  • 2–3 tablespoons Traeger Rub (garlic and chili pepper), or your favorite beef seasoning
  • 1–2 tablespoons butter, for searing

Instructions

  • Fill your container with water and set the sous vide circulator to 135°F. Let it come up to temperature.
  • Season both sides of the steak generously with the Traeger Rub.
  • Place the steak in a vacuum seal bag. Seal the bag, then use the hand pump to remove all the air.
  • Lower the bag into the water bath, making sure the steak is fully submerged. Cook for 2 to 3 hours.
  • Heat a cast iron grill or skillet over high heat. Remove the steak from the bag and pat it dry.
  • Sear the steak 1 to 2 minutes per side, until a deep brown crust forms. Add butter at the end and baste if you like.
  • Slice and serve right away.

Notes

Temperature guide: 130°F for medium-rare, 135°F for medium, 140°F for medium-well. The water bath holds your steak at temperature so it can’t overcook.

Feeding a crowd: I’ll often cook two or three cuts at once when we have people over. Just make sure everything stays fully submerged.

Equipment Needed – Sous vide immersion circulator, Large container or plastic tote for the water bath, Vacuum seal bag with hand pump (or zip-top freezer bag), Cast iron grill or skillet

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Frequently Asked Questions to Sous Vide a Steak

Can I sous vide steak from frozen?

Yes! This is one of my favorite things about the method: you don’t have to thaw your meat ahead of time, which is a lifesaver when dinner sort of sneaks up on you. A frozen steak just needs a little extra time in the water bath, but it comes out just as tender and perfect.

Here’s my little trick: I put the still-frozen steak in its bag and set it in the warm sous vide water for just a few minutes, only long enough to soften it up so I can peel that butcher paper off. Then I season it, re-bag it, and carry on like normal. Easy.

What temperature should I sous vide steak?

I set mine to 135°F for a beautiful medium. If you like yours cooked differently, go with 130°F for medium-rare, 135°F for medium, or 140°F for medium-well. Whatever number you pick, the water bath holds it there so your steak can’t overcook.

How long does it take to sous vide a steak?

For a steak, 2 to 3 hours at 135°F is perfect. For a bigger, tougher cut like a chuck roast, I leave it in the water bath for 24 to 36 hours so all that connective tissue breaks down, and it comes out unbelievably tender.

Do I need a fancy vacuum sealer?

Nope! I use vacuum seal bags with a little clip and a small handheld pump, no expensive equipment required. And my water bath “container” is just a plastic storage tote with a hole cut in the lid for the circulator. Keep it simple.

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