Name: Sous Vide Seared Steaks
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless beef steaks , 1 to 1½ inches thick, trimmed; Kosher salt and pepper; 7 tablespoons vegetable oil

Why This Recipe Works

With sous vide, steaks are cooked to the same temperature, and thus same doneness (of your choosing!), all the way through. This eliminates the gray band of overcooked meat around the exterior of steaks, which often occurs with traditional pan-roasted methods. Once your sous vide steaks are taken out of the water bath, all that's left to do is to give them a quick sear in a screaming hot pan to create the Maillard browning and flavorful crust.

Before You Begin

This recipe was developed for tender steaks such as strip, rib eye, shell sirloin, top sirloin, and tenderloin; avoid tougher cuts such as top round, bottom round, blade, and flank, as they would require a longer cook time. The steaks can also be seared on the grill over high heat. Serve with Red Wine Pan Sauce or Cognac and Mustard Pan Sauce, if desired. For more about sous vide cooking, refer to our sous vide guide.

Instructions

Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 130°F/54.5°C in 7-quart container.

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Place steaks and ¼ cup oil in 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and toss to coat. Arrange steaks in single layer and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Gently lower bag into prepared water bath until steaks are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bag. Cover and cook for at least 1½ hours or up to 3 hours.

Transfer steaks to paper towel–lined plate and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Pat steaks dry with paper towels. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Sear steaks, about 1 minute per side, until well browned. Transfer to cutting board and slice into ½-inch-thick slices. Serve.