This recipe for sous vide sirloin steak is gives you tender and delicious steak. A sous vide cooker helps you easily make perfectly cooked, restaurant quality steak. Find the best time and temperature for cooking sous vide sirloin steak.
Sous vide sirloin steak is delicious and easy to make. This recipe takes about 2 hours to cook but it is almost all hands off time!
Sous vide can seem intimidating, but that is just because it is a different way of cooking. This recipe is simple yet will result in amazingly tender steak cooked and seared to perfection.
Why use Sous Vide for Steak?
Sous vide involves using a precisely calibrated water bath to cook meat to its optimal temperature. This is wonderful for meat, like sirloin steak, that is easy to over cook.
With sous vide cooking it is very difficult to overcook or under cook meat. Steak will cook at exactly the temperature you set the sous vide to. So it will be rare, medium rare or well done, whatever your personal preference.
Steak can be tough to cook at home because it has a small window during which it is perfectly done. If you are cooking it on a grill or in the oven it is difficult to hit that precise spot, even with a good meat thermometer.
So using the precise temperature control of a sous vide cooker takes out a lot of the guesswork and uncertainty. This means your steak dinner will be perfectly cooked and delicious.
Sous vide is great for other types of meat too! I especially like sous vide chicken breast and sous vide lamb chops.
Advantages of Sirloin Steak
Sirloin steak is an excellent choice for serving because it is more economical than many other types of steak. This makes it more affordable for families.
It has less fat than something like ribeye steak, but even without a lot of fat it is very tender. It is also easy to find in stores. Ribeye steak or filet mignon are great for a special occasion, but sirloin steak is more of an everyday dinner.
Sirloin Steak Seasoning
When it comes to seasoning sirloin steak I like to go with minimal seasoning and just use salt and pepper. The steak is very tender and flavorful and doesn’t need a lot of extra seasoning.
If you want you can add some aromatics to the steak before cooking, such as garlic, shallots or herbs like fresh rosemary. But keep things relatively simple or you can mask the flavor of the beef.
Temperature Chart for Sous Vide Sirloin Steak
Since you control the sous vide you decide how you want your steak cooked. Here are the suggested temperature for cooking sous vide sirloin steak:
| Temperature | doneness | color |
| 130°F | rare | cool red center |
| 135°F | medium rare | warm red center |
| 145°F | medium | warm pink cener |
| 155°F | medium well | slightly pink center |
| 165°F | well done | little or no pink |
I don’t recommend using a temperature lower than 130 degrees F with this recipe. The temperature that is best will depend on your taste. I cook my sous vide sirloin to 134 degrees F, which works well for my family.
How to Make Sous Vide Sirloin Steak
1. Prepare the Sous Vide and the Steak
Set up your water bath and set the sous vide immersion cooker for the temperature you want. While the water in the container comes to temperature season and prepare the steak.
Add salt and pepper to the sirloin steak and seal it in a plastic bag for cooking. The easiest way to do this is by using a vacuum sealer like a Foodsaver to get an air tight seal.
But if you don’t have a vacuum sealer a heavy duty freezer bag with a zipper top will work. Use the water displacement method to force most of the air out of the bag by slowing submerging the bag with one corner open.
Check out this post for a detailed step by step description of the water displacement method with pictures!
2. Sous Vide the Sirloin Steak
Once the sous vide cooker reaches the desired temperature add the bag to the cooker and start timing. The sirloin steak should cook for at least 1 1/2 hours, but it can cook up to 4 hours.
Longer cooking won’t affect the taste of the steak because the temperature will stay at the temperature it is set for. This gives you quite a bit of cooking margin and means the finishing time is not time critical.
3. Sear the Steak
For both flavor and looks you will want to sear the steak after it is cooked. Sous vide steak that isn’t seared looks kind of gray and isn’t nearly as appetizing. You can sear the steak either on a grill or on the stove.
If using the stove then about 5 minutes before you are ready to eat put a heavy cast iron skillet on the stove on medium-high heat. If using a grill then preheat that to a high temperature.
Take the meat out of the sous vide bag and remove any aromatics or herbs that were added to the bag. Then pat the meat dry with a paper towel.
Add a little oil or butter to the pan on the stove and quickly sear the steak, cooking 1-2 minutes on each side. The idea is just to brown the meat quickly so it doesn’t cook more during the searing process.
If you are using a grill the process is similar, just cook it for 1-2 minutes on each side to get some nice grill marks on the steak.
How to Serve
You can serve the sirloin steak right away or let it rest for 5 minutes. It is delicious served with an easy sauce, like chimichurri sauce as I did here, or with spicy mushrooms.
For a side dish I like to serve air fryer baked potatoes and a green salad, which makes it just like a steakhouse dinner at home!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sous vide is a safe way to cook your food. Food safety is determined by both cooking time and cooking temperature. So even though you are cooking the food a relatively low temperature the longer cooking time kills bacteria in the food.
However I always sous vide food above 130 degrees F because of the risk of bacteria growth. Check out this article from Cooks Illustrated if you would like in depth explanation of sous vide cooking safety.
Yes, if you are cooking a frozen steak then just increase the cooking time to 2 1/2 – 5 hours. This will ensure the meat is thoroughly cooked.
Find More Sous Vide Recipes
Sous Vide Sirloin Steak
Ingredients
- 2 sirloin steaks. 1/2 pound each
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons oil or butter
Instructions
- Fill the sous vide container with water and set the sous vide cooker for your desired degree of doneness. See the table in the notes section below.
- While the water comes up to temperature season the sirloin steak with salt and pepper.
- Either seal the steak using a vacuum sealer or place it in a heavy duty ziploc bag and use the water displacement method to remove most of the air from the bag.
- To use the water displacement method seal the bag most of the way and slowly lower it in the water, letting the water pressure push out most of the air.
- Cook the steak in the water for 1 1/2 to 4 hours.
- About 5 minutes before you want to eat prepare to sear the steak. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium high heat on the stove.
- Remove the bag from the water and open it. Use a paper towel to dry the steak off. Add the oil or butter to the frying pan once it is hot. Then quickly sear the steak for 1-2 minutes on both sides to brown it.
Notes
Temperature Chart for Sous Vide Sirloin Steak
130°F | rare | cool red center 135°F | medium rare | warm red center 145°F | medium | warm pink center 155°F | medium well | slightly pink center 165°F | well done | little or no pinkAs an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition facts are estimates.
