Sous Vide Frozen Steak

This Sous Vide Frozen Steak recipe shows you how to cook any frozen steak using an immersion circulator. It requires no defrosting or thawing and is cooked perfectly every time—the result: a tender, juicy steak like you’d find at a top-dollar steakhouse.

On those days when you forget to pull the steak out of the freezer in time for dinner, these instructions will guide you through successfully cooking a frozen steak to temperature in a sous-vide bath.

Why cook frozen steak sous vide?

This French cooking technique yields perfectly cooked steak with an even internal temperature throughout the whole piece of meat. The food is vacuum-sealed and then simmered in a hot water bath precisely to temperature.

This method is beneficial if you buy steak in bulk and only cook for one or two people at a time. You can vacuum single seal portions of steak and freeze them individually. When you’re ready to cook, there is no need to thaw it in the bag. Your sous-vide bath will do all of the work.

Will sous vide steak have a different taste and texture if you cook it from frozen?

Nope! Cooking steak in a sous vide bath from frozen does not change the taste or texture. When you sous-vide steak, it comes out PERFECT.

🥩 What You’ll Need

• Steak: Thicker cut steaks that sear well work best for this method. Boneless new york strip and ribeye are good options. You can also sous vide sirloin and filet.
• Salt & Pepper: to add flavor.
• You’ll also need cooking oil and butter to sear the steak.

📖 How to Sous Vide Frozen Steak

1️⃣ Fill pot with water:
Fill a large pot or sous vide bath container with enough water to completely submerge the steaks.

2️⃣ Set temperature:
Set the immersion circulator to the temperature you like your steak cooked (*see my temperature guide below).

3️⃣ Season frozen steak:
Prepare the frozen steak for the hot water bath by sprinkling both sides with salt and pepper.

4️⃣ Vacuum seal steak:
Place the steak in a vacuum seal bag and vacuum seal the bag closed. You can use the water displacement method if you do not have a vacuum sealer.

5️⃣ Sous vide:
When the water bath reaches temperature, submerge the sealed steak in the water and let it sous vide for 2 hours.

6️⃣ Dry steak:
When the time is up, carefully remove the bag from the water bath and pat the steak completely dry with paper towels.

👉 Quick Tip: If you aren’t eating the steak right away, you can store it in the refrigerator. Transfer the bag from the hot water to an ice bath for 5 minutes to safely store the steak. Then, keep the bag in the fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to finish the steak, bring it to room temperature, pat it dry with paper towels and move on to the finishing steps.

⏲ Best Time & Temperature to Sous Vide Frozen Steak

This sous-vide steak guide tells you precisely what time and temperature to sous vide steak.

🧈 How to Finish a Sous Vide Steak

Searing the steak helps get that signature steakhouse firm crust on the outer layer:

7️⃣ Heat oil and butter:
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet (like a cast iron) over high heat. Add the cooking oil and butter to the skill and let heat until it begins to smoke.

8️⃣ Sear steak:
Carefully transfer the sous vide steak to the hot pan and sear each side for about a minute or until a crust layer develops on the surface.

9️⃣ Rest and serve:
Promptly transfer the steak to a clean cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

👉 To infuse more flavor into the steak, sear the steak with oil, butter and garlic.

🍽️ How To Serve Sous Vide Steak

Perfectly cooked and finished sous vide steak rivals any steakhouse -especially when served with one or two steakhouse-quality side dishes.

• Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes
• Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potato
• Cheesy Asparagus
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

❓FAQ

More Sous Vide Meat Recipes

Sous Vide Pork Chops
Sous Vide Chicken Thighs
Sous Vide Chunk Roast
Sous Vide Corned Beef
Sous Vide Pulled Pork