Sous Vide T-bone Steak is a no-fail recipe to cook this special cut of beef, making it perfectly tender, juicy and flavorful! Cooking it at a precise temperature in the sous vide water bath and finishing in the skillet or on the grill produces the best T-bone steak. It’s better than your favorite steakhouse!
It’s an easy and flavorful steak dinner with no marinating required. Once tried, you’ll never go back!
What is t-bone steak?
T-bone steak is a crosscut from the front of the short loin and contains a strip of top loin (New York Strip) and a smaller chunk of tenderloin (filet mignon). It has moderate marbling with decent amount of fat keeping the meat tender. It’s a high quality steak and usually commands a premium price.
T-bone is similar to a porterhouse steak, and both have a t-shaped bone with meat on each side. Porterhouse steaks are usually larger than T-bone steaks, with a larger section of tenderloin. According to USDA regulations, the tenderloin section of a porterhouse must be wider than 1.25 inches (3cm) across its widest point.
Benefits of sous vide cooking t-bone:
Sous vide is a French cooking technique where the food is vacuum-sealed in a bag, and then cooked for a long time to a precise temperature in a sous vide warm water bath.
Just like other prime cut, there’s a very small window of the perfect doneness when cooking a tbone steak with traditional cooking methods. If you miss that window, the steak will taste dry and chewy.
Sous vide method guarantees the success and ensures the steak is perfectly cooked by using precise temperature control. It also cooks the steak evenly edge-to-edge. For an expensive cut like t-bone, sous vide is my favorite way of cooking the steak.
How to make sous vide t-bone steak
- Set the Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 135°F (57°C) for medium-rare doneness.
- Rub the steak with oil and season with salt and ground black pepper.
- Place it in a zip-lock bag and vacuum seal it using the “water displacement” technique.
- Placing the bag in the sous vide water bath and cook for 1 hour.
- When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water and transfer it to an ice bath or the refrigerator. Let it chill for about 10 minutes.
- Pat dry the steak with paper towel and then grill or sear for about 1 minute per side, just to caramelize the outside. Add more seasoning if needed.
T-bone steak seasoning
A simple seasoning of salt and pepper works well for this recipe. It’s important to season generously before sous vide cooking for the best result!
Temperature and time
I recommend cooking T-bone steak at 135°F (57°C) for medium-rare doneness. If you’d like to have a tender, juicy tbone steak, don’t cook the meat past medium doneness. If you’d like to try other temperatures, follow the chart below:
| Steak Doneness | Temperature |
| Rare | 125°F (52°C) |
| Medium Rare | 130°F (54°C) |
| Medium | 140°F (60°C) |
| Medium-well | 155°F (68°C) |
| Well Done | 165°F (73°C) |
Tbone steak is a relatively tender cut that doesn’t require long cook time. It takes about 1 hour to sous vide cook a 1.5-inch tbone, and 1.5 to 2 hours for 2 inches. It’s ok to leave it in the warm bath for an extra 30-60 minutes. But avoid leaving it in the sous vide water bath for too long as the texture could become mushy.
Tips for the most tender and juicy tbone
- Season generously before sous vide cooking. The seasoning will bring out the delicious natural flavor of the steak. Add more seasoning before searing if necessary.
- If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, a regular ziptop bag works well with this recipe. Just place the seasoned steak in a ziptop bag, and seal all but one corner of the bag. Slowly place it into a large container with cold water, and make sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag.
- Pat dry the surface of the steak completely before searing. It’s important to wipe off any extra moisture as it inhibits proper searing.
Sous vide cook from frozen tbone steak
You can sous vide tbone straight from frozen. Follow the same instruction and add 30 more minutes to the cook time in the warm water bath.
Side dishes to pair with sous vide tone steak
More Sous Vide Steak Recipes You’ll Love
Best Sous Vide T-bone Steak
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound t-bone steak about 1 ½ inch thick
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- fresh herbs such as thyme, minced garlic, or rosemary, optional
Instructions
- Add water to the sous vide container or a large pot, set the Sous Vide Precision Cooker to (135°F/57°C) for medium doneness. If you’d like to cook to other doneness, see the temperature chart in the post above.
- Rub your tbone steak with 1/2 tablespoon oil on all sides. Then season generously with salt and pepper.
- Place the seasoned tbone steak to a zip-lock bag together with optional herbs.
- Seal all but one corner of the bag, and slowly place it into a container with cold water. Make sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water, and push the air out. Then seal the rest of the bag.
- Place the vacuum-sealed bag into the sous vide water bath. Make sure it is fully submerged.
- Sous vide cook the steak for 1 hour. If your steak is 2-inch thick, cook it for 1.5 to 2 hours.
- When the timer goes off, remove the bag from the water bath and transfer it to the fridge or an ice bath. Let it chill for about 10 minutes.
- Remove the tbone from the bag and wipe off the moisture with paper towels. (Make sure to pat dry the surface completely.)
- Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Place the cast-iron skillet or grill on medium-high heat. Add the remaining olive oil. When very hot, add the steak and sear about 1 minute per side. (If you use grill, you can brush the oil on the steak).
- Cut the meat away from the bone and slice across the grain into strips. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Marc Limob says
New to this cooking process of Sous Vide. My question is, if I sous vide a Tbone steak today but plan to serve it the the next day, could I just leave it in the vacuum sealed bag and seared it the next day before serving?
Izzy says
Hi Marc, yes, that’s exactly what I would do.