Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast. A whole ribeye roast, cooked to perfect medium-rare thanks to sous vide.
One of the side benefits I get from working with my friends at Certified Angus Beef® Brand is the gift packs of beef. They sent me a gorgeous 6-pound boneless Ribeye roast for the holidays, which inspired my Christmas rotisserie ribeye roast recipe and video. But…the ribeye roast in that video is not the one they sent me. I…this is embarrassing…I was all ready. I had all of my other ingredients, I told my wife and kids to keep it down, I’m shooting video that afternoon, and…the ribeye was still in the freezer. I had to run over to my local grocery store to get another CAB ribeye roast to use in the video. 
My monster of a frozen roast - 4.5 inches thick!
I was also surprised over the holiday by the number of sous vide fans who saw that video and asked “That’s nice, but…how do I sous vide a ribeye roast”? Sous vide Ribeye roast, here we come!
Now, it takes a while to bring this monster up to temperature. (I want my roast cooked to medium-rare plus, 56°C/133°F, the one true temperature for rib roast. Come at me, haters.) It takes about 6 hours for a 4 to 5-inch thick roast...if it is thawed. I cooked this 4½ inch roast straight from the freezer - which works great with sous vide, by the way - so I went with 8 hours. (After that, you could go another 4 hours or so without over-tenderizing the roast. Go with a maximum of 10 hours for a thawed roast, or 12 hours for a frozen roast.)
There are two other tricks to this roast: quick searing in a cast iron pan, and a red wine pan sauce.
Cast Iron: I made baked potatoes as one of the side dishes, so I popped my 12-inch cast iron skillet This post contains Amazon affiliate links in the oven with the potatoes to preheat. You can leave the pan in there for as long as you’d like - at least 20 minutes - and the pan is ready to go, ripping hot when I pull it out of the oven. A one-minute sear on each side browns the roast - I give it a couple of extra minutes on the fat cap side to help render some of the fat.
Searing the roast
Red wine sauce: I hate throwing away the juices in the sous vide bag, so I used them in a red wine sauce. I put a cup of wine in a small saucepan, added a small minced shallot, and simmered it down for about 15 minutes over low heat. Then, while the roast was searing, I poured the juices into the pot with the wine, sprinkled in some salt, and served the roast.
Inspired by
How to Sous Vide Prime Rib - AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com
Win the Holidays with Herb-Crusted Sous Vide Prime Rib - ChefSteps.com
Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 pound ribeye roast 1x
Description
Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast recipe - want a big roast for a party? You've come to the right place. Perfect medium-rare plus, edge to edge, with a red wine sauce.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5-inch thick boneless Ribeye roast (about 3 pounds and up - total weight doesn't matter, just how thick it is.)
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons coarsely ground mixed peppercorns
Red wine sauce
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon minced shallots
- Juices from the sous vide bag
Instructions
- Prep the sous vide water bath: Preheat the sous vide water bath to 133°F/56°C for medium-rare plus. (Medium-rare is 130°F/54.5°C, medium is 138°F/59°C, rare is 120°F/49°C).
- Season and vacuum seal the roast: Measure a roll of vacuum bag long enough to fit the roast. Seal one side of the bag, then season the roast with the salt, slide it into the bag, and vacuum seal the bag.
- Sous Vide the roast: Put the bagged roast in the sous vide water bath, and sous vide for 6 to 10 hours. (8 to 12 hours if the roast is frozen.) Remove the roast from the vacuum bag, saving the juices in the bag.
- Start the red wine sauce: When the roast has 10 minutes left to cook, put the red wine and shallots in a small saucepan over low heat and simmer. Let the red wine simmer while you sear the roast, about 15 minutes total.
- Sear the roast: Preheat a large frypan over medium-high heat until it is ripping hot. (Or, in a 425°F oven for at least 20 minutes, then put it over medium-high heat on the stovetop.) Sear the roast for 1 minute a side, starting with the fat side of the roast, until it is browned on all sides. (Treat the roast like it has 6 sides - the 4 wide sides, plus the two edges - )
- Finish the red wine sauce: Pour the sous vide bag juices into the simmering pot with the red wine and shallots. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as needed - you want the sauce to be highly seasoned.
- Slice and serve: Sprinkle the roast with the fresh ground mixed peppercorns. Slice the roast into ½ inch thick slices and serve, passing the red wine sauce at the table.
Notes
Cooking time is determined by how thick the roast is, not how much it weighs. If you have a 4 to 5-inch thick roast, sous vide it for 6 hours, no matter how much it weighs. A 6-inch thick roast will take 8 hours; a 3-inch thick roast will take 4 hours. (For all thicknesses, you have about a 4 hour window after the roast is done before it starts to overcook and get too tender.) For the record, my roast was 6 pounds - but any roast about 4 pounds or larger will cook in 6 hours.
At that point, the roast is cooked, but thanks to the sous vide water bath keeping it at the perfect temperature, it can sit in the bath for another 4 hours. (After 4 hours the roast starts to get a little mushy around the edges.) I aim for my roast to be done an hour or two before I want to serve it, and let it sit until I need it. More details here: Sous Vide Cooking Times for a Roast.
Starting from frozen? Add in 2 hours to the cooking time, and go 8 to 12 hours.
Equipment: I used my Joule sous vide circulator, this Lipavi Sous Vide container and custom cut lid, and my heavyweight Lodge 12 inch cast iron skillet.
I also use a cheap FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I don’t love it…but it works.
The only problem with the red wine sauce is the protein in the sous vide bag juices coagulate when you pour it into the hot pan. I whisk the sauce to break up the protein, but it looks pretty awful at first. It tastes great, though, and I don’t want to lose any of that flavor. If it bothers you, pour the sauce through a fine mesh strainer before serving.
Want a horseradish cream sauce on the side? Here's my Quick Horseradish Sauce recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Sous Vide
- Cuisine: American
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
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Sous Vide Filet Mignon With Shallot-Rosemary Butter
Simple Sous Vide Carrots
Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak
My other Sous Vide Recipes
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Amy
Hi Mike, I'm so glad I found your site. So much useful information for Sous Vide! I have a question about the size of your LIPAVI container with lid... What size did you buy for your 6 lb 4.5" boneless rib roast? Are there any guidelines on how much allowance you'd want for the hot water to circulate around the vacuum packed roast? Is there such a thing as too big of a container? I see that Amazon carries a few different sizes.
Thanks for any feedback you can give.
~Amy
Mike Vrobel
As long as it's big enough for water to circulate around all sides of the roast, it's big enough. I have the C10 size (12 quart) which is plenty big for this, and most of my cooking. I also own the C20 size (26 quarts) in case I need to cook something extra-long or cook for a crowd. There's no such thing as "too big", other than it taking a lot of water to fill and extra time to come up to temperature.
Dave
Mike, I sous vide quite a bit. Surprisingly an automotive type heat gun works great for wearing, on high these get to 1100+°. I find it better for roasts than cast iron and omits firing up the grill. Try it.
This is a great site I found after I purchased an Instant Pot 8qt Duo.
Dave
Richard J Catterall
Turned out great for eight. Setup the grill rotisserie and Sous Vide early, and got meat started. Guests came had drinks. Took a break turned on grill and went to the Sous Vide to remove the meat and put on rotisserie rod. Brought the meat out to the grill and got it turning over high heat and enjoyed another drink. Ten or so minutes removed put in foil, got the wine poured and guests seated. Sliced and served, simple, no stress, beautiful and tasty!
Brett
I Have seen recipes that say to sear the meat before vacuume sealing and then again after it is cooked. That it gives the meat a better flavor. Do you see value in this or do you see it as an unnecessary step?
Mike Vrobel
I think it's an unnecessary step. I get lots of flavor with a good sear after sous videing.
Howard
I’m marinading a 8 inch thick bone in rib eye roast over night in a vacuum sealed bag. Can I just put the bag into the water bath fo 6 hours or should I transfer to a clean bag
Mike Vrobel
I would drain and re-seal in a clean bag.
Lindsey
What is the cook time and temp for 3.5lbs?
Mike Vrobel
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/sous-vide-cooking-times-for-a-ribeye-roast/
John
is s it possible to recover any of the fat for Yorkshire pudding?
Mike Vrobel
I don't know - I've never tried. I would trim some of the fat off of the ribeye before vacuum sealing it, then render that fat over low heat on the stovetop.
DT
If I’m doing an 8lb roast, how long should I Sous Vide?
Mike Vrobel
Same amount of time - 6 hours. Thickness of the roast determines cooking time, not the total weight.
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/sous-vide-cooking-times-for-a-ribeye-roast/
Patrick
If I’m doing an 13lb roast, how long should I Sous Vide?
Mike Vrobel
Same amount of time – 6 hours. Thickness of the roast determines cooking time, not the total weight.
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/sous-vide-cooking-times-for-a-ribeye-roast/
Kay
Have you ever cooked the sous vide the day before and how would you warm it before searing it?
Mike Vrobel
No, I've never done it ahead of time. Sous vide has such a wide window where it's done to the right temperature that I've never needed to. Especially since reheating is going to take as long as it took to cook in the first place.
brenda
do you think this would be good if you put it in an ice bath after cooking with sous vide and then smoke the prime rib for 3 hours?
Mike Vrobel
If it is a cold smoker? Maybe? A bbq smoker is going to over cook the meat. Personally, if I was smoking, I would cook it entirely in the smoker.
Chet
Cold I finish the roast off on my green egg at a very high temp to quickly sear it?
Mike Vrobel
Yes - get it as hot as you can, then sear for a minute or two a side.
Jess
Hi I’m going to Sous Vide a 5 lb boneless ribeye roast for thanksgiving. What time/temp would you recommend for a nice tender medium rare?
Mike Vrobel
5 pounds vs 6 pounds is not a big difference, as far as Sous Vide is concerned. (One of the big benefits of Sous Vide is the food holds at "done" for a large window.)
Go with the time/temps in the recipe:
Medium-rare is 130°F/54.5°C. Sous vide for 6 to 10 hours. (8 to 12 hours if the roast is frozen.)
Jason Nickolay
I have wanted to try one of these for a long time! Looks delicious! Thanks for the tips!
rick
Mike I can't seem to buy this roast from your sponsor. How do they sell this meat?
Mike Vrobel
You should be able to buy it at any butcher or grocery store. CAB has it online here: http://pos.certifiedangusbeef.com/ItemDetail.aspx?Item=92-PRR&CatId=11&mp=
Hai
I'm going to do a 3 lbs bone in prime rib this weekend and was wondering if you still cook for 8 hours?
Mike Vrobel
As long as it is 4 inches thick (or so), 6 to 8 hours is the right time.
Hai
Thank you Mike.
Aaron Friedman
How was it? Would you recommend the technique versus other techniques?
Mike Vrobel
It's very good. Advantages: very easy (if you have the equipment), and perfectly cooked, edge to edge. Disadvantages: grilling and (especially) rotisserie have a better crust. Depends on what i am looking for...and since I cooked this on a busy weeknight, "easy" made it a no-brainer.