Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast. A whole ribeye roast, cooked to perfect medium-rare thanks to sous vide.
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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 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
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What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
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My other Sous Vide Recipes
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JP says
Hi, thank you for your 2 articles on this. I'm confused on what you mean by "thickness" because I saw your photo measuring the roast and it seems to be the "height" that you are measuring? I have a 5kg roast that I'm starting in a couple of days, and the "height" is 4.5inches but the "length" while laid bone-side down is about 10-12 inches. Which measurement is the "thickness"? Thank you in advance for your reply
Mike Vrobel says
You'd use the height in this case, 4.5 inches.
Ellen says
I have a 3lb rib eye roast. Is that enough for 4 people?
Mike Vrobel says
If they are regular eaters, yes. If they are enthusiastic carnivores, no.
Dave says
Outstanding result from following your instructions many thanks for posting
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Art says
I haven’t tried it yet but I was interested in learning more about how to cook a prime rib roast and I am so glad I found your site. I will definitely post a review when I am done. So helpful!!!
Lisa Mac says
So trying this for Xmas tomorrow Did a chuck shoulder recently and it was amazingly tender Question if I apply Montréal seasonings while cooking will the drippings be ok for gravy or too salty? Lis
Mike Vrobel says
It should be fine - but it depends on the Montreal seasoning. As long as it doesn't have more sodium than the recipe's 3tbsp of Kosher salt, it will work.
Domenic Ingratta says
I use a Coleman 12x10x10 plastic cooler for my sous vide. Cut the front corner with a jig saw to just fit the appliance. Works very efficiently with no evaporation. Love beef in the sous vide, always 138F, sear on a ceramic searing grill on my "Q".
Anthony Bellestri says
Hi Mike,
I'm going to give this recipe a whirl this weekend, and I can't wait!
Curious: is searing under a 450 degree broiler an option? I'm not opposed to searing on the stove-top, but it seems the broiler would be less labor-intensive.
Mike Vrobel says
Sure, broiling is an option. I prefer searing - less chance of overcooking that medium-rare interior - but a good broiler will do the job.
Marsh says
Hi Mike, thank you for the great recipe!
Just purchased a pellet grill and wanting to shake things up a bit with my prime rib this weekend. Have you ever smoked prime rib for a few hours at a low temperature before using the sous vide?
Mike Vrobel says
Nope, never have. It should work...but you can simulate the same thing by using the pellet grill for a reverse sear, no sous vide required:
https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/testing-reverse-sear-on-the-rotisserie/
Brian says
To Sous Vide a frozen, unseasoned roast would I remove its seal, season while frozen, reseal, then Sous Vide?
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, that's how to do it - re-package it.
Michael J Mai says
cooking boneless ribeye roast with newly purchased Joule sous vide
could I use a roasting pan uncovered for the pot or should I cover top
with aluminum foil around top of Joule. sounds like I should vacuum seal
with my food saver....about 5-6lbs thanks
Mike Vrobel says
An uncovered pan is fine - just watch out for evaporation; the meat needs to be completely submerged.
Robert Dameron says
If I don’t have a vacuum sealer can I use the water displacement method, and do I loose any tenderness or flavor for not sealing under pressure?
Mike Vrobel says
Water displacement works fine - you just need contact between the meat and the plastic.