• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
DadCooksDinner
  • Home
  • Rotisserie
  • Recipes
  • Tools
  • Books
  • Merch
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Tools
  • Merch
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Books
    • Tools
    • Merch
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Sous vide

    Sous Vide Chuck Steak Recipe (24 hours to tenderness)

    Published: Apr 18, 2023 · Modified: May 1, 2023 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    Sliced sous vide chuck steak on a wood carving board

    Sous Vide Chuck Steak. Twenty-four hours of Sous Vide cooking make chuck steaks as tender as expensive steak cuts.

    What's the difference between a cheap chuck steak cut for pot roast and the most tender steaks? About 24 hours of sous vide cooking. Long, slow sous vide cooking will take all the tough connective tissue in a chuck steak and melt it into tenderness.

    Sliced sous vide chuck steak on a wood carving board
    Jump to:
    • Equipment
    • Ingredients
    • How to Make 24-Hour Sous Vide Chuck Steak
    • Substitutions
    • Sous Vide Safety for 24-Hour Cooks
    • Tips and Tricks
    • What to serve with Sous Vide Chuck Steak
    • Sous Vide Chuck Steak Recipe (24 hours tender)
    • Related Posts
    • 💬 Comments

    Now, I know Sous Vide needs some extra equipment. (See the Equipment section below). But it's incredible what it does to a tough cut of beef over a long cooking time. Chuck beef roast is full of beefy flavors, like a ribeye steak. (Chuck shoulder and ribeye roast are next to each other in the cow). But, the chuck is from the hard-working shoulder muscle. Chuck is a tough cut of beef if you don't cook it low and slow to tenderize the connective tissue and melt the fat. And, usually, that means a pot roast, where the chuck is cooked well done. (Which is still good eats, but not a steak). That's where sous vide comes in. It can cook low and slow at precisely medium-rare temperature, 131°F. The long cooking breaks down the connective tissue, but the low temperature keeps the steak medium-rare. Sous vide gives us the best of both worlds, an inexpensive, tender chuck steak with perfect medium-rare doneness.

    Equipment

    Sous vide machine: You need a sous vide immersion circulator and a food storage container (or large pot) that can hold the steak with enough room to circulate the water.

    Sous vide bag: You need food-safe plastic bags for sous vide, and you need all the air out of the bag to cook efficiently. The best way to do this is with a vacuum sealer. I use gallon vacuum seal bags. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, you can use freezer Ziploc bags for sous vide. Leave the zip-top of the bag open and slowly lower it into the water bath. The water will push all the air out of the bag as it is lowered. Zip the top of the bag right before it reaches the water level.

    Grill: I use my grill to get a good sear on my sous vide steaks.

    Cast-iron pan or heavy-duty skillet: Don't have a grill? A ripping hot cast iron skillet is also suitable for searing; sear the steak in a hot skillet for 1 to 2 minutes per side to give it a good crust. (A quality stainless steel pan, like an All-Clad fry pan, also works for searing. It doesn't hold as much heat as stainless steel, but it's close. And a stainless steel pan is a lot easier to maintain.)

    Ingredients

    • 2-inch thick chuck eye steak
    • Fine sea salt
    • Fresh ground black pepper
    • Butter (optional)
    • Fresh rosemary (optional)
    • Fresh thyme (optional)
    • Fresh sage (optional)
    • Lemon zest (optional)
    • Garlic, peeled(optional)
    • Coarse sea salt (or Kosher salt, or Flaky salt, optional)
    • Coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

    See the recipe card for quantities.

    How to Make 24-Hour Sous Vide Chuck Steak

    Chuck steak, herbs, garlic, and butter, vacuum sealed

    Season the steak and seal it in a vacuum bag: Sprinkle the chuck-eye steak with ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt and 1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Put the steak in a vacuum bag, and toss in the butter, rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon zest, and garlic cloves. Seal the bag.

    Vacuum bag of chuck steak and herbs in a sous vide water bath

    Sous Vide the Steak for 24 Hours: Set a sous vide bath to 131°F/55*C for medium-rare. (Use 136°F/58°C for medium, or 141°F/60.5°C for medium-well) Put the bag with the steak into the water bath and cook for 24 hours. (Try to go for at least 12 hours, or up to 48 hours).

    Dry the steak: Remove the bag from the sous vide, cut it open, and remove the steak from the bag. Pat the steak dry with paper towels.

    Chuck steak searing on the grill

    Sear the steak: Preheat a grill set as high as possible. (For my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill with all burners set to high for 15 minutes, then turn off half the burners and leave the other half on high. For my Weber Kettle, I light a full chimney of charcoal, then spread it out over ⅓ of the grate, about 3 coals deep, with no coals on the other side to concentrate the heat.) Sear the steak for 4 minutes, flipping every minute; rotate the steak 90 degrees on the second flip to get a crosshatch of grill marks. Set the steak on a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes.

    Slice and serve: Cut the rested steak into ½-inch to 1-inch thick slices, depending on how hearty your eaters are. Sprinkle the sliced steak with the coarse salt and coarse ground pepper, then serve and enjoy.

    Substitutions

    Cuts of beef: My favorite chuck steak cut for this recipe is chuck eye steaks; they remind me of prime rib steaks. Other good cuts of beef chuck for this recipe are flat iron steaks, blade steaks, or a petite tender roast.

    Flavor changes: I'm going with an Italian flavor here, loosely inspired by Bistecca alla Fiorentina. For a French flavor, replace the rosemary and sage with parsley. For Texas Style, skip the butter, herbs, lemon, and garlic, and rub the steak with my Tex-Mex spice rub of 3 teaspoons ancho chile powder, 1½ teaspoons fresh ground black pepper, and ¾ teaspoon garlic powder. Or, if you want simple steaks, use salt and pepper.

    Sous Vide Safety for 24-Hour Cooks

    For food safety reasons, a long cook like this 24-hour sous vide should never be done below 130°F/54.5°C. That temperature is high enough to pasteurize the meat, killing harmful bacteria. Unfortunately, we can't use the 24-hour method to give us a truly rare chuck steak; medium-rare is as low as we can go and still be food safe.

    Tips and Tricks

    Thick steak I like thick-cut steak for this recipe, 1 ½ to 2 inches thick. Try to get at least a 1-inch thick steak so it doesn't overcook in the middle during the searing step.

    Au Jus Sauce I always feel like I'm wasting flavor when I throw out the juices in the Sous Vide bag after cooking. But, when I try to use them to make a pan sauce, the protein congeals and leaves ugly clumps in the sauce. That said, the sauce still tastes great with those juices. If you want to make a pan sauce, bring the liquid from the sous vide bag to a boil. Then, once the protein clumps up, pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer - or even a coffee filter if you want a smoother sauce. Then, pour ½ cup of red wine into the pan, bring it to a boil, and add the filtered juices. Simmer until the sauce thickens a little, then take it off the heat and whisk in a tablespoon of butter.

    What to serve with Sous Vide Chuck Steak

    I love beef and horseradish, so I always make Horseradish Sauce to go on the steak. And I'm a steak and potatoes guy, so Quick Baked Potatoes is my usual side dish. I also like to serve steak with something green, preferably asparagus or green beans, whichever is in season.

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Sliced sous vide chuck steak on a wood carving board

    Sous Vide Chuck Steak Recipe (24 hours tender)


    ★★★★★

    5 from 3 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 24 hours 5 minutes
    • Yield: 6 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Sous Vide Chuck Steak. Twenty-four hours of Sous Vide cooking make chuck steaks as tender as expensive steak cuts.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1½- to 2-inch thick chuck eye steak (or thicker), about 3 pounds
    • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
    • 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
    • 1 sprig fresh thyme (optional)
    • 1 sprig fresh sage (optional)
    • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
    • 2 cloves garlic, peeled(optional)
    • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (or Kosher salt, or Flaky salt) for sprinkling

    • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, for sprinkling

    Instructions

    Season the steak and seal it in a vacuum bag: Sprinkle the chuck-eye steak with ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt and 1 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper. Put the steak in a vacuum bag, and toss in the butter, rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon zest, and garlic cloves. Seal the bag.

    Sous Vide the Steak for 24 Hours: Set a sous vide bath to 131°F/55*C for medium-rare. (Use 136°F/58°C for medium, or 141°F/60.5°C for medium-well) Put the bag with the steak into the water bath and cook for 24 hours. (Try to go for at least 12 hours, or up to 48 hours).

    Dry the steak: Remove the bag from the sous vide, cut it open, and remove the steak from the bag. Pat the steak dry with paper towels.

    Sear the steak: Preheat a grill set as high as possible. (For my Weber Summit, I preheat the grill with all burners set to high for 15 minutes, then turn off half the burners and leave the other half on high. For my Weber Kettle, I light a full chimney of charcoal, then spread it out over ⅓ of the grate, about 3 coals deep, with no coals on the other side to concentrate the heat.) Sear the steak for 4 minutes, flipping every minute; rotate the steak 90 degrees on the second flip to get a crosshatch of grill marks. Set the steak on a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes.

    Slice and serve: Cut the steak into ½-inch to 1-inch thick slices, depending on how hearty your eaters are. Sprinkle the sliced steak with the coarse salt and coarse ground pepper, then serve and enjoy.

    Equipment

    Anova Nano Sous Vide

    Buy Now →
    • Prep Time: 5 minutes
    • Cook Time: 24 hours
    • Category: Sunday Dinner
    • Method: Sous Vide
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: Sous Vide Chuck Roast, Sous Vide Chuck Eye Roast

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @DadCooksDinner on Instagram and hashtag it #DadCooksDinner

    Related Posts

    Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast
    Sous Vide 48 Hour Baby Back Ribs
    Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak (24 Hours to Tenderness)
    My other Sous Vide Recipes

    Enjoyed this post? Want to help out DadCooksDinner? Subscribe to DadCooksDinner via email and share this post with your friends. Want to contribute directly? Donate to my Tip Jar, or buy something from Amazon.com through the links on this site. Thank you.

    More Sous vide

    • Slices of flat iron steak cooked medium
      Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak (24 Hours to Tenderness)
    • A tomahawk steak on a cutting board, with slices showing medium-rare doneness, and a slicing knife in the background
      Sous Vide Tomahawk Ribeye Steak
    • Sous Vide Boneless Ribeye Roast | DadCooksDinner.com
      Sous Vide Cooking Times for a Boneless Ribeye Roast
    • Joule sous vide and LIPAVI Model C10 sous vide container | DadCooksDinner.com
      My Sous Vide Setup (2017 edition)

    Sharing is caring!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Frank says

      May 28, 2023 at 1:00 pm

      Making this recipe now Mike. I enjoyed your blog. I love to sous vide meat.

      I saw a tip elsewhere which I use every time, I’ll share it here. Before searing a sous vide steak, let it rest to cool for about 10-15 minutes. After that, when searing the outside to a nice crust, the middle won’t over cook.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        May 29, 2023 at 1:36 pm

        Thanks!

        Reply
    2. Jeff Winett says

      April 26, 2023 at 1:52 pm

      Talk about turning a Sow's ear into a silk purse! I used the Vrobel method for last night's dinner. I ended up going for about 36 hours. I thought I was eating the most tender and flavor filled "Ribeye" steak, even though my wallet paid for Chuck steak. Thank you Mike for this one! Additionally, you've taught me about too low a temperature not being a food safe practice. I've been known to Sous Vide at 128°, but will do that never again. At 131° the meat was still medium rare enough to fully enjoy.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        April 26, 2023 at 4:52 pm

        Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

        Reply
    3. Dylan G says

      April 18, 2023 at 9:23 am

      Oooh - going to try this over the weekend!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        April 18, 2023 at 9:24 am

        Thanks, try it, you'll love it!

        Reply

    Questions? Made the Recipe? Leave a Comment Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner! I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Three bowls of cooked Pinto Beans on a wood table
      Instant Pot Pinto Beans (No Soaking)
    • Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
    • Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
      Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb (in 90 minutes)
    • Pressure Cooker Brown Jasmine Rice

    Recent

    • Cast iron skillet with a spiral of potatoes
      Cast Iron Spiral Skillet Potatoes
    • Instant Pot meatball soup with carrots and farfalle pasta
      Instant Pot Meatball Soup (With Homemade or Frozen Meatballs)
    • Instant pot pulled pork sandwich with barbecue sauce
      Instant Pot Pulled Pork
    • A plate of cooked chicken thighs, with an Instant Pot and a jar of paprika
      Instant Pot Quick Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Dad Cooks Dinner

    2 shares