If you’ve never made a sous vide hamburger recipe, you need to add it to your sous vide bucket list. Burgers cooked sous vide style are so freakin’ juicy. This is one of my favorite sous vide ground beef recipes because the results are so unexpectedly different than traditionally cooking burgers.
A version of this recipe is featured in my new sous vide cookbook, and I’m sharing the full recipe for you today on Sip Bite Go.
So take out your sous vide machine and let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for juicy sous vide burgers
It all starts with delicious ground beef and seasonings. This recipe will show you a basic salt and hickory smoked black pepper.
Some other burger seasonings? Jacobsen’s black garlic sea salt, Texas-style bbq salt, and liquid smoke for that smoky flavor.
At the end, you can finish hamburgers with a mayo sear, a little olive oil, or butter in a cast iron pan.
More on that later.
New to sous vide techniques? Learn why is sous vide so popular.
What’s the best sous vide hamburger temperature?
The temperature for cooking sous vide burgers depends on how you like your burger.
Cook the burger the same amount of time in the sous vide bath as indicated in the recipe, but adjust the temperature to your preference…
- Rare burgers – sous vide at 120-128°F
- Medium rare sous vide burgers – sous vide at 129-134°F
- Medium burgers – sous vide at 135-144°F
- Medium well – sous vide at 145-155°F
- Well done – sous vide at 156-162°F
Can you sous vide frozen burgers?
Yes! I like to make the burger patties, seasoning and all, then vacuum seal and freeze them for sous vide meal prep.
Then when it’s time to make dinner, I just add 60 minutes on to the sous vide burger cook time and that accounts for defrosting the burger and cooking them at the same time. Don’t forget to add 60 minutes when cooking sous vide from frozen.
Did you know there are a ton of sous vide beef recipes to try? You can sous vide everything from sous vide beef tenderloin, to sous vide ribeye and filet mignon cuts, to sous vide meatballs. You can precision cook these meals for a tasty sous vide dinner.
How to sous vide burgers
Step 1. Preheat sous vide machine to 138ºF.
Step 2. While the sous vide bath preheats, make the burger patties by seasoning ground beef with salt and pepper.
Separate the burger meat in four 8-ounce patties and flatten into disc shapes.
Add an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper to the outside of the burgers, if desired.
Vacuum sealing burgers for sous vide
Step 3. Lay the burgers in a flat layer and vacuum seal the bag. If you’re using a ziploc bag to sous vide burgers, read on in this post for details.
See more info beyond just vacuum sealing burgers in this guide on how to vacuum seal meat.
Want to sous vide burgers in Ziploc bags?
To evenly sous vide cook burgers in Ziploc bags, use one bag per burger. Use the water displacement method to remove air from the bag.
Don’t put multiple burgers in a large gallon ziploc bag to sous vide them because they are unlikely to stay in a flat layer, which will negatively affect the results and evenness of the cook.
Learn more about using ziploc vs vacuum sealed bags for sous vide cooking.
How long do you sous vide hamburgers?
Drop the bag in the sous vide bath at 138ºF for 45 minutes.
When done, remove burgers from the hot water and shock the bag in an ice bath for two minutes.
Remove burgers from the bag and pat dry.
Step 4. Choose a method to finish sous vide burgers.
Finish in a Cast-Iron Skillet
Preheat a large cast-iron skillet on the stove to medium-high or high heat.
To do a mayo sear, smear a light coat of mayo on both sides of ground beef patties then add them directly to the hot pan. Alternatively, you can add olive oil or butter to the pan then add the burgers (without the mayo).
Give the burgers a quick sear for medium-rare, a longer sear for medium, and keep flipping them until they’re well done, if that’s what you’re going for.
For the most accurate temperature, use a digital thermometer.
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Finish burgers on the grill
Preheat grill and brush cooked sous vide burgers with olive oil. Grill burgers on each side until grill marks appear and the outside is browned.
Sous Vide the Toppings
Want to have more fun with sous vide cooking? Make the toppings sous vide, too.
- Sous vide onions
- Pickled sous vide cucumbers
- Sous vide zucchini chips
- Overnight bacon sous vide
All of these burger topping recipes are in The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.
In the book, you’ll also find a tasty recipe for a Greek Turkey Burger topped with feta cheese. It’s so tasty.
How to prep sous vide burgers for a crowd
Prepping sous vide hamburgers for a BBQ or a sous vide party is a great idea because you can do so much in advance. That’s great, because it means there’s no need to babysit burgers on the grill when guests are over for a barbecue.
Sous vide meal prep tips for burgers
- Prep these super-juicy burgers the day ahead
- Sous vide ground beef patties the morning of the event, and finish them on the grill when it’s time to eat.
- To please everyone: cook the burgers to medium-rare in the sous vide water bath then finish them on a cast iron pan or on the grill to everyone’s specifications.
- You could even buy and freeze ground beef in advance if you really want to prepare ahead of time
- Serve with easy sides like sous vide corn and this make-head Mexican salad
Want to double down on impressing guests with precision cooking? Make it a surf and turf sous vide dinner with these sous vide lobster tails or sous vide shrimp kebabs.
More tasty sous vide burgers to try
- Sous vide stuffed burgers with cheese and sauteed mushrooms
- Sliders with chicken breast sous vide style
- BBQ sous vide pork burger
- Sous vide salmon burger
- Hawaiian buns with sous vide meatballs
- Ground sous vide lamb burgers
- Try making sliders and topping with this red cabbage and carrot salad
Essential Sous Vide Cooking Tools
Here are some products with affiliate links to check out
- Sous vide machine Joule, SousPreme multipot, Anova, or Instant Pot Slim (learn about the new Instant Pot sous vide machines)
- Sous vide container – bucket or stockpot to hold sous vide water
- Bag to cook food in – vacuum sealer or ziplock gallon bags. Learn about where you should use ziploc vs vacuum sealed bags for precision cooking in the sous vide.
Stock Up on your favorite meats at Crowd Cow and Snake River Farms. They’ll ship craft butcher cuts right to your door. Which is awesome.
When was the last time your knives were sharpened? If it’s been a while, check out Knifeaid – use SIPBITEGO at checkout for 10% off sharpening services.
Does cooking the burger in water sound crazy?
When I took out the Anova to make sous vide hamburgers for the first time, my husband thought I was crazy.
He knows I’ll sous vide everything I can get my hands on, but couldn’t imagine burgers are better sous vide style than just plain grilled. Some people may think: why would you add water to the traditional burger cooking process?
But it makes complete sense, as I so confidently reminded him: we love steam burgers from Canard, one of our favorite Portland lunch restaurants. You might find similar burgers cooked in water on a menu as “underwater burgers” as they’re sometimes called.
Final tips for making sous vide burgers
- Season before cooking – burgers cooked sous vide style need a light seasoning before being formed and vacuum sealed.
- Want to sous vide burgers in Ziploc bags? To evenly sous vide cook burgers in Ziploc bags, use one bag per burger. Use the water displacement method to remove air from bag. Don’t put multiple burgers in a large gallon ziploc bag to sous vide them because they are unlikely to stay in a flat layer, which will negatively affect the results and evenness of the cook.
- They’re super easy to meal prep – cook them the morning of the event and then start searing the burgers when guests arrive.
- Adjust the temp – When cooking for a group of people who like their burgers done to different temperatures, the easiest method is to sous vide the beef patties at a lower temperature (medium-rare) and then finish them to the desired temperature.
- Cooking sous vide burgers from frozen? Add 60 minutes to the cook time.
Gourmet burger recipes to check out…
- See how to make hamburger patties step by step
- Smoked burgers
- Sous vide burgers
- Mayo seared sous vide burgers
- Sous vide lamb burgers
Share your burgers
So what do you think about this sous vide burger recipe? Are you down with ground beef cooked sous vide style? It’s definitely a recipe worth a try!
For more delicious ideas, find me on Instagram @sipbitego and subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel for more sous vide cooking.
Sous Vide Burgers Recipe [Sip Bite Go]
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil (sub mayo or butter)
- 4 buns
- toppings as desired
Instructions
- Preheat sous vide machine to 138ºF.
- While the sous vide bath preheats, make the burger patties by seasoning ground beef with salt and pepper. Separate the burger meat in four 8-ounce patties and flatten into disc shapes. Add an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper to the outside of the burgers, if desired.
- Vacuum-seal burgers in a flat layer and drop the bag in the sous vide bath at 138ºFor 45 minutes. When done, remove burgers from the hot water and shock the bag in an ice bath for two minutes. Remove burgers from the bag and pat dry.
- To grill finish… Preheat grill and brush cooked sous vide burgers with olive oil. Grill burgers on each side until grill marks appear and the outside is browned.
- To cast iron finish… Preheat a large cast iron skillet on the stove to medium-high or high heat. To do a mayo sear, smear a light coat of mayo on both sides of burger patties then add them directly to the hot pan. Alternatively, you can add olive oil or butter to the pan then add the burgers (without the mayo). Sear burgers on each side until brown. To cook them to medium or medium well, use a digital thermometer for the most accurate results.
- Plate with buns and toppings.
Video
Notes
- Season before cooking – burgers cooked sous vide style need a light seasoning before being formed and vacuum sealed.
- They’re super easy to meal prep – cook them the morning of the event and sear them when guests arrive.
- Adjust the temp – When cooking for a group of people who like their burgers done to different temperatures, the easiest method is to sous vide the beef patties at a lower temperature (medium-rare) and then finish them to the desired temperature.
- Cooking sous vide burgers from frozen? Add 60 minutes to the cook time.
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