If you’ve never tried sous vide hamburgers mayo seared, then you’re in for a treat. You just can’t disagree with the taste and juiciness of sous vide hamburgers cooked with a mayo sear. They’re perfect for grilling or finishing in a cast-iron skillet.

Why mayo sear hamburgers?
Most people would finish a sous vide hamburger with butter or olive oil. They’d cook the burger sous vide style. Then grease a cast iron pan and sear it until a brown crust forms.
Mayo sear is totally different because there is no butter or oil.
In fact, you don’t put anything in the pan other than the hamburger.
So let’s sous vide cook hamburgers!
Ingredients for juicy sous vide burgers
You can use premade hamburger patties or make them yourself with the directions in this recipe. As you’ll see, it’s so easy to make your own ground beef patties for hamburgers. You just need ground beef and some simple seasonings.
Making sous vide ground beef hamburgers
Step 1. Preheat sous vide machine to 138ºF.
Step 2. Form the burger patties. First, season ground beef with salt and pepper. Mix together the ingredients until combined.
Separate the burger meat in four 8-ounce balls and then flatten the ground beef into disc shapes.
Add an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper to the outside of the burgers, or any other spices, if desired.
If you have the time, pop the burgers in the freezer for 15 minutes, which will make it easier to vacuum seal them.
Step 3. Vacuum seal ground beef patties in a flat layer.
Pick up extra tips on how to vacuum seal burgers.
Then sous vide them.
Sous vide hamburger temps and times
- Rare – 120-128°F
- Medium rare – 129-134°F
- Medium – 135-144°F
- Medium well – 145-155°F
- Well done – 156-162°F
Use any of the temperatures above to sous vide the beef for 45 minutes.
See below for tips on cooking from frozen.
When sous vide cooking is complete, move the bag of burgers to an ice bath for two minutes. Remove burgers from the bag and pat dry.
Step 4. Add a smear of mayo on both sides of cooked hamburgers.
You can also add one side of mayo and place it mayo-side down in a cast iron skillet. Then add mayo to the other side.
The finishing steps for mayo hamburgers
Step 5. Finish hamburgers in a cast iron skillet on the stove, or with a BBQ grill.
Add mayo-patties directly to the hot pan or the grill.
To pan-sear, sous vide hamburgers: preheat a large cast-iron skillet on the stove to medium-high or high heat.
Give them a quick sear to stay at medium-rare – just enough of a sear to brown the outside of the burger on each side, and to brown the edges (use tongs) so there is no white mayo left.
To cook burgers to medium or medium-well, use a digital thermometer to know when it is done. Don’t forget to brown the edges of the burgers.
To grill finish hamburgers, add the mayo hamburgers directly to the grill.
Serve hamburgers these buttery sous vide corn and a big family-style bowl of caprese salad.
Top sous vide hamburgers with tasty things like sous vide onions, gorgonzola cheese, sous vide bacon, or these sauteed mushrooms with thyme.
See over 100 of my favorite sous vide recipes in my new cookbook – The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.
What do mayo seared burgers taste like?
Mayo searing sous vide hamburgers gives them a crunchy burger bark. While the inside is infused with massive flavor and juicyness. Mayo has a little tang to it from the vinegar. And that’s really tasty when hit with some heat.
Mayo searing sous vide burgers is one of my all time favorite sous vide ground beef recipes.
You can mayo sear regular burgers, too…
Gourmet burger recipes from Sip Bite Go to check out…
- Smoked burgers
- Viral taco smash burgers
- Breakfast burgers
- Onion smash burgers
- Philly cheesesteak smash burgers
- Blackstone burgers
- Burger sliders
- See how to make hamburger patties step by step
- GUIDE: how long to grill burgers
- Sous vide burgers
- Mayo seared sous vide burgers
- Sous vide lamb burgers
- Smoked bacon wrapped burgers
- Bacon wrapped burgers
- Cheeseburger pizza
- See more Blackstone griddle recipes
- Learn how to toast buns on griddle
- See the best burger recipes…
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!
Check out how to sous vide from frozen.
What’s up next?
This technique for finishing sous vide hamburgers is a way to level-up your sous vide cooking. For more must-try sous vide recipes, check out sous vide NY strip steak, sous vide lobster tails and sous vide shrimp kebabs.
Is mayo the way?
Think this technique is crazy? Already tried it and love it? Want to tell me about your life-long hatred for mayo? Drop a comment below.
Last tips for sous vide hamburgers with a mayo sear
- Don’t add anything to the pan other than the burgers coated with mayo.
- Add 60 minutes to the sous vide cook time for hamburgers when cooking from frozen.
- Swap out salt or pepper for a flavored seasoning. Try hickory smoked black pepper, black garlic sea salt, Texas-style bbq salt, or liquid smoke.
Find me on Instagram @sipbitego and subscribe to the Sip Bite Go channel for my best recipes.
Juicy Sous Vide Hamburgers Mayo Seared Recipe [Sip Bite Go]
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp mayonaise
- 4 hamburger buns
- toppings as desired
Instructions
- Preheat sous vide machine to 138ºF. Form the burger patties. First, season ground beef with salt and pepper. Mix together the ingredients until combined. Separate the burger meat in four 8-ounce balls and then flatten the ground beef into disc shapes. Add an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper to the outside of the burgers, or any other spices, if desired.
- Vacuum-seal burgers in a flat layer and drop the bag in the sous vide bath at 138ºF for 45 minutes or at your desired temperature according to the temp chart. 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.
- Add a smear of mayo on both sides of cooked hamburgers. You can also add one side of mayo and place it mayo-side down to cook. Then add mayo to the other side.
- Finish hamburgers in a cast iron skillet on the stove, or with a BBQ grill. Add mayo-patties directly to the hot pan or the grill. To pan sear sous vide hamburgers: preheat a large cast iron skillet on the stove to medium-high or high heat. Give them a quick sear to stay at medium-rare – just enough of a sear to brown the outside of the burger on each side, and to brown the edges (use tongs) so there is no white mayo left. To cook to a higher temperature, use a digital thermometer to know when it is done. Don’t forget to brown the edges of the burgers. For grill finished hamburgers, add the mayo hamburgers directly to the grill and cook until desired temp is reached.
- Plate with buns and toppings, and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Don’t add anything to the pan other than the burgers coated with mayo.
- Add 60 minutes to the sous vide cook time for hamburgers when cooking from frozen.
- Swap out salt or pepper for a flavored seasoning. Try hickory smoked black pepper, black garlic sea salt, Texas-style bbq salt, or liquid smoke.
- Use a digital thermometer if you want to cook burgers to well done.
- Rare – 120-128°F
- Medium rare – 129-134°F
- Medium – 135-144°F
- Medium well – 145-155°F
- Well done – 156-162°F
Cinthia says
My kids have a strong aversion to mayo but loved these burgers. Cooked at 155 for well done.