Sous Vide Chuck Roast is incredibly flavorful, tender and juicy, unlike the pot roast cooked the traditional way. This 24-hour sous vide recipe transforms the cheap tough cut of a chuck roast, bottom round roast, or rump roast into the most delicious beef roast that rivals the expensive prime rib. Oh my, it’s totally a game-changer!
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Why Sous Vide Chuck Roast?
Sous vide cooking is the BEST way to make pot roast! When cooking tough cuts such as chuck roast or rump roast, oven or slow cooker method braises the meat for a long time when the roast is completely well-done. Sous vide allows you to evenly cook these tough cuts to rare or medium-rare with the precise temperate you set.
The best part? Sous vide chuck roast tastes just like a prime rib, but with a fraction of the cost! It turns a tough cut into the melt-in-your-mouth tender meat. It’s like magic, and you got to try it!
Sous vide means ‘under vacuum’ in French. It’s a cooking technique where foods are vacuum-sealed in a bag, and then cooked for a long time to a precise temperature in a warm water bath. The food never cooks past the set temperature.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chuck Roast: Our top pick is a boneless beef chuck roast, which is from the shoulder of the cow with outstanding marbling. You can also use rump roast or bottom round roast.
- Olive Oil: Regular olive oil works great for this recipe.
- Garlic Powder: It adds complexity and deep rich flavor. You can also use minced fresh garlic.
- Rosemary: Adds a smoky, flavorful boost to the seasoning. I used fresh rosemary and chopped it into small pieces, but you can use dried ones.
- Sugar: You can use granulated or brown sugar.
- Salt: I used Kosher salt, but you can use regular salt or sea salt.
- Pepper: Freshly ground black pepper works the best.
- For the gravy: You’ll need cornstarch, water, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Sous Vide Chuck Roast
Sous vide pot roast is really easy: it takes just a few minutes to season and seal the meat, and then the sous vide machine will do most of the work!
1. Make chuck roast seasoning: I like simple seasoning with salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, and rosemary. Rub the olive oil and the seasoning mixture all around your roast. The key is to season generously to bring out the best flavor of your roast.
2. Vacuum seal the roast: If you use a zip-loc bag, add in the seasoned roast, seal all but one corner of the bag, and slowly place it in the water bath. Make sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag
3. Place the roast in the water bath: Place the vacuum-sealed bag in a sous vide warm water bath.
4. Sou vide cook the roast: Cover the pot with aluminum foil and cook at 136 °F (58°C) for 24 hours. (The aluminum foil will minimize water evaporation.)
5. Finish with a quick sear: Remove the roast from the bag, and pat dry with paper towels. Add the roast to a hot skillet, quickly crisping the outside for about 1 minute per side.
6. Make the gravy and serve: Pour the juices to a skillet, add cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken the juice into a delicious gravy. Slice the roast against the grain and drizzle with the gravy.
Pro Tips for the Best Sous Vide Chuck Roast
- What kind of roast should I buy? For this recipe, my favorite cut is beef chuck roast. Other popular choices include shoulder roast, round roast, rump roast and briskets.
- How to seal a bag without a vacuum sealer? If you don’t have a vacuum sealer you can use a zip-loc bag which is safe for sous vide cooking. The trick to vacuum-seal the bag is called the “water displacement method”: just place the seasoned chuck roast in the bag, and seal all but one corner of the bag. Slowly place it in the water bath, and make sure everything below the zip-line is covered by water. Then seal the rest of the bag.
- Check the water level from time to time, and add more water if necessary.
Note that you’ll need to cook the meat in the water bath for a long time. To avoid the seams of the zip-lock bag from popping open, make sure the seams are above water during cooking while the meat is completely submerged in the water.
What Temperature to Sous Vide Chuck Roast?
To make sous vide pot roast taste like a prime rib, we cook it to 136 °F (58°C) for medium-rare. If you prefer to have the same texture as the traditional fall-apart roast that you can shred, set the temperature to 170ºF (76ºC). For different levels of doneness, follow the chart below:
Sous Vide Chuck Roast TemperatureDoneness125 °F / 52 °CRare136 °F / 58 °CMedium-rare145 °F / 63 °CMedium160 °F / 71 °C+Well-done
How Long Do I Sous Vide Chuck Roast?
Chuck roast is a tough cut that requires a long cooking time. I cooked mine for 24 hours, but you can cook yours anywhere between 20 to 30 hours. If you cook your chuck roast from frozen, the cooking time is the same.
Gravy Adds Great Flavor to the Roast
Don’t throw away the flavorful juices that come out from the meat! We can turn them into the most delicious gravy that you can drizzle over everything.
To make the gravy, place a skillet on medium-high heat, and pour the juices and browned drippings to the skillet. When it’s bubbly, add the mixture of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water on top, and stir frequently. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until the gravy is thickened. Season with salt, pepper to taste if necessary.
This gravy is the finishing touch that pulls everything all together. It completely takes the taste of your pot roast to the next level!
Can I Sous Vide Frozen Chuck Roast?
Yes! One of the great things about this recipe is that you can sous vide cook the roast from frozen directly. The instructions and cooking time are the same as the fresh chuck roast.
How to Serve Sous Vide Chuck Roast?
Using a sharp carving knife, slice the roast across the grain for serving, making the slices about 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick. Serve with the gravy. Some side dishes that I like to pair with include mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and green beans.
If You Like This Recipe Try Out These Sous Vide Recipes
Sous Vide Short Ribs Sous Vide London Broil Sous Vide Carnitas Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak
If you tried this recipe, let me know how your Sous Vide Chuck Roast turns out in the comments below!
Editor note: Originally published Nov 27, 2019 and updated Dec 4, 2020.
For more information please see the list of How to sous vide a roast
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