Sous Vide Temperatures and Times

[Wade]

Sous vide is French for "under vacuum" and is a method of cooking food in a plastic pouch, which is often vacuum-sealed and then placed in a water bath or steam environment. It uses an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking - typically around 55 to 60 °C (131 to 140 °F) for meat, higher for vegetables. It is cooked at this temperature for longer than normal cooking times - usually 1 to 7 hours, but up to 48 or more in some cases. The intent is to cook the item evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and to retain moisture.

The following are proven temperature and time combinations for different foods. These come from ChefSteps and the original chart can be downloaded here

ChefSteps-SousVideReference.pdf

Beef

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Beef, Steak	Rare	54	129	1:00	2:00
	Medium	58	136	1:00	2:00
	Well Done	68	154	1:00	2:00
Beef, Roast	Rare	56	133	7:00	16:00
	Medium Rare	60	140	6:00	14:00
	Well Done	70	158	5:00	11:00
Beef, Tough Cuts	Rare	55	131	24:00	48:00
	Medium Rare	65	149	24:00	24:00
	Well Done	70	158	5:00	11:00

 

Pork

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Pork, Chop	Rare	58	136	1:00	2:30
	Medium Rare	62	144	1:00	1:45
	Well Donw	70	158	1:00	1:30
Pork, Roast	Rare	58	136	3:00	5:30
	Medium Rare	62	144	3:00	4:00
	Well Done	70	158	3:00	3:30
Pork, Tough Cuts	Rare	62	144	16:00	24:00
	Medium Rare	68	154	12:00	24:00
	Well Done	85	185	8:00	16:00

 

Chicken

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Chicken, Light Meat	Super-Supple	60	140	2:00	3:30
	Juicy and Tender	65	149	1:00	2:00
	Well Done	75	167	1:30	4:30
Chicken, Dark Meat	Tender	65	149	1:30	4:30
	Falling off the bone	75	167	1:30	3:00

 

Fish

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Fish	Tender	40	104	0:40	1:00
	Tender and Flaky	50	122	0:40	1:00
	Tender and Flaky	60	140	0:40	1:00

 

Vegetables

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Vegetables	Green	85	185	0:05	0:20
	Winter Squash	85	185	1:00	3:00
	Potatoes and Root Vegetables	85	185	1:00	3:00

 

Fruit

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Fruit	Warm and Ripe	68	154	1:45	2:30
	Cooked to soft (for purees etc.)	85	185	0:30	1:30

 

Egg

		Deg C	Deg F	Cook Time (hh:mm)
				Ideal	Longest
Egg	Poached	64	147	1:00	1:30

 

More information about Sous Vide cooking can be found at:

• https://www.chefsteps.com/sous-vide
• https://www.sousvidesupreme.com

[Smokin Monkey]

Good source of information.

[c00kie72]

Sous Vide is my next venture, thanks for this info it will be a very useful for me.

[Wade]

That is great. Most meats work well with Sous Vide but personally I have not found it particularly good for fish.

I was recently asked why you could cook meat using Sous Vide at temperatures that are lower than the published safe cooking temperatures. The answer is that safe cooking is a combination of both temperature and time. There is some more detailed information about that here.

Understanding Safe Cooking Temperatures

[Genevieve]

Right, sous vide is essentially pasteurizing the food, so it's not subject to the "danger zone" of having meat at warmer temperatures.

I'm suprised to hear about the fish, I've been told scallops and shrimp in sous vide are amazing, especially for texture. That's my next dish to try.

[Wade]

I was really referring to filleted fish rather than shellfish or shrimp. It just seemed to lose its texture. Lobster worked well but I have not tried scallops Sous Vide.

[Icefever]

Bump ....

This would be great as a sticky Wade,  because of the interest in using sous vide alongside cold/hot smoking folks should be made aware of the pasteurisation times of everything they cook for their own safety.

[Wade]

Done 

[Icefever]

Great....It's well worth folks printing it off and sticking inside a cupboard door...

[Justin]

I do get the pasteurisation points about temp and time .  I do also like rare steak st 54 deg s c and steak tartare, sushi, thinly sliced raw tuna, even raw liver sometimes!  Fish I am am not worried about salmon cooked to rare at 51.7 degs c or 45 mins ( lightly brined first for 4 hour tough)  You can also cook brined salmon at 41.3 degs c to firm up the fresh and sear it later so it cooked all the way through evenly. I have done this and it is better than putting straight onto the skillet)

Sous vide is ok on this point as long as the temp is at least 54.4 degs c, under that and if you are super safe conscious you might be worried, if not go for it you will probably be fine.  Never go below 40

[Raptor72]

Done 

[Justin]

Post it here mate: