Sous Vide Cook times
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: APauls
09-Jan-20
Curious what you guys are cooking and how long? I made a mistake and got an average one assuming they had delay functions, I guess none of them do. Found a wifi version on amazon for $118cdn with good reviews so I returned mine and got the wifi version so I could cook from work. Otherwise the appliance would essentially be useless to me. Anyways, did a mule deer loin for 4 hours and it was about mush, so need to throttle that back I'm guessing to 2 hours or so.
So hoping to ruin less meat in the future. What's your go-to cook times for stuff? Loins? Tenderloins? Roasts? If you wouldn't mind naming species and meat type so we can learn from each other. Preferred temps would be cool too if you feel like sharing. Thanks.
From: Fuzzy
09-Jan-20
You can get an inexpensive timer receptacle plug?
From: Fuzzy
09-Jan-20
but then you have to be there to turn the unit on. Never mind.
From: midwest
09-Jan-20
Thick steaks I do around 2 hrs or so at 129 deg. A big chunk of loin, I'll go about 4 hrs. at 132 deg.
I did a 6 lb. prime rib for new year's for 7 hrs. at 135 deg and seared it over charcoal. Phenomenal!
From: Brotsky
09-Jan-20
I cooked an antelope tenderloin and a couple steaks last night. 124 degrees for 90 minutes then finished in cast iron, smoking hot about 30 seconds per side is all. They were spot on medium rare. I also made the mistake of not getting the Wifi version, I just have the Bluetooth. Thankfully the kids can start it after school and it's good to go by dinner time most of the time. Get the Anova app, it will give you cook times and recipes for a bunch of stuff.
From: Jaquomo
09-Jan-20
Loins,steaks, burgers, 1 hour. Beyond that I go with tried and true internet recipes and cook times/temps. I did pork baby back ribs overnight before finishing in the smoker and they were amazing.
From: Ace
09-Jan-20
I bought the Walmart version first as well. I think it was $69 or so. We used it and loved it but my Girlfriend wanted more features so she did some research and bought a Joule. It has Wifi, BlueTooth, and even videos on the app with recipes and (maybe most importantly) pictures of how things look/come out with different cooking temps. We cook steaks and roasts (whitetail) to about 132-135 degrees (Fahrenheit) which I'd judge is a bit past Medium Rare.
I have not found that longer cooking times result in mushy meat, but I imagine that if you go way long, that will happen. 4 hours doesn't sound like too long to me. Maybe there was another problem? What cut was it, and what temp did you use? Cuts with less fat and less collagen probably don't benefit from longer cooking times as much as leaner, boneless ones would.
We have cooked all sorts of stuff, and chicken is probably my least favorite thing, not sure why. The steaks and chops and roasts (beef, pork, bear, and whitetail) all come out perfect. I do think that getting a really good char afterward is really important. You can use a torch, but I prefer the thicker crust you get with a really hot frying pan.
I haven't found the results as amazing with things like ribs, and stuff you're going to cook for a really long time anyway. But we're still experimenting.
From: fubar racin
09-Jan-20
I did a moose roast a few weeks ago that was still tough at 24 hours at 135 so did the next roast for 30 hours and it was perfect. But most things I’ve done much shorter cook times.
From: Surfbow
09-Jan-20
Lou, at what temp did you do those ribs? My wife bought me an Anova sous vide cooker for Christmas...
From: Cheetah8799
09-Jan-20
We use the ANova sous vide. Venison steaks and chops, 140F, 2 hours. Thicker roasts go longer, same temp. Then we open the bag, wipe off, add salt/pepper, and pan sear briefly. Always very tender and tasty. Longer cook time isn't a huge problem unless you add many hours and the meat might change texture.
My brother-in-law has done some amazing beef roasts in the sous vide with cheap cuts of meat, 12+ hour cook times, he gets his recipes on various cooking forums. We also do chicken breasts, but I forget the temp, 2h cook time roughly.
I attempted to do a wild turkey breast, but was not happy with how it came out. I won't try that again, have other recipes I prefer for wild turkey.
From: GagnéAcres
09-Jan-20
I cooked a venison top round steak with salt, pepper, and red wine vacuum sealed for 1.5hrs at 135F then seared all sides for a minute each side, the most tender venison i have ever cooked and was not at all mushy. I also cook chicken breasts at 146F for 2h then a quick sear, can cut the breasts with ease with a fork.
From: Bowfreak
09-Jan-20
I've loins for 4 hours and not had any adverse affect. I typically end up with them cooking for at least 3 hours as I jockey the temp because I cook mine medium rare and my kids and my wife's medium to medium well.
From: tobywon
09-Jan-20
Could bag possibly have had a pin hole or not sealed in a small section maybe? No clue, just throwing that out there.
From: Ucsdryder
09-Jan-20
Ucsdryder's Link
This might help.
From: tobywon
09-Jan-20
Jaquomo, burgers using this method? Tell us more. You have to sear anyway, so is it worth over just grilling...or are you just talking loose burger for chili or other dishes?
From: Bob H in NH
09-Jan-20
We did our first try with this. No sous vid appliance, we rigged one with a big pan of water, put a copper pipe across the top and clipped the vacuum sealed roast to the pipe. Nothing was touching the pan. Roast was about 1.5 pounds. Brought water to 140-142 (this took some adjusting on the stove for the first 45 minutes to get it stable). We then let it sit for 6 hours. That was the time we found on line for beef.
Was EXCELLENT, probably closer to medium that med-rare, very tender. The only downside was the time to cook it. 6+ hours makes it hard to do routinely
What I read said longer times don't really have an effect since it won't cook past that temp anyway. I am reading here we can do this for more like 2 hours? That would be GREAT
From: fubar racin
09-Jan-20
I’m not sure how Jaquamo does it Toby but I vac seal all my grind flat throw it in the sous vied frozen then when I get back it takes 90 seconds to cut into square burgers and sear real fast.
From: FF
09-Jan-20
I cooked 2 - 6 oz Beef Filets on New Years Eve at 130 degrees for 2 hours and finished in a smoking hot skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Seasoned with kosher salt and pepper. Best steak I think I have ever made.
From: Brotsky
09-Jan-20
Toby, plan to try burgers myself soon. I just plan to make patties, season, and vacuum seal. Will cook them to temp probably about an hour or so and then will sear on very hot grill maybe a minute per side tops. I suspect they will be delicious!
From: hdaman
09-Jan-20
I'm a bit confused. I thought one of the selling points was that whatever you cook could sit all day at a set temperature and be ready when you want to serve it. For instance, if a steak is set to 135'f is it different after 2 hrs vs 8 hrs? I'm also new to the sous vide cooking world.
From: Ucsdryder
09-Jan-20
Hd watch the video I posted. The longer you leave it the more tender it gets, but it doesn’t equate to “better”.
From: hdaman
09-Jan-20
Thanks John! I appreciate the lesson!
From: Yellowjacket
09-Jan-20
Correct the item you're cooking will never reach a temperature higher than the water temp no matter how long it cooks. But the longer it cooks at some point you're going from just cooking to the set temperature to braising.
From: Jaquomo
09-Jan-20
I'll have to look in my notebook for the baby back rib cook time and temps. I keep a spiral notebook and modify as I find better ways. Venison burgers are amazing because they cook to the desired doneness but retain all the juices.
From: Al Dente Laptop
09-Jan-20
I generally go for 1 hour per inch for any steaks. For large tenderloins, like a filet mignon, I go 2 hours total, they are tender already.
From: Timex
09-Jan-20
To each his own but I can't understand cooking loins - bachstraps this way. I do roasts for 110 minutes & there falling apart
From: skookumjt
09-Jan-20
What are you guys doing when you sear your stuff in a pan? Cast iron and olive oil? What temp?
From: Brotsky
09-Jan-20
I try to get it to about 325 degrees, just short of smoking. If you use Ghee you can go hotter and get a better sear.
From: Jaquomo
09-Jan-20
Ziploc freezer bag and use water displacement to get the air out. To the earlier question about burgers, I do mine for an hour at 135.
Cast iron and canola, and I like it just as it barely starts to smoke. I also have a ceramic searing burner on my grill down in town that works pretty well.
From: Brotsky
09-Jan-20
Skook, my example was EVO, if you use a refined olive oil instead of extra virgin you can go a lot hotter before it smokes.
From: tobywon
10-Jan-20
Interesting on the burgers, would have never thought of using this method for that.
From: cnelk
10-Jan-20
Sous vide elk burgers.. Da bomb. All juices trapped in the meat. Even with no fat added to meat. Delish
From: Surfbow
10-Jan-20
I'm going to have to try the burgers, that's intriguing!
From: lewis
10-Jan-20
Lou are you patting out the burgers seasoning them and then placing them in the bag going into the pot thanks Lewis
From: midwest
11-Jan-20
lewis, that's how you want to do it, yes. You're only going to quickly sear the burgers when they come out of the sous vide to add a nice crust.
From: lewis
11-Jan-20
Thanks Lewis
From: stagetek
11-Jan-20
Just dropped in a bag of venison steaks, salt, pepper and a few cloves of garlic. Going to do 130 for 3 hrs.
From: Brotsky
11-Jan-20
JTV, I do not let them sit. I sear them immediately. Cook a few degrees under what you want them to finish at and they will reach perfect temp during the sear. IE cook at 127 and then sear and they will finish at a perfect medium rare 130.
From: Mule Power
11-Jan-20
I’ve read that you should rest steaks for 10 minutes before searing so I’ve always done that. I picked up a few monster t-bones for tomorrow. I seasoned and vac sealed them yesterday. Can’t wait!
From: Ace
11-Jan-20
Always make sure to Pat the outside of the meat dry before searing. If it’s wet it will steam (212 degrees), Dry and in hot oil and it crusts up beautifully via the Maillard reaction, The ideal temp is between 230 and 340 degrees. Hotter and it burns too quickly.
From: Mule Power
11-Jan-20
I use ghee in a cast iron skillet. Not exactly sure what the temp Is. Hot!
From: stagetek
11-Jan-20
Is it better to sear in oil or butter ?
From: midwest
11-Jan-20
Ghee is clarified butter which has a much higher smoke point than butter plus all the flavor. It's fantastic for searing sous vide meats.
From: stagetek
11-Jan-20
Thank you.
From: BUCKeye
11-Jan-20
I just did a deer roast at 130F for 10 hrs. Texture was mushy and like baby food.. not good....definitely too long.
From: stagetek
11-Jan-20
Well, the venison steak I cooked was awesome. But, when I seared it in the cast iron pan I think I set off smoke detectors in a 1/2 block radius. Pan too hot ? Too much Ghee ? I want to cook this way again, but I'm not sure my neighbors will let me.
From: cnelk
11-Jan-20
^^^ You’re not the first to neglect to have the range hood fan on high when searing sous vide meat. :)
From: stagetek
11-Jan-20
Oh, it was on high (still is). Think I'll move outdoors and use the grill. The cold won't matter since I had to open all the doors and windows anyway. But the dinner was excellent.
From: Al Dente Laptop
12-Jan-20
After the allotted time, I remove the meat from the bag, dry it off using paper towels, then sear over a bed of hot coals.
From: APauls
13-Jan-20
Going to try a roast today. Alarm set to turn it on from work. Going with 5.5 hours. Prob a 4lb roast if I had to guess.
From: Brotsky
13-Jan-20
Sounds great Adam! We had a pork loin yesterday for the football game. 145 degrees for 2 hours, came out fantastic! Everyone enjoyed it almost as much as we enjoyed the Packer victory!
From: Mule Power
13-Jan-20
I’m definitely sticking with thicker steaks. Searing get the internal temp up to fast with thinner ones. But the t bones were a hit yesterday with shrimp in a white wine/cream/ garlic sauce. Surf and turf!
From: BUCKeye
13-Jan-20
Pork loin at 2 hrs sounds about right in my sous vide....if I kept it in for several hours longer, it would result in the bag filling with juice and dry mushy loin.
I have had no luck with extended time sous vide of lean cuts
From: Jaquomo
13-Jan-20
Geez, I feel like a pedestrian just having a thick, juicy elk burger at 127 degrees for an hour... you guys are regular chefs!
From: APauls
16-Jan-20
Mulie roast inlaid with beef fat was good 5.5 hours at 135. In dialling in the cooking method I think I should let it sit a little longer to dry it off better prior to searing. A torch would be ideal. Not easy searing a round roast in a flat pan.
From: midwest
16-Jan-20
Adam, just pat it with paper towels before searing.
From: Brotsky
16-Jan-20
+1 Midwest, exactly what I do. On a roast or loin then I use tongs to rotate and press into the pan to sear.
From: bluedog
16-Jan-20
bluedog's Link
For roasts and for everything in the winter I use a Bernzomatic TS8000. Works well for me. (around $40 at Amazon) In summer I usually use a small grate on top of an old chimney charcoal starter.
From: bluedog
16-Jan-20
Forgot to mention I have a heated garage/shop and I always sear meat (also fry fish) out there to please my wife and spare the smoke alarms.
From: APauls
16-Jan-20
Nick my roast was too juicy. I kept patting it down and it just kept leaking. That's the downside of the sous vide. Stuff is just too juicy. Was thinking if I let it set a little longer maybe it would stop leaking. Might have been the inlaid beef fat inside or the thin slab of beef fat I cap my roasts with that was the juice problem ;)
