I have a beautiful rib eye steak that’s about 2 1/2" thick.
I’d like to cook at the 130 degree temperature.
How long should the steak be cooking for (after the water gets to the correct temperature)?
Thank you!!
3.5 - 4 hours will see you right.
Wow - that’s a heck of a long time!
Moose, for what length of time were you expecting to cook that small roast?
1:45 - 2 hours
Moose, for convenience i have a print of Baldwin’s Table 2.2 taped to the inside of an upper cupboard door adjacent to my Anova. He’s indicating about 5 hours to thoroughly heat a 2 1/2-inch thick piece of meat.
Even using the very rough ‘rule of thumb’ guide of an hour per inch for heat penetration you’d require a bare minimum of 2.5 hours. This guide falls down at anything much over an inch because of the non-linear nature of thermal absorption. At 2 inches thick a steak really takes around 2.75 hrs to reach thermal equilibrium with the cooking bath, so at 2.5 inches thick closer to 3.5 hrs is a reasonable estimate. Many will cook a steak for 4 hours no matter what the thickness.
Well, it’s getting about a 5 hour cook!
I had to leave the house much earlier than expected so chucked it in before I left at 132.5 and will come back to it like 5 hours later.
No problem. Times are not absolutes in sous vide cooking, they are flexible. Few things are time critical and over time is better than under time.
Oh, man! That was awesome!
I’ve paid $100 before now for a rib eye that was not as good as that! Proper melt in your mouth stuff with beautiful flavor to boot!
I’ve only ever cooked one piece of meat at a time in a sous vide. I’d like to know how best to arrange the steaks in the pot.
We have a big pot and currently are using zip lock bags clipped to the pot.
Thanks for the help guys!
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Moose, well now you know that recipe’s a keeper. You owe it to yourself to try it someday with a grass fed piece of meat for even more deliciousness.
The cat doesn’t use Zip-Loc bags so without experience he can’t comment on what’s best with them. Just be sure to have ample water circulation and keep food below the surface to ensure even cooking. He just let’s packages bob around in the water, never had a problem that way cooking as many as 25 items in a large Cambro container. For advanced preparation make it a habit to completely ice-bath chill your menu items before storage.
SV cooking was originally developed to facilitate batch cook-chill menu item preparation. Other than for eggs Community members appear to use it most often for cook-serve preparation which might be a carry-over from conventional cooking habits. That’s not wrong, only it diminishes the benefits of SV techniques. When you see meat you might enjoy on sale buy and cook it to enjoy later and take advantage of the low price.
I’ve just registered and have started my first sous vide with a 2" thick rib eye. Based on the tables here I’ve selected 130 degrees and 3 1/2 hours. I have the Anova 1000 W Precision Cooker. I was quite pleasantly surprised how quickly I could tell the water was getting warmer. Also wow, this thing is quiet. I wish leaf blowers were this quiet.
I put the steak in a a ziplock bag and used the straw, suck power, and water displacement method to remove as much air as possible. It must have worked since the steak is not floating.
Since the timer didn’t start until until the temp was reached, perhaps I should have waited till then to put the steak in the pot, instead of putting it into the cold water.
I’ve got a cast iron skillet which I’ll put in the oven to get it super hot for the searing, but I’m definitely going to look into the blowtorch method at some point.
Is ok if after the 3.5 hours I check the steak temp and if not high enough, put back in? I’m think a brief interruption in the cooking process should be ok.
After reading this thread, I gather that there is a very wide range of time a steak can be cooked and still get the desired results. The OP did it for 5 hours (instead of 3.5 - 4) and still got desired results.
Does the steak need to rest at all between cooking and searing?
Thinks for reading g my post. BTW, we bought the baby on a black Friday deal and I think we saved $30. I’ve been wanting one of these for quite a while.
Wecome to your precision cooking Community Johnny, you are off to a good start.
Yes, add the item when the temperature set point has been reached. It won’t make any difference in a 2" steak, but it will in a salmon fillet. It’s a good habit to cultivate for your new precise cooking technique.
Have faith, after 3.5 hours complete temperature equilibrium has been long achieved. For estimation purposes use an inch per hour as your guide to heat penetration in meat. After equilibrium additional time adds tenderness.
Different cooks have different desired results.
Cook to meet your expectations, not that of others.
With no temperature gradient in a SV cooked steak there’s no need to rest. Some cooks prefer to allow the steak to cool before searing thinking they can sear for longer at higher temperatures that way without increasing doneness.
That often results in overcooked steaks, but attractively charred.