Cooking temps, Am I just an odd ball ?

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Over and over, when researching cooking temps for SV beef of all different cuts… Steaks, roasts, brisket, whatever… I see 129-131… OR 155 ? As if their can be no in betweens ?

So I’ve done both (of what I consider to be these ‘extremes’) on several different cuts of beef, and with some experience now, I don’t consider either of these to be ideal.

Finally, I paid attention to my own intuition with my beef Tri Tip and I went for 138 for 16 hrs, and it was my best SV yet !

But just go through this forum and try finding one other cook of anything at 138 ?

Now, I’m getting ready to do a Chuck roast… For 40 hrs, at 138. Definitely not based on anybody else’s experience… Because again, I can’t find anybody who has ever done this temp. But just based on my own experiences thus far.

Hmmm. Just kind of odd to me that’s all. Will post my results.

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There’s lots of in-betweens - temperature determines level of doneness for meat, duration is what determines the tenderness. (not including fish in that second statement - you tend to cook fish for shorter periods).

I cook chicken and pork typically at 145F (as I really don’t want either of these rare), but steaks I do at 130F for medium rare. I’ll cook cheap roasts at 131F for 2, 3 or even 4 days (the latter of which it’s pretty much fall apart) :slight_smile:
Cooking roasts at higher temps is when you want a more well done result.

130F is typically used as the safety margin for longer cooks. Pathogens actually start dying off at 127F, but 130F is used as a safe margin for any cooks over 2 hours.

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Thank you Fischersd. Chicken is really not much of a draw for me, as I can make it really great, on the grill. Pork… Yea… just for a change in pace, although I really prefer beef, especially now that I’m doing SV, and can make it perfect :slight_smile:

To me, beef at 130 is just too rare. Don’t care for the squishy texture that way. If its just a bit more done (firmer) my teeth cut through it better that way. If I decide to pay $10 to $12 a lb for some premium Ribeye steaks or NY Strips (which is hard to do when I just did the best beef of my life, and it was only $5 a lb) I’ll probably SV those at 136 for 4 hrs.

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Yup, different strokes for different folks. I usually cook my steaks at 130F but for some cuts I also like a firmer texture and will cook to a higher temp. That’s the great thing about sous vide cooking. With a little experimentation you can get it exactly the way you like it.

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Just to add to the mix.

Tenderness when cooking meat comes about by converting collagen within the muscle into gelatin. That process happens very slowly at medium rare temperatures (130F) but speeds up as the temperature goes up. This is another reason why people might uses higher temperatures for things like roasts.

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When in doubt, there is no better reference for sous vide cook temp/time than Kenji Lopez over at Serious Eats. They actually cover a wide range of cooking temps in their guide to sous vide steaks and sous vide brisket, for example. So even though most of us like steak closer to 130 and tougher cuts cooked at higher temps and times for fork-tenderness, Serious Eats gives you the pros and cons across the temperature range.

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Thank you Josh. Lots of good info there. Of course that was for brisket… And right now, I’m doing a Chuck roast.
But I do have 2 big slabs of brisket in the freezer still. Might play with one of those next week :slightly_smiling_face:

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Ask and you shall receive: Barbecue Smoked Beef Chuck Recipe

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Thanks again Josh :slightly_smiling_face: The most important part for me was the SV part of course. And once again, he did it at 155 F for 36 hrs.

So I’ve got one going right now, that was set for 136 F at 48 hrs… But I always set for way longer, so I can take it out whenever I’m ready. I figured 40 hrs… But now, due to time constraints (going to a concert tonight) might pull it out and try it at 36 hrs ?
If it’s not great, I’ll bump it up to 145 the next time… And then, finally, 155 if I have to.

Thanks again for that article :slightly_smiling_face:

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After people make a few meals I think they find a temperature for beef that they like. I think most of the recipes you see for beef can be satisfactorily modified for any doneness by simply changing the temperature. I think you will find most beef recipes for sous vide are for rare or medium rare but by all means alter the temperature to suit your taste. For my beef I almost always cook at 55° C.

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Celsius ? You made me work for it :slight_smile: lol Okay, 131 F… Yea, like I say, it seems that the vast majority go with close to 130… or 155 ? In between seems to be not common at all.

As I do more and more SV’s, I’m feeling like my temp for steaks is 135, and for briskets or roasts, maybe 138 or 140 ?

I will have a better idea in a couple hours when I pull out this Chuck Roast done at 138 :slight_smile: And I will report back, with the honest results.

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No need to “work for it.”
°C x 9/5 + 32 = °F.
(°F - 32) x 5/9 = °C

How to remember whether it’s 9/5 or 5/9? There are more Fahrenheit degrees between freezing and boiling (212 - 32 = 180), so your conversion factor going from °C to °F is going to have to increase the number, therefore use 9/5, which is greater than 1.

Now, 55 x 9/5 = 99, and add 32 to get 131. If dividing the celsius number by 5 gives a remainder, just put it aside, finish the calculation and then add 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 9r 0.8 depending on whether the remainder is 1, 2, 3, or 4, respectively. Effortless when you get used to it.

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I did these calculations in my head for more years than I like to admit before there were handheld calculators to assist. Now I must admit I am spoiled by Siri but I still convert the two occasionally the old way.

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Wow, I’m really good at +,-, x, divide, in my head… but this equation completely throws me off. I think “Okay Google” is going to be a lot easier for me :slight_smile: lol

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We’ve an “Echo” in our kitchen. It works perfect for quick conversions!

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Here is the list of times & temps, that I have compiled, over the years:
The lines in BOLD, are my preferences.

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Beef brisket Corned 135°F 24-36-48 hr Jason Logsdon, CookingSousVide.com
Beef brisket Corned 140°F 36-48-60 hr Anovaculinary.com
Beef brisket Corned 150°F 36 hr Clint Cantwell Amazingribs.com
Beef brisket Corned Dense & moist 160°F 36 hr Kenji Lopez Alt
Beef brisket Corned - tender Loose & tender 165°F 12 – 24 hr Anovaculinary.com
Beef brisket Corned Loose & tender 175°F 15 hr Kenji Lopez Alt
Beef brisket Corned flakier 180°F 10 hr Kenji Lopez Alt
Beef brisket Corned 190°F 06 hr Kenji Lopez Alt
Beef brisket Corned flakiest 205°F 03 hr Kenji Lopez Alt
Beef brisket Pastrami 137°F 36-48 hr Jason Logsdon, CookingSousVide.com

Beef brisket Fresh Rare 125-130°F 36-72 hr sousviderecipes.net
Beef brisket Fresh Med Rare 131°F 36-72 hr sousviderecipes.net
Beef brisket Fresh Medium 135°F 36-72 hr Kenji Alt
Beef brisket Fresh Medium 140-149°F 24-48 hr sousviderecipes.net
Beef brisket Fresh Medium 145°F 24-48 hr mikerags.com
Beef brisket Fresh Med Well (traditional fall apart) 155°F 24-36 hr Kenji Alt
Beef brisket Fresh Well >=156°F 24-36 hr sousviderecipes.net
Beef brisket Fresh Very Well 176°F 24-36 hr ChefSteps
Beef brisket Fresh Falling apart tender 180°F 12 – 24 hr ATK (Alex)

Beef Short Ribs Med-rare, tender & Juicy 131°F / 55°C 48 hr anovaculinary.com
Beef Short Ribs Very tender & moist with a tinge of pink 145.4°F / 63°C 24 hr anovaculinary.com
Beef Short Ribs Traditional braised texture, fall-off the bone tender 165.2°F / 74°C 12 hr anovaculinary.com

Beef Steak Very Rare to Rare 120°F / 49°C to 128°F / 53°C 1 to 2½ hr Kenji Alt
Beef Steak Med Rare 129°F (54°C) to 134°F (57°C) 45 min-3 hr (2½ hr Max, if under 130°F) Kenji Alt
Beef Steak Med 135°F-140°F 45 min-3 hr Kenji Alt
Beef Steak Med Well 145°F / 63°C to 155°F / 68°C 1- 4 hr Kenji Alt
Beef Steak Well done 156°F / 69°C and up 1-3 hr Kenji Alt

Beef Tenderloin Very Rare to Rare 120°F (49°C) to 128°F (53°C) 45 min to 2½ hr Kenji Alt
Beef Tenderloin Med Rare 129°F (54°C) to 134°F (57°C) 45 min to 4 hr (2½ hr max if under 130°F/54°C) Kenji Alt
Beef Tenderloin Medium 135°F (57°C) to 144°F (62°C) 45 min to 4 hr Kenji Alt
Beef Tenderloin Mediun-well 145°F (63°C) to 155°F (68°C) 45 min to 3 1/2 hr Kenji Alt
Beef Tenderloin Well done 156°F (69°C) and up 1 to 3 hr Kenji Alt

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