# Does it matter how long you leave your steak swimming?

**URL:** <https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937>\
**Category:** First Cook Essentials\
**Created:** [January 25, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937 "2020-01-25T15:45:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leon\_Vos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/leon_vos/32/6215_2.png) [@Leon\_Vos](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Leon_Vos)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937/1 "2020-01-25T15:45:49Z")

</div>

Hi all,

I very much understand the minimum cooking time. However what effect would a longer soak have on your your food? Does it matter if you leave a steak in much longer? Does it affect the texture?

Regards,

Léon

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mirozen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/mirozen/32/2786_2.png) [@Mirozen](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Mirozen)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937/2 "2020-01-25T16:36:02Z")

</div>

Hi @Leon_Vos

The guys at the YouTube channel “Sous Vide Everything” did a test on this. Hope this helps!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leon\_Vos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/leon_vos/32/6215_2.png) [@Leon\_Vos](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Leon_Vos)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 9:03pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937/3 "2020-01-25T21:03:43Z")

</div>

Thanx @Mirozen!! Nice

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ember](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/ember/32/729_2.png) [@Ember](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Ember)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/does-it-matter-how-long-you-leave-your-steak-swimming/24937/4 "2020-01-25T21:37:35Z")

</div>

Basically the maximum time is related to the cut of meat and the amount of collagen it contains. A naturally hard working muscle group like brisket or cheek contains a lot more collagen than a lower work muscle.

The tenderness and mouthfeel that you’re after comes from the collagen in the muscle being converted to gelatin. So a muscle that contains a lot of collagen can handle longer cooking times. Grilling steak cuts tend to be from lower work muscle groups, but even among those there are variations.