First Bottom Round Roast

I’m getting ready to do a bottom round roast, 1.64 lbs. at 149 for medium rare.  I’m thinking at least 24 hours if not 48.  My understanding is you can’t over cook with sous vide, I hope.  

1 Like

Not sure where you got that temp from, but 149 will be well done.  Medium rare is 130-135.  Aim for the low end on a long cook or you’ll end up with the next level of doneness due to the long cook time.


Red meat doesn’t really overcook in the traditional sense, but it can go too far in other ways.  24-48 hours will leave that meat with very little texture, like you almost don’t need to bother chewing it soft.  I’ve found that some people love the texture like that. But, less than 2lbs isn’t much of an investment, so go for it, see if you like it, it’s the only way you will know.

Delicate proteins like fish, shrimp, white meat chicken, these can all be overcooked, even sous vide.  The results are not appealing. Shrimp turns to rubber, fish gets disgusting and white meat chicken dries out and gets putty like.
1 Like

If you are not locked into vacuum sealed I would try it at 6 hours/12 hours etc. !40 max for MR. I am good between 130 and 140 although conventually cooked I prefer Blue Rare. Go figure.


I got the temps from ChefSteps.com, tough cuts, 149 for medium rare.

1 Like

Maybe I should go with the Roast temp, at 140

1 Like

> @brewer65 said:

I got the temps from ChefSteps.com, tough cuts, 149 for medium rare.


The toughness of the cut doesn’t change the internal temp at which the meat achieves a certain level of cooked vs uncooked, aka “doneness”. For any given species of animal, these temps are essentially fixed and the same regardless of the cut.    Now, tenderness at a temp and how long it needs to hold there to cease being tough due to the type of muscle fiber and preparation is a whole different issue entirely and can vary widely.  

Here’s a chart to get you started.  Includes pictures of the meat cross sections.

1 Like

Thanks for the input.

1 Like