# I am baffled by the cooking time, please help me sous vide my first steak

**URL:** <https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556>\
**Category:** Anova Precision® Cooker\
**Created:** [July 19, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556 "2015-07-19T03:01:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![uat1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b782af/32.png) [@uat1](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/uat1)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556/1 "2015-07-19T03:01:56Z")

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I received my Anova from mail today and I am so excited to sous vide my first ribeye to impress my family.

I downloaded the android app and started to look into cooking temp and time. &nbsp;I understand that the cooking time depends on the doness and thickness of the meat. &nbsp;According to the app, the cook time for medium and 1 inch or less is about 40 minutes. &nbsp;What confuses me is that I watch many Youtubes and read some posts in here, some of the post says they cook beef for 12, 24, 48 and even 72 hours, why such a long time? &nbsp;For thicker meat, I can see it might take 4 or 6 hours but 24 and more? &nbsp;

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**Author:** ![Simon\_C](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Simon\_C](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/Simon_C)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 6:18am UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556/2 "2015-07-19T06:18:12Z")

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Hi @uat1 and welcome to cooking with Anova 🙂

  

The longer cooking times are for what are known as secondary cuts of meat, such as chuck steak, that need the longer times to break down and become tender enough to eat. I regularly cook chuck steaks for 2 or 3 days. Prime cuts such as ribeye really only need between 1 and 4 hours.&nbsp;

  

You might find this link useful:

  

[Sous Vide Steak Guide | The Food Lab](http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/06/food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-steak.html)  

  

Good luck!

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**Author:** ![john.jcb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/john.jcb/32/7269_2.png) [@john.jcb](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/john.jcb)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556/3 "2015-07-19T12:23:26Z")

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Simon is correct. If the meat is tough short ribs, brisket, chuck, etc the long cooking time will break down the connective tissue resulting in a tender meal. The expensive tender cuts do not need the long time as they are already tender. When searching for suggested times include the cut of meat.

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**Author:** ![uat1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b782af/32.png) [@uat1](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/uat1)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556/4 "2015-07-19T13:30:11Z")

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Thank you! &nbsp;That clears my confussion. &nbsp;The provided link above gives great information too.

I am guessing that for poultry meat, there is probably no need for long cook time, right? &nbsp;

Is there a document out there that lists the cook time/temperature for different type of meat such as duck, pork, lamb, fish and etc?

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**Author:** ![john.jcb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/community.anovaculinary.com/john.jcb/32/7269_2.png) [@john.jcb](https://community.anovaculinary.com/u/john.jcb)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.anovaculinary.com/t/i-am-baffled-by-the-cooking-time-please-help-me-sous-vide-my-first-steak/556/5 "2015-07-19T20:44:49Z")

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Poultry and fish don’t take too long to cook.  
  
Here is one guide [http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-time-and-temperature-guide](http://www.chefsteps.com/activities/sous-vide-time-and-temperature-guide)  
  
Somewhere there is also an egg calculator. Eggs are probably the most time/temperature dependent things to cook.  
  
Vegetables are almost all cooked at 183° so they are easy. The corn on the cob recipe on this site is easy and the corn is great.