I’ve got chuck steaks cooking for 36hrs at 131 in vacuum sealed bags. At the 30 hr mark the Anova Precision Cooker stopped for about an hour and temps dropped to 120 degrees. The water level had dropped too low from evaporation. Added water and continued cooking. Are the steaks safe to eat? Thanks.
Common mistake, due to evaporation (which is also massive energy loss)
Have a think about your cooking vessel(s) …we use instantpot s/steel pot inners which both have as accessories well sealing silicone pot lids, which can be rough traced around & cut out to provide a snug evap free lid & save you more cooking energy (I buy two of each as we have 2 sizes of instantpot) one for sous vide & another for storage.
This will curtail any evaporation issues completely.
If cooking on a stone worktop consider a slap of insulation underneath it too for energy miserness.
The question you want answered is “when did pasteurisation take place” …there are sous vide graphs out there which are worth finding & pinning to whatever you use as your cooking app as a point of reference.
But really, get a lid & nip “low water” messages in the bud.
(the ping pong method is naff btw)
This: https://douglasbaldwin.com/sous-vide.html …there will be the scale you need to answer your own questions definitively rather than via “stranger on the internet”
(hint whilst he’s good reference material, too much quoting of his name will make you a sous vide techno bore amongst people via too much “clever clogs” glazed over “don’t corner me” faces from once friends ((& family)), learn well, trust the app guides, dig a bit deeper & let the food do the talking)
Hi ya @OlyMtns
It is my newbie nonprofessional opinion that your chuck steaks were safe to eat.
The authoritative answers might come from US FDA and USDA that mandate HACCP for commercial establishments. Hypothetically FDA / USDA would require that the food be discarded rather than risk a customer’s health.
I am a home cook for pleasure and entertainment and the only home food safety guidelines that I have found are derived from government sources addressing commercial food preparation.
For instance the ServSafe Coursebook
I’m reading ServSafe 7th Edition Full (1).pdf on Scribd. Check it out: ServSafe 7th Edition Full PDF | PDF | Food Allergy | Hand Washing
Scared of Food Safety? Don’t Be. Here’s Your Ultimate Guide to Food Safety in the Kitchen
Note that 131ºF is below pasteurization temperature. I disbelieve that the delay materially affected the quality of the meat.
Dr. Douglas Baldwin, The Mathematical Chef considers the safety issue at some length in his A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking Part I: Technique 1. Food Safety.