Hi, we got my dad the Anova Sous Vide for Christmas and he would like to use it for a Top Sirloin Roast. All the time/temps that we have found for roasts are to a medium-rare doneness. He would like his done to Medium. Does anyone know the time/temp for a MEDIUM Top Sirloin Roast? Thanks
I think the temp range for medium is 135°F (57°C) to 144°F (62°C).
Time will depend on the thickness. What is the measure of the thickest part of the roast?
This link might help:
Best of luck
1 Like
Andrea, if your Father’s desire for enhanced tenderness causes him to want Medium doneness i recommend he set the water temperature at 140F and cook it for 24 hours.
Don’t panic, -it will be the equivalent of a moist and tender beef tenderloin cooked medium. Top sirloin roasts benefit from a long cook at as low a temperature you think your Father can stand. A higher temperature will result in considerable loss of moisture.
Thank you. The thickest part is about 6”
Andrea, that’s good, it’s nice and thick. It will cook well.
With the less than premium cuts of meat i tend to cook them at the outer time limits to achieve tenderness.
1 Like
So the 140 temperature for 24 hours for the 6” thick roast would give him a medium doneness?
Yes, cooked at the absolute lower end of Medium.
Andrea, if it is any help to you, last week i cooked a top sirloin roast at 131F x 24 hours. It was similar to yours, for my daughter #3 to take to work and serve to her management team. While they were enjoying their lunch three of them ordered Anova units. I hope that gives you confidence you did the right thing.
His meat will be more pinkish than greyish. If he can’t handle the mostly all-pink colour, go 5F higher but suffer the added dryness.
As a recovering westerner, i understand the fear of colour in meat, but will always consider it an unreasonable phobia. However, and above all, he should do as he pleases doneness-wise.
Worst case scenario, slice the cooked roast and flop the slices on a hot pan for a few seconds, and blame me for the bad advice. It won’t be your fault.
And next time, he should use a higher temp. Isn’t that the way we all learn?
The 140F beef will be very tender, maybe he should just eat with his eyes closed or in the dark and get accustomed to the tender-moist meat. He might really enjoy it and think you are the best daughter ever!
Or, - unfortunately, - On-mange-avec-les-eux.
We eat with our eyes, as the French say.
We are predisposed to enjoy, or not, by appearance, not taste and flavour.
A shame, but often our reality.
Some folks miss out on so much potential enjoyment from their preconceptions throughout their lives.
It is what it is.
1 Like
If he still has an aversion to the pinkness from myoglobin, you can always serve his meat well sauced so that he can’t see it 
Ember’s got it, make a sauce/gravy using the meat juices expressed during cooking. He’ll love it.
My wife has always had a aversion to the rare or even medium rare “looks” because she associated it with “raw”. I found that it stopped bothering her when I cooked sous vide as she “knew” that it was fully cooked through. When she saw me leave the meat in the bath for a good extra hour after it was fully cooked she stopped worrying!
Many are under this mistaken belief. It is a common fear that the pink juices flowing from meat is blood. It is not. Even if the meat is raw it is not blood seeping from the muscle it is myoglobin.
Myoglobin is the oxygen bearing molecule in muscle in much the same way as haemoglobin carries oxygen in blood.
Here’s a nice little explanation of what happens to myoglobin during the cooking process. It’s also got a bit on the difference between red meat and white.
1 Like
Lol. I would love to be able to tell my dad to eat it in the dark, or without looking. When I was a kid everything we ate was always well done. It was my husband that taught me how to appreciate my meat medium rare - and now that is my preference. My dad is 73 and even Medium is a stretch for him. Baby steps I guess. Hopefully now that he has his Sous Vide he will slowly learn to enjoy his meat a little less done. Thanks for all your help.
1 Like
Maybe no steps too for your Father.
His age doesn’t matter. His engagement with the world around him does.
Praise him for every success.
Even cooking SV is a significant change for him.
We seniors don’t do change well.
If you are able to sometime, perhaps you can give him another gift and cook something he particularly enjoys with him in his new Anova. Let him do everything, you be his coach.
1 Like