Sous Vide Basics - Time, Temperature, and Safety Guides

[SconnieQ]

POST #1 – Bacteria and Safety

Here, I will post some of the best information I have found so far, for both beginners and pros. All of the information can be overwhelming, so if you are a beginner, choose a protein, and just focus on learning how to cook that first. Don't try to learn it all at once. I've found that these references explain things in the simplest way, with lots of pictures!

Here is a graph of how low temperature cooking relates to safety. Many of us have been preprogrammed for the basic temperatures the USDA has released to the general public. But for low temperature cooking, the USDA actually has a time and temperature continuum. This graph might seem complicated at first, but once you start to gain a general understanding of sous vide cooking, it will make more sense.

 

[SconnieQ]

POST #2 – Time and Temperature Guides

Now, to the fun part...here are some really great time and temperature infographics. These are from the "Codlo Sous-Vide Guide and Recipes" book. I would strongly urge anyone to download the WHOLE book. It is fantastic! 124 pages covering pretty much everything you'd want to know, all in one place. You can download it for FREE from this link:

http://www.codlo.com/blogs/codlo/17607193-the-ultimate-guide-to-sous-vide-time-temperature

When you click on the link to download, it will prompt you for your email address, then ask what you would like to pay for the book. I shamelessly chose FREE (you have to actually "type" in a zero, even though there is a zero already there, for the free option to work). After looking at the book, I feel kinda bad I did not pay at least a little something for it (but I'm not going to lose sleep over it at this point).

 

[SconnieQ]

POST #3 – Time and Temperature Guides – pdf files

The details are a little hard to read on the pictures under POST #2, so here are pdf files of the infographics, so you can download to see them better, and print them out if you want.

 

[SconnieQ]

POST #4 – Additional Time and Temperature Guides

Here are a few other helpful references. I have uploaded pictures, and also pdfs of each that you can download for better viewing and printing. I have also included a pdf of the Safety Graph from POST #1.

Something I find very interesting, is that you can pasteurize your own eggs. This is very helpful for things like homemade Caesar dressing, or anything that uses raw eggs.

 

[DivotMaker]

Nicely-done, Kari!  I really appreciate you taking the time to do this!  (Btw - I'm doing my combo SI/SV pastrami today!  In the smoker now @ 140.  Going to give it 5 hours of smoke, then SV for 2 days.)

 

[SconnieQ]

Nicely-done, Kari!  I really appreciate you taking the time to do this!  (Btw - I'm doing my combo SI/SV pastrami today!  In the smoker now @ 140.  Going to give it 5 hours of smoke, then SV for 2 days.)

The only thing I've heard is that the pastrami comes out so juicy and tender, that it might be hard to slice directly from the sous vide. I'll be curious to know. I'm sure you will want to make sandwiches right away! But you might want to chill the rest, and slice when cold. Then vacuum seal and freeze portions of the slices. And to reaheat...of course...sous vide!

 

[DivotMaker]

We'll know Tuesday evening!

 

[KY Smoke]

Hey Tony.....been following the Sous Vide adventures that you and others have been posting the past few weeks.  Wondering how your SI/SV Pastrami came out this week?  Something that I may want to try.  Looked for a follow up in the Beef section and don't see one yet.  Just curious.  Thanks....Jeff

 

[icebob]

here you go,
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4669.0

 

[KY Smoke]

Thanks Bob.  Totally missed it that section.  Definitely going to try now!

Great Job Tony!

 

[DivotMaker]

Not sure why I missed this post before, but thanks Jeff! 

 

[jpowell]

POST #2 – Time and Temperature Guides

Now, to the fun part...here are some really great time and temperature infographics. These are from the "Codlo Sous-Vide Guide and Recipes" book. I would strongly urge anyone to download the WHOLE book. It is fantastic! 124 pages covering pretty much everything you'd want to know, all in one place. You can download it for FREE from this link:

http://www.codlo.com/blogs/codlo/17607193-the-ultimate-guide-to-sous-vide-time-temperature

When you click on the link to download, it will prompt you for your email address, then ask what you would like to pay for the book. I shamelessly chose FREE (you have to actually "type" in a zero, even though there is a zero already there, for the free option to work). After looking at the book, I feel kinda bad I did not pay at least a little something for it (but I'm not going to lose sleep over it at this point).

Kari, Link to the full book no longer works. Could you maybe message me the full pdf?

 

[SconnieQ]

Kari, Link to the full book no longer works. Could you maybe message me the full pdf?

Try this link. You have to type in a zero if you want it for free. Let me know if it works. If not, I will send you a link to download from my dropbox account.

https://gumroad.com/l/codlo

 

[jpowell]

Kari, Link to the full book no longer works. Could you maybe message me the full pdf?

That worked! Thanks!

Try this link. You have to type in a zero if you want it for free. Let me know if it works. If not, I will send you a link to download from my dropbox account.

https://gumroad.com/l/codlo

 

[Libohunden]

I've been trying to figure out what the danger actually is for sous vid'ing a steak (ribeye) at 129F for over 2 hours?  Can someone please explain it a little further?

On several occasions, I have cooked Ribeyes at 129 for 3-4 hours.  Mainly because I was waiting on guests to arrive. All of those occasions, they turned out excellent. I've got some friends coming over today and am planning Ribeyes and was thinking I might even cook 4-5 hours in sous vide. But I remembered someone had posted something about it being dangerous for food safety reasons.

If I cook at 131 for an extended time, won't that make the Ribeyes less tender?

How worried should I be if I cook at 129?

 

[SconnieQ]

I've been trying to figure out what the danger actually is for sous vid'ing a steak (ribeye) at 129F for over 2 hours?  Can someone please explain it a little further?

On several occasions, I have cooked Ribeyes at 129 for 3-4 hours.  Mainly because I was waiting on guests to arrive. All of those occasions, they turned out excellent. I've got some friends coming over today and am planning Ribeyes and was thinking I might even cook 4-5 hours in sous vide. But I remembered someone had posted something about it being dangerous for food safety reasons.

If I cook at 131 for an extended time, won't that make the Ribeyes less tender?

How worried should I be if I cook at 129?

I wouldn't worry about cooking at 129 for 4-5 hours. Usually it is recommended to cook ribeyes at 129 for up to 4 hours (so your 3-4 hours is totally within the recommended range). If going longer, increase the temperature to 130-131. You can see from this graph, bacteria will no longer grow at 125. And existing bacteria will start to be killed at 130. Like all meat, Ribeyes will only get more tender the longer you cook them. It's more a matter of texture. Tender cuts like Ribeyes might get a "mushy" texture if cooked and tenderized too long, although I don't think that wouldn't happen until after 10 hours or so.

 

[Libohunden]

Thanks Kari!

I ended up cooking right at 3 hours at 129F, then of course searing.  Turned out extremely excellent, as always. Our guests were very impressed(we are used to that when we sous vide). 

 

[SmilingMEL]

This may seem obvious, but if anyone hasn't, I recommend downloading both the Anova and Joule apps. Their cooking guides and recipes are complimentary with overlap, and neither requires you to have its cooker to install and use the guides, though I believe the Joule app does require a free ChefSteps account. For that matter, I've found the ChefSteps website itself to be a very good resource.

 

[barelfly]

Thanks for this write up Kari. This is great! Gives me some reading for the Anova on its way!

 

[1stlink]

Thanks for all the Sous Vide info you have posted Kari. I'm very intrigued and shopping for my 1st device. I have downloaded the 124 page book... Lottsa reading.
Thanks again