Holding Times

In the General Sous Vide Questions Forum
One of the benefits I've seen touted about sous vide is that you can put a steak in the water when you leave for work and come home to a steak that's still at a perfect medium rare and ready to go.

I've seen plenty of lists of cooking times, are there are charts that list maximum recommended holding times? I mean, I'm sure after a few days the steak will just break down.

I'm especially interested in fish, which it seems to me would be much more affected by a long cooking time. Would you still end up with the same velvety salmon after eight hours that you got after thirty minutes?

Thanks!


1 Reply So Far

Another good question. We address this a lot in our new book, Sous Vide: Help for the Busy Cook, which is all about getting meals on the table quickly during a busy week.

In general though we suggest trying to find cuts of meat that need the extra cooking time such as rib roasts, flank steak, sirloin steak, etc. You wouldn't want to cook tenderloin for 8 to 10 hours as it would start to get too tender.

We also experimented with chicken breasts and while it's a longer time than usually recommended, even after 12 hours they are still pretty good, especially for a weekday meal.

And fish would definitely not do well in the water bath for 8 hours, it would probably turn into mush.

I hope this helps some!


Reply to this Topic

In order to add a reply to this topic please log in or create an account, it's free and only takes 30 seconds.









placeholder image

Cookie Consent

This website uses cookies or similar technologies, to enhance your browsing experience and provide personalized recommendations. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our Privacy Policy