Sous Vide Time and Temperature: A Practical Guide to Perfect Results

Sous vide — cooking vacuum-sealed food in a precisely controlled water bath — takes the guesswork out of doneness. Where a grill gives you a temperature gradient from charred edge to raw centre, sous vide brings the entire piece of food to one exact temperature and holds it there. The trade-off is that you need to understand two independent variables: temperature and time. They do completely different jobs, and confusing them is the most common beginner mistake.

Temperature sets doneness

The water-bath temperature is the maximum temperature your food will reach — it can never overcook past the bath. So temperature alone decides doneness:

Steak doneness	Bath temperature
Rare	52 °C / 126 °F
Medium-rare	56 °C / 133 °F
Medium	60 °C / 140 °F
Medium-well	65 °C / 149 °F

Set the bath to 56 °C and your steak comes out a perfect edge-to-edge medium-rare whether you pull it at the minimum time or an hour later. This is why sous vide is so forgiving: dinner can wait for you.

Time sets tenderness (and safety)

Time controls two things: pasteurisation (making the food safe) and texture (breaking down connective tissue in tougher cuts).

• A tender cut like a steak only needs enough time to heat through — typically 1 to 2 hours for a 25 mm piece.
• A tough cut full of collagen, like a chuck roast or short rib, needs many hours (24–72) at a low temperature to convert collagen into gelatin without drying out. That’s the sous-vide magic that turns cheap cuts buttery.

Go too long on a tender cut and it can turn mushy as proteins break down — more time isn’t always better. The Sous Vide Time & Temperature tool gives a recommended window for each food and thickness so you stay inside the sweet spot.

A starter reference chart

Food	Temperature	Typical time
Steak (medium-rare)	56 °C / 133 °F	1–2 h
Chicken breast	63 °C / 145 °F	1–2 h
Chicken thigh	74 °C / 165 °F	1–4 h
Pork chop	60 °C / 140 °F	1–2 h
Salmon	50 °C / 122 °F	45 min
Egg (soft, jammy)	63 °C / 145 °F	45 min
Short rib	74 °C / 165 °F	24 h

Food safety in one paragraph

The “danger zone” for bacteria is roughly 4–60 °C. Sous vide often cooks below the instant-kill temperature, so it relies on pasteurisation over time: holding food at, say, 56 °C long enough to make it safe. For thin tender cuts this happens naturally within the cook time; for poultry, follow tested time-at-temperature tables rather than improvising. When in doubt, cook chicken to at least 60 °C and hold it.

Finishing and the wider kitchen

Sous vide doesn’t brown food — you finish with a hard, fast sear in a screaming-hot pan or with a torch after the bath, just long enough for a crust without raising the interior temperature.

If you’re adapting a conventional recipe, the Oven Temperature converter helps translate the finishing-sear and roasting steps between °F, °C and gas marks. And for low-and-slow braises you might otherwise sous-vide, the Slow Cooker / Instant Pot converter translates times between appliances.

Frequently asked questions

Can I leave food in the bath too long? For tender cuts, yes — texture eventually suffers. For tough cuts, there’s a wide safe window, but past it they soften toward mush. Use a recommended range.

Do I need a vacuum sealer? Not strictly — the water-displacement method with a zip-top bag works fine for most home cooking.

Why is my steak grey, not browned? Because sous vide cooks gently and evenly. The colour and crust come from the post-bath sear, not the bath itself.

Dial in your cut on the Sous Vide Time & Temperature tool and you’ll get restaurant-consistent results every single time.