Why Sous Vide is the Perfect Dinner Cooking Method

Sous Vide Times & Temperatures From My Facebook Group

I started a group on Facebook called What I Cooked For Dinner Last Night to share what I was cooking and find out what other home cooks were preparing at home. I wanted to see the kind of meals everyone was cooking and if any patterns were developing. I know I have a few favorites we tend to lean on, especially during a busy week and if we didn't plan ahead.

Sous Vide Cooking

My friend Chef David Nelson purchased an Anova Precision Cooker and Searzall Burner and told me about the incredible meals he was preparing with these tools. I was a little skeptical about sous vide, but that was more about not knowing much about it. After a few weeks of hearing what David was doing, I purchased one and saw for myself.

Now, I haven't had that much experience yet, but so far, I love this cooking technique. Everything I've prepared with it so far has been perfectly cooked with very little fuss. And when I say perfectly cooked, I mean perfectly cooked. If you cook a pork tenderloin at 140°F, the entire cut of meat from top to top and side to side is 140°F.

Yes, you will need to brown most protein items you cook, such as meat, poultry, or fish, on a grill, fry pan, or with the help of a Searzall Burner, but browning and searing make the food look so much more appetizing and don't really affect the internal temperature of the food. You can read about my first Sou-Vide Cooking Experiences here.

Sous Vide Cooking on What I Cooked For Dinner

It turns out a couple of people in the group were already practicing the art of sous vide and sharing some of their experiences. Now, some more people are purchasing Anova Precision Cookers and sharing their cooking successes, so I thought it would be fun to create a chart of what everyone is cooking, times and temperatures, and any rubs, seasonings, or marinades they may be using.

Cook	Ingredient	Temp*	Time	Flavor Enhancer
BEEF
Sharon F.	Burgers	131.5°F	2 hours 10 min.	S&P
RG	Sirloin Tips	130°F	2 ½ hours	Wegmans Teriyaki Marinate
Sharon F.	Steak Tips	131°F	1 hour	salt & pepper
Sharon F.	Strip Loin Roast	130°F	4 hours	fresh herbs
Jessica M.	1.5" Strip Steaks	140°F	2 hours	Not sure
Sharon F.	8 lb. Eye Round Roast	130.5°F	28 hours	olive oil, S&P, thyme, garlic, rosemary
Amme R.	Tri-tip	135°F	3 hours	Costco pre-seasoned
POULTRY
RG	Chicken Breasts - Boneless - 1"	150°F	1 hour	chicken rub
RG	Chicken Breasts - Bone-In - 1.5"	150°F	1.75 hours	salt & pepper, EVO
Sharon F.	Chicken Tenders	150°F	2 hours	Jerk seasoning & Chinese 5 spice
Sharon F.	Chicken - Whole 5.5 lb	149°F	5.5 hours	butter, garlic, thyme, s&p
David N.	Game Hen - halved, de-boned	148°F	2.25 hours	olive oil, garlic, thyme
FISH
Sharon F.	Cod Fillet	125°F	30 minutes	lemon & capers
Jean D.	Halibut	131°F	35 minutes	salt, capers, lemon, EVO
Sharon F.	Salmon Fillet	125°F	30 minutes	Jerk seasonings
RG	Tilapia	131°F	30 minutes	S&P, EVO
David C.	Chilean Sea Bass	134°F	30 minutes	thyme, OVOO
PORK
Mary Lou A.	Pork Chops - 2 in.	140°F	1 hour 20 min.
RG	Pork Tenderloin	140°F	2 hours	Soyaki & honey bbq
Sharon F.	Pork - Ribs	150°F	24 hours	Sweet Bay Rays bbq sauce
Sharon F.	Pork Country Style Ribs	140°F	22 hours
SHELL FISH
David N.	Shell Fish - Lobster Tails	141°F	18 minutes	butter
RG	Shell Fish - Shrimp	149°F	15 minutes	Soy Vay sauce
VEGETABLES
Liz B.	Vegetable - Carrots	185°F	1 hour	basil pesto
Jessica M.	Vegetable - Asparagus	185°F	10 minutes	Not sure

Some Photos of Sous Vide Cooking FaceBook "What I Cooked For Dinner Last Night Gang"

sous vide swordfish sealed — Sous Vide Swordfish Steaks from me.

Disclaimer - Please Read Carefully

Sous vide involves cooking foods in vacuum-sealed bags in a water bath at lower-than-normal temperatures. I highly urge you to read up on this technique to understand everything you can before getting involved. The times and temperatures provided here exemplify what some home cooks use for their sous vide cooking.

I'm guessing they are getting this information from cookbooks, websites, YouTube, and other professional and home cooks, just like I do. Again, I urge you to read up on the science of sous vide and make sure you are comfortable with it before investing in equipment.

*Some of the cooking temperatures listed here are below the Food and Drug Administration's recommended guidelines, so it's important you understand that these are just examples of what some other home cooks have tried, and you need to decide for yourself the right time and temperatures.

Below are some good resources for books on sous vide, websites with general and specific information about this way of cooking including Douglas Baldwin's site that is filled with knowledgeable information.

Sous Vide Resources

As more members of our cooking group learn about sous vide, many are sharing some of their resources for recipes, tips, techniques, and equipment. I'll try to share some of these with you here. If there is a link to Amazon.com, it most likely will be an affiliate link, and I may make a small commission. It's typically not much, but it does help defray some of my server expenses.

Recipes

Many of us have found some great information, including recipes, at Anova, the maker of the sous vide machine we are using. The recipes are at Anova Recipes.

Another good source is SeriousEats for everything sous vide including a lot of fabulous recipes.

Just found this great source for sous vide cooking at Douglas Baldwin's site. He has tons of information about cooking everything and anything sous vide with great guidelines for times and temperatures. He also has a paperback called Sous Vide for the Home Cook that looks like a good resource.

Join the What I Cooked For Dinner Last Night Group

If you signed up on Facebook and are interested in this type of cooking or want to see what other home cooks are preparing nightly and share some of you meals, visit us at What I Cooked For Dinner Last Night. If you like what you see, let your cooking friends know about the group too.