Sous Vide: The Complete Guide
Sous vide just means cooking in temperature-controlled water. You seal food in a bag, drop it in a bath set to an exact temperature, and it cooks to precisely that number. It cannot overshoot. Set a steak to 130°F and it comes out 130°F from edge to edge, every time. We use it most for two jobs: lean cuts that overcook in seconds, and tough cuts that need hours to get tender.
How sous vide works
- Season and seal. Salt the meat, add aromatics if you want them, and seal it in a bag. A vacuum sealer is nice. A zip-top bag lowered into water until the pressure pushes the air out works just as well.
- Set the water. Clip an immersion circulator to a pot, set your target temperature, and let it come up to heat.
- Cook. Drop the bag in and walk away. The window is forgiving. An extra hour on a steak rarely matters.
- Dry and sear. Pull the meat, pat it bone dry, and sear it hard in a hot cast iron pan or on the grill for under a minute a side. That is where the crust comes from.
The gear we use
- An immersion circulator (we use an Anova). The one thing you actually need.
- A pot or a plastic tub deep enough to cover the food.
- Bags. A vacuum sealer with rolls, or sturdy zip-top freezer bags and the water trick.
- A cast iron pan or a grill for the sear, plus a high-heat oil.
We break all of it down in our gear reviews.
Master time and temperature chart
This covers the everyday jobs. For the full story on a given protein, including the long cooks on tough cuts, jump to the protein guides below.
| Food | Bath temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Beef or lamb steak, medium-rare | 129-131°F / 54-55°C | 1.5 to 4 hrs |
| Beef or lamb steak, medium | 140°F / 60°C | 1.5 to 4 hrs |
| Bison steak, medium-rare (keep it low, it is lean) | 127-130°F / 53-54°C | 1.5 to 3 hrs |
| Pork chop or tenderloin, juicy | 140°F / 60°C | 1 to 4 hrs |
| Chicken breast, silky and juicy | 145°F / 63°C | 1.5 to 4 hrs |
| Chicken thigh, tender | 165°F / 74°C | 1 to 4 hrs |
| Tough cuts: chuck, short rib, shoulder, shank | 131 to 165°F / 55 to 74°C | 12 to 72 hrs |
| Burger | 130-137°F / 54-58°C | 40 min to 4 hrs |
| Fish | 120-130°F / 49-54°C | 30 to 60 min |
| Egg | 145°F / 63°C | 45 min |
Food safety, in plain terms
The part that makes people nervous, cooking chicken at 145°F instead of 165°F, is the whole point, and it is safe. Pathogens die from a mix of temperature and time. The USDA numbers are instant-kill temperatures. Hold food a little cooler for long enough and you pasteurize it just as completely, while it stays far juicier. Two habits keep you safe. Never hold food below 130°F for a long cook, and give thick cuts the longer times in the chart so the center gets there too.
The plastic drawback, honestly
Sous vide has one real downside we take seriously: it cooks food in a plastic bag, and heat plus plastic is how microplastics migrate into food. We do not wave it away. A few things help. Use quality food-grade bags rated for cooking, not thin grocery bags. Stay at the lower end of the time range when you can. And if it matters to you, reusable food-grade silicone bags seal well enough for most cooks and are the non-plastic alternative we point people to. We still cook sous vide. We just do it with eyes open.
The finishing sear
The bath cooks the inside perfectly and leaves the outside pale, because moist heat cannot brown. So we sear after, not before. Pat the surface completely dry. Get the pan ripping hot. Give it 45 to 90 seconds a side, just long enough to build color, then pull it. The middle is already where you want it, so you are only chasing crust.
Sous vide by protein
Each protein has its own sweet spots. Here is where we keep the details:
- Sous Vide Beef: steaks, chuck, short ribs, brisket.
- Sous Vide Pork: chops, tenderloin, belly, pulled shoulder.
- Sous Vide Chicken and Poultry: the juicy-breast method, plus the safety math.
- Sous Vide Lamb: rack, chops, shoulder, shanks.
- Sous Vide Bison: how to cook lean meat without drying it out.
Keep going
Compare methods over in Recipes and Guides, learn your cuts in the Meat Wiki, or find a farm near you for meat that earns the effort.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a vacuum sealer for sous vide?
No. A zip-top freezer bag is fine. Lower it into the water and let the pressure push the air out before you seal it. A vacuum sealer is nicer for long cooks and for freezing, but you can start without one.
Can you overcook food sous vide?
Not the usual way, since it never gets hotter than the bath. But a very long hold can turn delicate things mushy, so stay near the times in the chart for fish and lean steak.
Why do you sear after sous vide instead of before?
Browning needs high, dry heat that the water bath cannot give. A hard sear at the end builds the crust, color, and flavor.
Is 145°F chicken really safe?
Yes. Held for the times shown, 145°F pasteurizes chicken as fully as an instant read of 165°F, and it stays much juicier.
Getting started with sous vide
If you are new to sous vide, start simple with a single steak or a couple of chicken breasts. Set the water bath to your target temperature, season the food and seal it in a food-grade or reusable silicone bag using the water-displacement method, and let the circulator hold it there while you do other things. When it is ready, dry it well and give it a fast, hot sear for color and crust. That first cook teaches the whole workflow, and from there you can branch into tougher cuts, longer times, and make-ahead cooking with confidence.