Sous-vide - Cooking Times

Cooking Times

Cooking times for normal cooking are determined by when the center of the cooked item reaches a few degrees below the targeted temperature. Then heating should be stopped immediately; while resting the food, residual heat will continue to cook it for a while. If the heating continues, the food will be over cooked. In sous-vide cooking you wait until the center of the food has reached its target temperature, but after this the food can never be overcooked and it will not cook more after it stops being heated. There are still three factors determining when to stop applying heat to the food, in order to:

• Inactivate the enzymes which may cause a mush-like texture in chicken after about 4 hours, and even less for fish.

• Tenderize tough meats, for example beef brisket and short ribs, which benefit greatly from very long cooking (48 to 72 hours).

• Pasteurise the food. If the food will not be eaten within 4 hours, it is beneficial to cook until the food is pasteurized. Both time and temperature are critical in this process (see below). Pasteurization is not always essential for safety if fresh uncontaminated food is cooked and eaten immediately; fresh raw foods such as sushi and steak tartare are widely eaten without ill effects. Food cooked below 55 °C (131 °F) will never be pasteurised, so it is recommended to stop the cooking when the target temperature is reached.