Our goal here at Sous Vide Ways is to make cooking sous vide easy, so we created a foolproof guide that will help you decide the ideal time and temperature for anything you are dropping in the bath.
This time and temperature guide is the product of years of extensive testing, and will take the guesswork out of cooking sous vide. Simply select a temperature based on your desired doneness, then determine the length of the cook based on the type or cut of the food you are cooking.
Now get ready to impress your family, guests and even yourself when you are cranking out juicy steaks, tender chicken, flawless eggs, and so on, every single time.
A note on safety before you start. Anything cooked below 130°F / 54.4°C is not pasteurized, so keep it in the bath for under 4 hours in total and eat it straight away. That rule and the pasteurization times on this page come from Douglas Baldwin’s A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking. For the standard cooked temperatures, see the USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperature chart.
↓ Continue to the next page for the guide
Jump To: Beef, Lamb & Game; Poultry; Pork; Fish & Seafood; Eggs
Also: Vegetables & Fruit
Beef, Lamb & Game
Temperature
| Doneness | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Medium-Rare | 126 – 135F / 52 – 57C | 131F / 55C |
| Medium | 136 – 145F / 57.5C – 62.5C | 140F / 60C |
| Medium Well | 146 – 155F / 63 – 68C | 149F / 65C |
Time
| Cut | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Steak (NY Strip, Rib Eye, Sirloin) | 1 to 2 hours | 1 ½ hours |
| Roast (Prime Rib, Tri Tip, Rib Roast) | 6 to 14 hours | 8 hours |
| Tough Cuts (Chuck, Brisket, Short Ribs) | 12 to 48 hours | 24 hours |
Burgers: grinding mixes surface bacteria all the way through the meat, so a medium-rare burger needs pasteurizing. Baldwin’s table gives ¾ inch patties 2½ hours at 131°F / 55°C, or 1¼ hours at 140°F / 60°C. See our Hamburgers with Special Sauce.
Recipes
New York Strip, Rib Eye Steak, Short Ribs, Tri Tip, Prime Rib, Chuck Roast, Corned Beef, Rack of Lamb, Lamb Burger
More beef and lamb recipes: Steak, T-Bone Steak, Beef Tenderloin, Santa Maria Tri Tip, Flank Steak, Flap Steak, Steak with Gochujang Butter, Korean Short Ribs, Barbacoa, Shredded Beef, Hamburgers, Lamb Souvlaki
Poultry
Temperature
| Doneness | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Tender and Soft (White Meat Only) | 140 – 149F / 60 – 65C | 140F / 60C |
| Tender and Stringy (White Meat Only) | 150 – 159F / 65.5C – 70.5C | 150F / 65.5C |
| Firm and Juicy (White and Dark Meat) | 160 – 167F / 71 – 75C | 165F / 74C |
Time
| Cut | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| White Meat (Breasts and Wings) | 1 to 3 hours | 1 ½ hours |
| Dark Meat (Thighs and Drumstick) | 2 to 4 hours | 3 hours |
Recipes
Chicken Breast, Whole Turkey, Shredded Chicken, Chicken Thigh
More poultry recipes: Best Chicken Breast, Chicken Thighs, Turkey Breast, Turkey Legs, How to Sous Vide a Whole Turkey, Duck Breast, Greek Chicken, Chicken Parmesan, Pollo Asado, Coq au Vin, Chicken Quarters, Chicken Paprikash
Pork
Temperature
| Doneness | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Medium Rare | 134 – 140F / 56.5 – 60C | 136F / 57.5C |
| Medium | 141 – 150F / 60.5C – 65.5C | 145F / 62.5C |
| Medium Well | 151 – 158F / 66 – 70C | 154F / 67.5C |
Time
| Cut | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Chops (Bone-in and Boneless) | 1 to 3 hours | 1 ½ hours |
| Roast (Pork Loin Roast) | 3 to 6 hours | 6 hours |
| Tough Cuts (Pork Belly, Ribs, Shoulder) | 8 to 24 hours | 24 hours |
Recipes
Baby Back Ribs, Pork Chops, Pork Tenderloin, Pork Roast, Pork Belly
More pork recipes: Best Pork Chops, Lemon Herb Pork Chops, Ginger Scallion Pork Chops, Pork Tenderloin, Pork Tenderloin with Peach Mustard Sauce, Pulled Pork Shoulder, Best Pork Belly, Pork Belly Chashu, Char Siu Pork Belly, Pork Belly Adobo
Fish & Seafood
Temperature
| Doneness | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Tender and Soft | 104 – 114F / 40 – 45.5C | 110F / 43.5C |
| Flaky | 115 – 122F / 46C – 50C | 120F / 49C |
| Firm | 123 – 131F / 50.5 – 55C | 126F / 52.5C |
Time
| Type | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Fish (Salmon, Halibut and Tuna) | 30 minutes to 1 hour | 45 minutes |
| Shell Fish (Lobster, Scallops and Shrimp) | 20 to 45 minutes | 30 minutes |
Fish safety: none of the fish temperatures above pasteurize, so serve fish straight from the bath and keep it under 4 hours in total. For anyone pregnant, elderly or with a weakened immune system, cook fish at 140°F / 60°C. Baldwin’s table gives 1½ hours for a 1 inch (25 mm) piece of fatty fish such as salmon and 1¼ hours for lean fish such as cod. Wild salmon can carry parasites, so Baldwin recommends fish that has been frozen below -4°F / -20°C for at least 24 hours. Our sous vide salmon guide has times by thickness.
Recipes
More fish and seafood recipes: Best Sous Vide Salmon, Ginger Miso Salmon, Lemon Dill Salmon, Cajun Blackened Salmon, Garlic Lemon Butter Salmon, Scallops, Shrimp
Eggs
Temperature
| Doneness | Range | Our Favorite |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Boiled | 140 – 144F / 60 – 62C | 140F / 60C |
| Poached | 145 – 149F / 62.5C – 65C | 145F / 62.5C |
| Hard Boiled | 150 – 165F / 65.5 – 74C | 160F / 71C |
Time
45 minutes will give you the desired doneness for all the different egg types listed above. Chefsteps also created a great visual tool to determine your favorite time and temperature for eggs. Check it out here.
Pasteurized eggs in the shell: 135°F / 57°C for at least 1¼ hours (Baldwin). The yolk stays raw and the white turns a little milky, so use them anywhere a recipe calls for raw egg, such as mayonnaise or Caesar dressing.
Egg bites: our egg bite recipe cooks them in small jars at 172°F / 77.5°C for 1 hour.
Hard-boiled eggs: our hard-boiled egg recipe uses 167°F / 75°C for 1 hour for a fully set yolk and easy peeling. For runny yolks, see our poached eggs.
Recipes
Poached Egg Avocado Toast, Egg Bite, Shakshuka, “Slut” by Eggslut Copycat
Vegetables & Fruit
Temperature and time
| Food | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Corn on the cob | 185°F / 85°C | 30 minutes |
| Asparagus | 185°F / 85°C | 30 minutes |
| Glazed carrots (½ inch pieces) | 185°F / 85°C | 45 minutes |
| Beets | 185°F / 85°C | 2½ hours |
| Mashed potatoes (⅛ inch slices) | 194°F / 90°C | 1½ hours |
| Garlic confit | 190°F / 88°C | 1½ hours |
| Apples (sliced) | 175°F / 79.5°C | 1 hour |
Vegetables and fruit need much hotter water than meat, because their cell walls do not soften at meat temperatures. That is why they are cooked in their own bath. The times are for the cuts in each recipe, so cut pieces the same size for even results.
Bags this hot need to be rated for simmering, and vegetables give off a little gas as they cook, so weigh the bags down to keep them under the water. Cover the bath with a lid or cling wrap to hold the heat. For a holiday spread, cook the mashed potatoes first at 194°F / 90°C, then drop the bath to 185°F / 85°C for carrots, corn or asparagus.
Recipes
Corn on the Cob, Mexican Street Corn Salad, Asparagus, Glazed Carrots, Beets, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Confit, Apples in Cinnamon Sauce