Sous Vide Cooking & Storing

Sous vide time charts indicating if your meat is safely cooked in your sous vide; very helpful storing time chart which prologs shelf life. My personal sous vide chart can he found here.

Sous Vide Pasteurization Times for Meat

(Beef, Pork, and Lamb)
(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 131–151°F / 55–66°C water bath)

	55°C	56°C	57°C	58°C	59°C	60°C
Thickness	131°F	133°F	134.5°F	136.5°F	138°F	140°F
5 mm	2 hr	1¼ hr	60 min	45 min	40 min	30 min
10 mm	2 hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	55 min	45 min	40 min
15 mm	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	60 min	55 min
20 mm	2½ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr
25 mm	2¾ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr
30 mm	3 hr	2½ hr	2 hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr
35 mm	3¼ hr	2¾ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	2 hr	1¾ hr
40 mm	3½ hr	3 hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr
45 mm	4 hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr
50 mm	4½ hr	3¾ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr
55 mm	5 hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3 hr	3 hr
60 mm	5¼ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr
65 mm	6 hr	5¼ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr
70 mm	6½ hr	5¾ hr	5¼ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	4 hr

	61°C	62°C	63°C	64°C	65°C	66°C
Thickness	142°F	143.5°F	145.5°F	147°F	149°F	151°F
5 mm	25 min	25 min	18 min	16 min	14 min	13 min
10 mm	35 min	30 min	30 min	25 min	25 min	25 min
15 mm	50 min	45 min	40 min	40 min	35 min	35 min
20 mm	60 min	55 min	55 min	50 min	45 min	45 min
25 mm	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	60 min	55 min	55 min
30 mm	1½ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr
35 mm	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr
40 mm	1¾ hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr
45 mm	2¼ hr	2 hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr
50 mm	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	2 hr	2 hr
55 mm	2¾ hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2¼ hr
60 mm	3 hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2½ hr
65 mm	3½ hr	3¼ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	3 hr	2¾ hr
70 mm	3¾ hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr	3¼ hr	3¼ hr

Time required to reduce Listeria by at least a million to one, Salmonella by at least three million to one, and E. coli by at least a hundred thousand to one in thawed meat starting at 41°F (5°C).

Note that if the beef is seasoned using a sauce or marinate which will acidify the beef, then the pasteurizing times may need to be doubled to accommodate the increased thermal tolerance of Listeria.

For tough but flavorful cuts of beef–such as top blade, chuck, and top round–season the meat and cook in a 131°F (55°C) water bath for 24–48 hours. This is the lowest temperature at which (insoluble) collagen denatures (dissolves) into gelatin, at higher temperatures the denaturing occurs more quickly.

Sous Vide Pasteurization Time for Poultry

(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 134.5–149°F / 57–65°C water bath)

	134.5°F	136.5°F	138°F	140°F	142°F	143.5°F	145.5°F	147°F	149°F
Thickness	57°C	58°C	59°C	60°C	61°C	62°C	63°C	64°C	65°C
5 mm	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr	45 min	35 min	25 min	18 min	15 min	13 min
10 mm	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr	55 min	40 min	35 min	30 min	25 min	20 min
15 mm	2½ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	50 min	45 min	40 min	35 min	30 min
20 mm	2¾ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	55 min	50 min	45 min	40 min
25 mm	3 hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	1½ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr	60 min	55 min
30 mm	3¼ hr	2¾ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	1¼ hr
35 mm	3¾ hr	3 hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1½ hr
40 mm	4 hr	3¼ hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr
45 mm	4½ hr	3¾ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr	2 hr
50 mm	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr
55 mm	5¼ hr	4½ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2¾ hr
60 mm	5¾ hr	5 hr	4½ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr
65 mm	6¼ hr	5½ hr	5 hr	4½ hr	4¼ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr
70 mm	7 hr	6 hr	5½ hr	5 hr	4¾ hr	4½ hr	4¼ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr

Time required for at least a one million to one reduction in Listeria and a ten million to one reduction in Salmonella in poultry starting at 41°F (5°C).

Pasteurization Time for Fish

Pasteurization Time for Lean Fish
(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 131–140°F / 55–60°C water bath)

	55°C	56°C	57°C	58°C	59°C	60°C
Thickness	131°F	133°F	134.5°F	136.5°F	138°F	140°F
5 mm	2½ hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr	50 min	35 min	30 min
10 mm	2¾ hr	2 hr	1½ hr	60 min	45 min	35 min
15 mm	2¾ hr	2 hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	55 min	50 min
20 mm	3 hr	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	60 min
25 mm	3¼ hr	2½ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr
30 mm	3¾ hr	3 hr	2½ hr	2 hr	1¾ hr	1¾ hr
35 mm	4 hr	3¼ hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr
40 mm	4½ hr	3¾ hr	3 hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr
45 mm	4¾ hr	4 hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr	2¾ hr	2½ hr
50 mm	5¼ hr	4½ hr	4 hr	3½ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr
55 mm	5¾ hr	5 hr	4½ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr	3½ hr
60 mm	6¼ hr	5½ hr	5 hr	4½ hr	4 hr	3¾ hr
65 mm	7 hr	6 hr	5½ hr	5 hr	4½ hr	4¼ hr
70 mm	7½ hr	6¾ hr	6 hr	5½ hr	5 hr	4¾ hr

Pasteurization Time for Fatty Fish
(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 131–140°F / 55–60°C water bath)

	55°C	56°C	57°C	58°C	59°C	60°C
Thickness	131°F	133°F	134.5°F	136.5°F	138°F	140°F
5 mm	4¼ hr	3 hr	2 hr	1½ hr	60 min	40 min
10 mm	4¼ hr	3 hr	2 hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr	50 min
15 mm	4½ hr	3¼ hr	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr	60 min
20 mm	4¾ hr	3½ hr	2½ hr	2 hr	1½ hr	1¼ hr
25 mm	5 hr	3¾ hr	2¾ hr	2¼ hr	1¾ hr	1½ hr
30 mm	5¼ hr	4 hr	3¼ hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr	2 hr
35 mm	5½ hr	4¼ hr	3½ hr	3 hr	2½ hr	2¼ hr
40 mm	6 hr	4¾ hr	4 hr	3¼ hr	3 hr	2½ hr
45 mm	6½ hr	5¼ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3¼ hr	3 hr
50 mm	7 hr	5¾ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr	3¼ hr
55 mm	7½ hr	6¼ hr	5¼ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr	3¾ hr
60 mm	8 hr	6¾ hr	5¾ hr	5¼ hr	4¾ hr	4¼ hr
65 mm	8½ hr	7¼ hr	6¼ hr	5¾ hr	5¼ hr	4¾ hr
70 mm	9¼ hr	8 hr	7 hr	6¼ hr	5¾ hr	5¼ hr

Pasteurization times for a one million to one reduction of Listeria in fin-fish.

Sous Vide Cook-Chill Safety

If you’re not going to eat all your food immediately, then you need to know that some bacteria are able to make spores. Spores themselves will not make you sick, but they can become active bacteria that could. Cooking to kill active bacteria like Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli will leave these spores unharmed. If you keep your food hot, then the spores will not become active bacteria. But when you cool your food, the spores can become active bacteria.

If you cool your food too slowly or store it for too long, then these active bacteria can multiply and make you sick. To keep these spores from becoming active bacteria, you must quickly cool your food – still sealed in its pouch – in ice water that is at least half ice until it’s cold all the way through. You can then store your food in your refrigerator for a few days or freeze it for up to a year. 

Cooling Time to 41°F (5°C) in Ice Water

Thickness	Slab-like	Cylinder-like	Sphere-like
5 mm	5 min	3 min	3 min
10 mm	14 min	8 min	6 min
15 mm	25 min	14 min	10 min
20 mm	35 min	20 min	15 min
25 mm	50 min	30 min	20 min
30 mm	1¼ hr	40 min	30 min
35 mm	1½ hr	50 min	35 min
40 mm	1¾ hr	1 hr	45 min
45 mm	2¼ hr	1¼ hr	55 min
50 mm	2¾ hr	1½ hr	1 hr
55 mm	3¼ hr	1¾ hr	1¼ hr
60 mm	3¾ hr	2 hr	1½ hr
65 mm	4¼ hr	2¼ hr	1¾ hr
70 mm	4¾ hr	2¾ hr	2 hr
75 mm	5½ hr	3 hr	2¼ hr
80 mm	—	3½ hr	2½ hr
85 mm	—	3¾ hr	2¾ hr
90 mm	—	4¼ hr	3 hr
95 mm	—	4¾ hr	3½ hr
100 mm	—	5 hr	3¾ hr
105 mm	—	5½ hr	4 hr
110 mm	—	6 hr	4½ hr
115 mm	—	—	4¾ hr

Sous Vide Safe Fridge temperature

For cook-chill sous vide, Listeria monocytogenes and the spore-forming pathogenic bacteria are our pathogens of interest. That’s because Listeria is the most heat resistant non-spore-forming pathogen and can grow at refrigerator temperatures, but appears to require more bacteria to make you sick than Salmonella or E. coli. Most experts recommend a 6 decimal reduction in Listeria if you don’t know the contamination level of your food.

While keeping your food sealed in plastic pouches prevents recontamination after cooking, spores of Clostridium botulinum, C. perfringens, and B. cereus can all survive the mild heat treatment of pasteurization. Therefore, after rapid chilling, the food must either be frozen or held at

• below 36.5°F (2.5°C) for up to 90 days,
• below 38°F (3.3°C) for less than 31 days,
• below 41°F (5°C) for less than 10 days, or
• below 44.5°F (7°C) for less than 5 days

to prevent spores of non-proteolytic C. botulinum from outgrowing and producing deadly neurotoxin.

Fish

Since the spores of non-proteolytic C. botulinum are not inactivated by pasteurization, the fish should be stored at below 38°F (3.3°C) for no more than three to four weeks.

All credit goes here.