{"id":44,"date":"2014-08-22T20:34:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T20:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/under-belly.org\/?p=44"},"modified":"2019-04-10T17:13:58","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T17:13:58","slug":"sous-vide-series-calculating-cooking-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/under-belly.org\/sous-vide-series-calculating-cooking-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Sous Vide Series: Calculating Cooking Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Problem<\/b><\/p>\n
If the great promise of sous-vide is precision, the great irony is that most of us pick our cooking times by guessing. A recipe that gives a fixed temperature and time constitutes a barely-educated guess. A graphic table that accounts for food thickness and starting temperature (like the ones on Douglas Baldwin\u2019s site, or in the Modernist Cuisine<\/i> Books), constitutes a somewhat more educated guess.<\/p>\n
The only way to be certain is with a probe thermometer, which gives real-time feedback. But very few immersion circulators accommodate these, and they\u2019re complicated (you have to use special tape<\/a> to keep the water from leaking into the bag). And this degree of precision is generally overkill anyway.<\/p>\n Software to the Rescue<\/b><\/p>\n I think the most practical level of precision can be achieved with software, specifically with the app\u00a0SousVide Dash<\/a>.* This app lets you enter the type of food, the approximate shape of the food, the exact thickness, the starting temperature, and the desired final temperature. It estimates cooking time based on a sophisticated thermodynamic model of the food.<\/p>\n UPDATE<\/b>: The app has been purchased by PolyScience and is now called the PolyScience Sous-Vide Toolbox<\/a>. As far as I can tell they just rebranded it and changed the color from yellow to red. As of 6-2016, there’s no reason to trade in your old version of the app for the new one.<\/span><\/p>\n The following requires some basic familiarity with pasteurization.** It also assumes you’ve figured out the final temperature you’re going for. See our introductory post<\/a> for links.<\/p>\n Options<\/b><\/p>\n SousVide Dash can calculate time for any of three results: Cook to Temperature<\/b>, Cook and Pasteurize Surface<\/b>, or Cook and<\/b> Pasteurize to Core<\/b>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s another option called Additional Time for Tenderness<\/i>. This is for long cooks designed to tenderize tough cuts, like what we discussed in the High Steaks for Cheapskates<\/a> post. We\u2019re going to skip that option here, because this software does not provide any guidance for this type of cooking.<\/p>\n Cook to Temperature:<\/b> This calculates time to bring the center of the food up to your target temperature. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s the right choice if you\u2019re pasteurizing the surface some other way (searing, or briefly immersing in boiling water), if you\u2019re going to serve the food shortly after cooking, and if the food can be presumed sterile on the inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Whole pieces of meat are presumed sterile everywhere but the surface. Meat that\u2019s been ground, pierced (like with a Jaccard tenderizer), rolled, or pieced together (like with enzymatic meat glue) can be presumed contaminated throughout. These need to be pasteurized to the core.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Cook and Pasteurize<\/b>\u00a0Surface<\/b>:<\/b> This calculates time to bring the center to the target temperature, and, if needed, any additional time to pasteurize the surface. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Often the surface will be pasteurized by the time the center is cooked, but this option will tell you for sure, and will show you a logarithmic graph of dead bacteria vs. time. Cool (at least I think so). \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Use this option under the same circumstances you\u2019d use Cook to Temperature, but if there\u2019s not going to be any additional step that will pasteurize the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Cook and Pasteurize to Core:<\/b> This calculates time to bring the center to the target temperature, plus additional time to pasteurize all the way to the core. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Since pasteurization requires holding the food at temperature (the lower the temp, the longer the time), this option can lead to quite long cooking times. Use this option on foods that can\u2019t be presumed sterile below the surface. This option is the safest bet if you\u2019re serving food to anyone who\u2019s immune-compromised (the pregnant, the elderly, the HIV-positive, etc.). \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Note that the minimum temperature for pasteurization is 54.4\u00b0C \/ 130\u00b0F, and at this temperature the times can be longer than optimal for a lot of tender meat. If you must pasteurize a tender steak to the core, it can add over an hour to the cooking time, which may compromise the texture.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n\n
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