How do you use a sous vide machine?

Attach the circulator to a pot of water, set the temperature for the doneness you want and wait for the water to reach it. Lower the sealed bag of food in, leave it for the time its thickness needs, then take it out, dry it and sear it.

How long does sous vide take?

It depends on how thick the food is. A medium-rare steak at 131°F (55°C) needs at least 1 hr 15 min at 1 inch thick, 2 hr 15 min at 1.5 inches and 3 hr 45 min at 2 inches.

Do you need a vacuum sealer to sous vide?

No. A zipper-lock freezer bag works if you push the air out by lowering the open bag into water and sealing it at the surface. A vacuum sealer is the sturdier option.

Do you put the food in before or after the water heats up?

After. The calculator's times assume the bath is already at temperature when the food goes in, so the clock starts when the bag enters water that has reached the set temperature.

Do you have to sear food after sous vide?

The food is cooked when it leaves the bath, so a sear is not needed for doneness. The bath is far too cool to brown anything, so a short sear in a very hot skillet adds the crust.

What temperature do you sous vide a steak for the first time?

The calculator's default is medium-rare at 131°F (55°C). At the minimum time the steak is heated through but not pasteurized, which is normal for a whole, intact cut of beef at this doneness.

How to Sous Vide: A First Cook, Start to Finish

To sous vide, heat a water bath to the temperature you want the food to finish at, seal the food in a bag with the air pushed out, and hold it under the water for the time its thickness needs. Then dry it and sear it. For a first cook, a steak 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick at 131°F (55°C) needs at least 2 hr 15 min in the bath.

The steps below follow that steak from start to finish. Other foods use the same steps with the temperature and time the calculator gives.

Quick answer

Cook steak at 131°F (55°C) for at least 2 hr 15 min. That is for medium-rare, 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick.

0one mark = 15 min4 hr

Minimum time: 2 hr 15 min
Best window: 2 hr 15 min to 3 hr 15 min
Do not exceed: 4 hr
Heat-through time: 2 hr 15 min; core reaches bath temperature
Pasteurized: No; pasteurized after 3 hr 45 min in the bath

Note

At the minimum time this cut is heated through but not pasteurized. That is normal for a whole, intact cut of beef cooked to this doneness. To pasteurize it at this temperature and thickness, cook it for at least 3 hr 45 min. Use that longer time, or a higher temperature, when cooking for pregnant women, children under 5, adults 65 and older, or anyone with a weakened immune system. If the label says mechanically tenderized or blade tenderized, or the meat has been injected, cook it for at least 3 hr 45 min.

What you need

A device that holds water at a set temperature. An immersion circulator heats the water and moves it around the pot. Anova's overview of sous vide describes water ovens as self-contained baths that heat the water without circulating it. A multicooker with a sous vide program also works, and the Instant Pot sous vide guide covers that route.
A container. A stockpot deep enough for the food to sit fully under the water.
Bags. Vacuum sealer bags or zipper-lock freezer bags.
A ruler. The time depends on thickness, so you have to measure it.
A heavy skillet, a grill or a torch. This is for the sear after the bath.

The post on what sous vide is explains why a bath set to the final temperature cooks food to the same doneness from edge to center.

Step 1: Choose the temperature and the time

The bath temperature sets the doneness. The food heats to the temperature of the water and stops there.

The time depends on thickness, because heat has to travel from the surface to the center. Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking says cooking times "depend critically on the thickness of the meat".

Measure the steak through its thickest part, including the bone if there is one. Then choose the food, the doneness and the thickness in the calculator.

For a medium-rare steak the calculator sets the bath to 131°F (55°C). These are its times by thickness:

Steak, medium-rare at 131°F (55°C)Time by thickness
Thickness	Minimum time	Best window	Do not exceed	From frozen
0.5 in (1.3 cm)	30 min	30 min to 1 hr 30 min	4 hr	45 min
1 in (2.5 cm)	1 hr 15 min	1 hr 15 min to 2 hr 15 min	4 hr	2 hr
1.5 in (3.8 cm)	2 hr 15 min	2 hr 15 min to 3 hr 15 min	4 hr	3 hr 30 min
2 in (5.1 cm)	3 hr 45 min	3 hr 45 min to 4 hr 45 min	4 hr 45 min	6 hr 45 min not recommended
2.5 in (6.4 cm)	6 hr see warning	6 hr to 7 hr	7 hr	9 hr not recommended

Pasteurized at the minimum time for 2.5 in only. A warning applies at 2.5 in. The calculator gives the details. From frozen it is not recommended at 2 in, 2.5 in. Thaw the food first.

A 1 in (2.5 cm) steak needs at least 1 hr 15 min. A 1.5 in steak needs 2 hr 15 min. A 2 in (5.1 cm) steak needs 3 hr 45 min, three times as long as the 1 in steak.

The 2.5 in (6.4 cm) row is marked "see warning". A steak that thick is close to the 6 hour limit for the center to reach 130°F (54.4°C), and the calculator says a thinner piece or a higher temperature is the more cautious choice.

Each row has three times, and a last column with the minimum time from frozen:

Minimum time. For steaks up to 2 in thick at this setting, the point where the center has come within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath. At 2.5 in it is the pasteurization time, 6 hr. Do not take the food out sooner.
Best window. The range where the texture is at its best. For the 1.5 in steak it runs from 2 hr 15 min to 3 hr 15 min.
Do not exceed. For the 1.5 in steak, 4 hr. The steak does not get hotter if it stays in the bath, but it keeps getting softer.

Some charts print one range for every steak. Anova's steak guide gives 1 to 4 hours for medium-rare steaks 1.5 to 2 inches thick. The calculator's minimum for those thicknesses is 2 hr 15 min and 3 hr 45 min, longer than the 1 hour at the start of that range. It is the time Baldwin's heating tables give for the center of a piece that thick to reach the bath temperature.

For a doneness other than medium-rare, the doneness guide compares the temperature settings across foods.

Step 2: Set up the bath

Place the container and attach the circulator. Anova's getting-started FAQ suggests putting something under the pot to protect the counter.
Add water. Use enough to cover the food completely once the bag is in.
Set the temperature. For this steak, 131°F (55°C).
Wait for the water to reach it. The calculator's times assume the bath is already at temperature when the food goes in.

Step 3: Season and bag the steak

Season the steak with salt and pepper. Anova's steak guide says to season and bag a steak immediately before cooking, or to season it after the bath and before the sear.

Go lightly with aromatics in the bag. Baldwin's guide notes that some herbs and spices are amplified by sous vide cooking and can overpower a dish. It singles out raw garlic for its pronounced, unpleasant results and substitutes a very small quantity of powdered garlic.

Put the steak in the bag in a single layer and remove the air. A vacuum sealer does this for you. With a zipper-lock freezer bag, close the zipper except for the last bit, lower the bag slowly into water so the water pushes the air out, then seal the gap. The water displacement method post has the full steps and explains which bags are suitable.

Step 4: Cook

Lower the bag into the bath once the water is at temperature, and start a timer.

Keep the bag in a single layer, fully under the water and not overlapping another bag. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them. Baldwin's guide says the same of its own tables.

If the bag floats, air is left inside. Open a corner, push the air out again and reseal it.

Take the 1.5 in steak out between 2 hr 15 min and 3 hr 15 min, and no later than 4 hr.

Step 5: Dry and sear

The bath cannot brown the steak. Baldwin's guide says the browning reaction becomes noticeable around 265°F (129°C), which is far above any bath temperature, so the crust comes from a short sear after the bath.

Dry the steak. Pat both sides with paper towels. Anova's FAQ says to dry the meat after cooking because moisture works against the sear.
Heat the pan or grill. The calculator's note for steak calls for a very hot skillet or a hot grill. Anova's steak guide heats 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in a heavy skillet over high heat until it starts to smoke. Baldwin's guide also uses a heavy skillet with oil that is just smoking, or a blowtorch.
Sear briefly. The Anova guide flips the steak every 15 to 30 seconds for about a minute and a half in total.
Serve.

Safety basics

The calculator result has a "Pasteurized" line, and it shows a warning or a note when one applies. For the 1.5 in medium-rare steak it shows this note:

Note

A rare steak at 125°F (51.7°C) gets a warning in place of the note:

Warning

This temperature is below 131°F (55°C), the lowest temperature in the pasteurization tables this calculator uses, so the food is not pasteurized. Keep the total time in the water bath to 2 hr 30 min or less, serve it right away, and do not chill it to reheat later. Do not serve it to pregnant women, children under 5, adults 65 and older, or anyone with a weakened immune system.

At 125°F (51.7°C) a steak from the refrigerator that is 1.75 in (4.4 cm) or thicker needs more than 2 hr 30 min to warm through, so the calculator marks it not recommended.

Two more points matter for a first cook:

For chicken and pork the minimum time covers pasteurization. Do not shorten it.
The USDA figures are higher. The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for steak is 145°F (62.8°C) followed by a 3 minute rest, as listed on FoodSafety.gov. The medium-rare setting is below that.

The explainer on whether sous vide is safe covers how pasteurization depends on both temperature and time.

What to cook next

Chicken breast. The calculator's default is 145°F (62.8°C), and a 1.5 in breast needs at least 2 hr 30 min. The chicken breast guide has the times for every thickness.
Steak at another doneness. The steak guide has the temperature for each doneness from rare through well done, and time tables for medium-rare and medium.
Food from the freezer. A frozen 1.5 in steak at 131°F (55°C) needs at least 3 hr 30 min. A frozen steak 2 in thick or more is not recommended at that temperature. The guide to cooking from frozen lists which foods can skip thawing.
A week of meals. The meal prep guide covers cooking ahead, chilling the bags in ice water and reheating them.

The time and temperature chart puts the calculator's default setting for each of its 61 foods on one page.