Sous Vide Pork Temp and Time Chart by Cut

The sous vide pork temp is 140°F (60°C) for chops, tenderloin and loin roast. That is the calculator's default for all three, and a chop 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick needs at least 2 hr 30 min.

Shoulder, belly and ribs are tough cuts. They cook at 145 to 176°F (62.8 to 80°C) for many hours. Every number on this page comes from the calculator.

Pork chops temp and time

Measure the thickest chop through its thickest part, including any bone. At 140°F (60°C) a 1 in (2.5 cm) chop needs at least 1 hr 30 min and a 2 in (5.1 cm) chop needs 3 hr 45 min.

Pasteurization is slower at 135°F (57.2°C), so thin chops take longer there: 2 hr for a 1 in chop. At 150°F (65.6°C) and 160°F (71.1°C) a 1 in chop needs 1 hr 15 min.

The pork chop guide compares bone-in and boneless chops and has the searing steps.

Pork tenderloin temp and time

A tenderloin is treated as a cylinder. Measure straight through the center at its thickest point. At 140°F (60°C) a tenderloin 2 in across needs at least 2 hr 45 min. A 2 in chop needs 3 hr 45 min. Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking lists heating times for slabs and cylinders separately, and a cylinder heats faster than a slab of the same thickness.

Tenderloin is very lean, so the lower temperatures stay juicier. At 135°F (57.2°C) a 2 in tenderloin needs 3 hr 30 min. The pork tenderloin guide explains how tenderloin differs from loin.

Pork loin roast temp and time

A loin roast uses the same four temperatures as chops. It is the thickest of the tender pork cuts in the calculator: at 140°F (60°C) a roast 3 in (7.6 cm) in diameter needs at least 4 hr 45 min and a 3.5 in (8.9 cm) roast needs 6 hr.

The minimum is longer than in recipes that only heat the meat through, because it is the time for the center of a roast this thick to pasteurize. A loin thicker than 3.75 in (9.5 cm) is outside the range of the published tables. Cut it in half lengthwise so each piece is thinner.

From frozen the limit is lower: at 140°F (60°C) a frozen roast wider than 3 in is not recommended, so thaw it first. The pork loin guide covers the other doneness settings, cooking from frozen and roasts wider than 3.75 in.

Long-cook cuts: shoulder, belly and ribs

These cuts are cooked for tenderness. USDA FSIS explains in Fresh Pork from Farm to Table that pork is divided into four primal cuts: shoulder, loin, side and leg. Chops and tenderloin come from the loin, shoulder butt from the shoulder, and ribs and bacon from the side.

Iowa State University Extension's article on tender and less tender cuts explains that muscles that bear weight or are in constant use contain more collagen, and that collagen becomes gelatin when it is cooked slowly with moist heat. Baldwin's guide says collagen begins to dissolve into gelatin above 122 to 131°F (50 to 55°C). The long cook times below allow for that.

Thickness is not an input for these cuts. The time is a tenderizing time, and thickness changes it very little.

Pork shoulder

At 145°F (62.8°C) for 18 to 36 hr the shoulder is moist and tender but holds together for slicing. It will not shred. At 165°F (73.9°C) for 18 to 24 hr it pulls apart. The times are for pieces up to 3.75 in thick, so cut a large shoulder into pieces. The pork shoulder guide has the oven and smoker finish.

Pork belly

The default is 150°F (65.6°C) for 24 to 48 hr, which gives soft fat and tender meat that still slices cleanly. The times are for pieces up to 2.5 in (6.4 cm) thick. Chill the cooked belly before slicing and searing if you want neat pieces. Crisping the skin or fat is covered in the pork belly guide.

Pork ribs

The default for ribs is 165°F (73.9°C) for 12 hr, which gives well rendered fat and meat that shreds as you bite. The 145°F (62.8°C) setting takes 36 hr and gives a meatier rib. Each of those two settings shows a single time and no maximum. The 176°F (80°C) setting takes 8 to 12 hr. The times are for racks up to 2 in (5.1 cm) thick.

Baby back and spare ribs use the same chart. Baby back ribs are leaner and smaller than St. Louis cut ribs. Where a setting shows a range, they are done toward the short end of it. Where a setting shows a single time, use that time for both cuts. The ribs guide covers the grill or oven finish.

Bacon, ham and sausage

Bacon cooks at 145°F (62.8°C) in its original sealed package for at least 8 hours and up to 48 hours. The time is for a package up to 1 in thick. Then sear the strips in a hot skillet, about 2 minutes on the first side and about 15 seconds on the second. The bacon guide has the overnight method step by step.

The ham setting is for a fully cooked city ham, which only needs reheating. It is not for a raw or fresh ham, or one labeled cook before eating. The time is for a bone-in half ham of 7 to 10 lb (3.2 to 4.5 kg) that is not frozen.

The sausage times are for raw pork or beef sausages, not chicken or turkey sausages. Sausage is ground meat, so the minimum time shown is the pasteurization time.

The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for ground meat and sausage is 160°F (71.1°C), which is a single reading with no hold time. The 140°F (60°C) and 150°F (65.6°C) settings pasteurize the sausage only because it is held for the full minimum time shown, so do not shorten it.

Is pork safe at 140°F?

FoodSafety.gov lists 145°F (62.8°C) followed by a 3 minute rest as the safe minimum internal temperature for pork chops and roasts.

The 135°F (57.2°C) and 140°F (60°C) settings are below that. A lower temperature pasteurizes the food only because it is held for the full minimum time shown, so do not shorten it.

Pink color does not mean the pork is undercooked. The FSIS page says cooked muscle meats can be pink even when the meat has reached a safe internal temperature.

Doneness names for pork differ from one source to the next. The calculator calls 140°F (60°C) medium, and J. Kenji López-Alt's pork chop recipe for Anova labels the same temperature medium-rare. Choose by the temperature and the texture description, not by the name.

How to read the charts

Minimum time for chops, tenderloin, loin and sausage is never shorter than the pasteurization time for that thickness. Best window runs from the minimum to one hour later. Do not exceed is a texture limit: on every recommended row the pork is pasteurized at the minimum time, and extra time at 131°F (55°C) and above makes it softer but does not make it unsafe. A row marked not recommended is not counted as pasteurized.

For shoulder, belly, ribs, bacon and ham, the Time column in each table is the best window.

From frozen is the minimum for a piece that goes into the bath frozen. Thaw the food first where a row is marked not recommended. The guide to cooking from frozen explains the method.

Keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water and not overlapping. Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.

Pasteurization in general is the subject of the sous vide safety guide. Chicken follows the same rule with a higher USDA figure, and it is in the chicken temperature chart.