Sous Vide Short Ribs: Temperature and Time

Sous vide short ribs cook at 131°F (55°C) for 48 to 72 hours for pink, tender meat like a rich steak. For a traditional braise that falls off the bone, use 176°F (80°C) for 12 to 24 hours.

These are tenderizing times. They are the same for bone-in and boneless short ribs, as long as each piece is within the thickness limit for the setting.

Short rib temperature and texture

The calculator has four settings. Two give a steak-like result and two give a braise-like result. The Time column of the table gives the time for each.

131°F (55°C), steak-like, medium-rare. This is the default. The meat is pink and tender, like a rich steak, after 48 to 72 hours.

140°F (60°C), steak-like, medium. The meat is light pink, tender and a little firmer. The time is the same 48 to 72 hours.

156°F (68.9°C), firm but shreddable. The ribs are moist, hold their shape and pull apart with a fork after 24 to 48 hours.

176°F (80°C), fall apart. The meat is very soft and falls off the bone, like a braise, after 12 to 24 hours. It is the shortest cook of the four.

Choose between the first two the way you would choose a steak doneness, which the doneness guide covers. Choose between the last two by how much structure you want left in the meat.

Why short ribs take two to three days

Short ribs are a very tough cut. The long cook is needed to break down the connective tissue.

Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking describes 131°F (55°C) as the lowest temperature at which collagen dissolves into gelatin, and says the change happens more quickly at higher temperatures. The settings follow that pattern: the two lowest temperatures take 48 to 72 hours and the highest takes 12 to 24 hours.

Baldwin also reports that tough cuts of beef were most tender when cooked between 131°F and 140°F (55°C and 60°C), and that an enzyme in the meat, collagenase, stays active below 140°F (60°C) and can tenderize the meat when it is held for more than 6 hours.

Temperature also controls how much water the meat keeps. In Baldwin's guide, muscle fibers shrink lengthwise above 140 to 150°F (60 to 66°C) and lose substantial water. Jason Logsdon's short ribs guide at Amazing Food Made Easy makes a related point: at a low enough temperature the meat tenderizes without squeezing out nearly as much moisture.

Bone-in or boneless

America's Test Kitchen describes the styles sold:

• English style. A 2 to 4 in (5.1 to 10.2 cm) length of bone with a wide piece of fatty meat attached.
• Flanken style. About 0.75 in (1.9 cm) thick, cut across the ribs, with two or three segments of bone in each piece.
• Boneless. The easiest to work with and eat.

A separate America's Test Kitchen article on shopping for boneless short ribs says they are cut from the chuck, or shoulder. It describes the bone-in ribs it compared them with as coming from the plate and being considerably fattier. It also names chuck roast as the substitute for boneless short ribs, and chuck roast has its own settings.

What this means for sous vide:

• Thickness. The calculator measures thickness through the thickest part including any bone. The times cover pieces up to 2.25 in (5.7 cm) thick at 131°F (55°C) and up to 2.5 in (6.4 cm) at the other three settings. Thicker pieces heat too slowly and are not covered. Measure bone-in ribs with the bone on. If a rib is over the limit, cut the meat off the bone or cut it into thinner pieces.
• Bags. Logsdon warns that sharp bones can puncture a bag that is vacuum sealed too tightly. The guide to the water displacement method covers double bagging for bones and long cooks.
• Time. The time does not change. It is a tenderizing time, and thickness changes it very little, which is why the calculator does not ask for it.

How to sous vide short ribs

1. Trim. Logsdon removes gristle, fat and connective tissue.
2. Measure. Check the thickest part, bone included, against the limit for your setting.
3. Season. Salt the meat lightly and add any dry spices.
4. Bag. Seal the ribs in a single layer. With bone-in ribs, do not pull the vacuum so tight that the bones press through the plastic.
5. Heat the bath. Set it to 131°F (55°C), or to the temperature for the texture you chose.
6. Cook. Keep the bags in a single layer, fully under the water, and not overlapping. Leave them for 48 to 72 hours at 131°F (55°C). Cover the bath to limit evaporation and check the water level during the cook.
7. Finish. Sear the ribs as described below.

Finishing

Baldwin's guide notes that food cooked sous vide looks poached, and that meat is usually seared or sauced afterward.

Logsdon's method is to pat the ribs dry, heat a heavy pan with some oil over medium-high to high heat until the oil just starts to smoke, and sear the meat for about one minute per side. He lists a quick deep fry in oil at 365°F (185°C) as an alternative.

Keep the sear quick, as Logsdon does. At the steak-like settings the meat is already at its final temperature throughout, and more time in the pan cooks the outer layer further.

Cooking short ribs from frozen

Cooking from frozen adds 3 hours at 140°F (60°C), and 3 hours 15 minutes at 156°F (68.9°C) and 176°F (80°C). The table shows the 140°F (60°C) setting.

The first cell of the table gives the size the time covers: pieces up to 2.5 in (6.4 cm) thick. Measure through the thickest part, including any bone. For the same size, the frozen time is 27 hours 15 minutes to 51 hours 15 minutes at 156°F (68.9°C) and 15 hours 15 minutes to 27 hours 15 minutes at 176°F (80°C).

Safety

All four settings are pasteurized at their minimum time. The one exception is the frozen 131°F (55°C) result, which is not recommended and does not count as pasteurized.

The USDA safe minimum internal temperature for beef steaks, roasts and chops is 145°F (62.8°C) followed by a 3 minute rest, as listed on FoodSafety.gov. The 131°F (55°C) and 140°F (60°C) settings are below that. They pasteurize the meat only because it is held for the full minimum time shown, so do not shorten it. The explainer on whether sous vide is safe covers how time and temperature work together.

Baldwin's guide gives the reason for the thickness limit: the center of the food should reach 130°F (54.4°C) within 6 hours to keep Clostridium perfringens from multiplying to dangerous levels.

An acidic sauce or marinade can make beef take up to twice as long to pasteurize. If the ribs are bagged in one, do not rely on the pasteurization time shown.

Crowded or overlapping bags heat more slowly, and the times shown will be too short for them.

If you cook ahead for meal prep, Baldwin's guide says to cool the sealed pouch quickly in ice water that is at least half ice before it goes into the refrigerator.

Common problems

A leaking bag. Logsdon warns that sharp bones can puncture the bag. Leave some slack around them or double bag.

A floating bag at 176°F (80°C). Baldwin's recipes for 176°F (80°C) note that the bag puffs from water vapor at that temperature and may float to the surface. They say to hold the bags under water with a wire rack or another restraint, so the meat cooks evenly.

Falling water level. A 72 hour cook loses water to evaporation. Cover the bath and check the level.

Chewy meat at 131°F (55°C). The ribs need more time. The window runs to 72 hours.

Ribs over the thickness limit. Cut the meat off the bone or cut it into thinner pieces before bagging.

Brisket is another tough beef cut with both a steak-like setting and a hotter barbecue setting. Pork ribs are a separate food with their own settings in the ribs guide.