Sous Vide Steak Temp and Time Chart by Thickness

The sous vide steak temp for medium-rare is 131°F (55°C), which is the calculator's default. Rare is 125°F (51.7°C), medium is 140°F (60°C), medium-well is 150°F (65.6°C) and well done is 160°F (71.1°C).

The temperature sets the doneness and the thickness sets the time. A steak 1.5 in (3.8 cm) thick at 131°F (55°C) needs at least 2 hr 15 min. Every time and temperature in the tables on this page comes from the calculator.

Sous vide steak time and temp chart, by thickness

Measure through the thickest part of the steak, including the bone if there is one. Find the table for your doneness, then read across the row for that thickness.

Rare, 125°F (51.7°C)

Rare is not recommended for a steak thicker than 1.5 in. At 1.75 in (4.4 cm) the center needs 3 hr to warm through, and at 2 in (5.1 cm) it needs 3 hr 45 min. Both are longer than the 2 hr 30 min limit for food cooked at 130°F (54.4°C) and below, so choose 131°F (55°C) or higher, or use a thinner steak. From frozen, rare is recommended only up to 1 in (2.5 cm).

Medium-rare, 131°F (55°C)

At the minimum time, a steak up to 2 in thick is heated through but not pasteurized. The calculator treats that as normal for a whole, intact cut of beef cooked to this doneness.

Pasteurizing at 131°F (55°C) takes longer: at least 3 hr for a 1 in (2.5 cm) steak and 3 hr 45 min for a 1.5 in steak. 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. Do the same if the label says mechanically tenderized or blade tenderized, or the meat has been injected.

The 2.5 in (6.4 cm) row is the exception. Its center takes more than 4 hr to heat through, so the minimum shown is the pasteurization time, 6 hr.

From frozen, steaks 2 in and thicker are not recommended at 131°F (55°C). Thaw them first.

Medium, 140°F (60°C)

From 1 in up, the minimum time at 140°F (60°C) also pasteurizes the steak. That is why a 1 in steak shows 1 hr 30 min here against 1 hr 15 min at 131°F (55°C): pasteurizing takes only a little longer than heating through at this thickness, so the minimum shown is the pasteurization time.

Medium-well, 150°F (65.6°C)

Well done, 160°F (71.1°C)

At these two settings the steak is pasteurized at the minimum time at every thickness. The maximum is shorter than at medium: 3 hr 30 min at 150°F (65.6°C) and 3 hr at 160°F (71.1°C) for a 1 in steak.

How to choose a temperature

The steak heats to the temperature of the water and stops there, so the setting is the final doneness from edge to edge.

Juiciness falls as the temperature rises. Douglas Baldwin's guide to sous vide cooking explains that between 105 and 140°F (41 and 60°C) muscle fibers shrink across their width, and above 140 to 150°F (60 to 66°C) they shrink along their length and lose a substantial amount of water. America's Test Kitchen's article on the science of sous vide meat puts the point where moisture loss becomes significant at 140°F (60°C).

That matches the texture column in the doneness chart. Medium-rare and medium stay juicy. Medium-well is firm and drying out, and well done is firm and dry.

Fat content is the other factor. Anova's steak guide suggests 129 to 135°F (54 to 57°C) for ribeye and strip steaks. It suggests 120 to 128°F (49 to 53°C) for tenderloin, because a lean cut without intramuscular fat dries out at higher temperatures.

In the calculator's terms that is medium-rare for a ribeye or a New York strip. For filet mignon that range is the rare setting, which carries the limits in the rare warning above and is not recommended for a filet thicker than 1.5 in. Medium-rare is the lowest setting at which the steak can be pasteurized.

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 rare, medium-rare and medium settings are below that.

Charts for specific cuts

The calculator gives every steak cut the same five doneness temperatures. The cuts differ in the thickness the calculator starts from, and that changes the time.

Ribeye, filet mignon, New York strip and sirloin

These four use the steak tables above without any change. A steak of the same thickness gets the same time, whatever the cut.

The only difference is the starting thickness. The calculator opens sirloin steak at 1.25 in (3.2 cm), where the minimum at 131°F (55°C) is 1 hr 45 min, and opens the other three at 1.5 in. Sirloin is leaner and a little chewier than ribeye or strip.

A whole beef tenderloin is a different case. It goes into the calculator as a round roast, measured straight through the center. At 131°F (55°C) a roast 2.5 in (6.4 cm) across needs at least 3 hr, against 6 hr for a steak 2.5 in thick.

Flank steak

The calculator's default for flank is 0.75 in (1.9 cm), where the short cook takes 50 min. Jason Logsdon of Amazing Food Made Easy names flank, sirloin and flat iron as steaks that are usually grilled or pan fried and can benefit from some tenderization over time.

The short settings give a flank steak with normal chew. The calculator has a sixth setting for a more tender one: medium-rare, long cook.

This is a separate long tenderizing cook of 12 to 48 hours at 131°F (55°C), and the steak is pasteurized at the 12 hr minimum. The result is more tender and softer than the short cook, and it starts to shred at the long end. Slice flank thinly across the grain. The flank steak guide covers both settings.

Skirt steak

Skirt steak is thin, so it heats through quickly: 30 min at the 0.5 in (1.3 cm) default. Slice it thinly across the grain.

Tri-tip and picanha

Tri-tip is thick and tapered, so use the thickest point for the calculator. Picanha gets the same times. A tri-tip at the 2 in default needs 3 hr 45 min, which is 1 hr 30 min more than a 1.5 in steak.

That minimum is close to the usual 4 hr texture limit, so the maximum shown is the minimum plus 1 hr. Expect a softer texture than a thinner piece would have. The 2.5 in row carries the same warning as the 2.5 in steak above.

How to read the charts

Minimum time is the time for the center to come within 1°F (0.5°C) of the bath. Where pasteurizing takes only a little longer, the minimum is the pasteurization time instead.

Best window runs from the minimum to one hour later, or to the maximum if that comes first. Do not exceed is the latest the steak should come out.

From frozen is the minimum for a steak that goes into the bath frozen. A 1 in steak at 131°F (55°C) needs 2 hr from frozen, against 1 hr 15 min thawed, and sous vide frozen steak has its own guide.

The line under each table says whether the steak is pasteurized at the minimum time, and names any rows that are not recommended or carry a warning. Pasteurization in general is the subject of the sous vide safety guide.

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.

For the reasoning behind the times, including why they are longer than the flat ranges many recipes print, the post on how long to sous vide steak works through it by thickness.