Sous Vide Calculator
Thickness sets the time. Weight is irrelevant.
Work out Sous Vide. Thickness sets the time. Weight is irrelevant. Counts the thing everyone forgets to count.
Minimum time
3 h 15 min
Medium rare. The usual target for steak. · 55 °C / 131 °F
Time comes from thickness, not weight. Heat has to travel from the surface to the centre and nothing else matters — a 2 kg steak 25 mm thick cooks in exactly the same time as a 200 g one of the same thickness. Doubling the thickness roughly quadruples the time, because diffusion goes with the square of distance. That is why a 50 mm roast is not twice a 25 mm steak but four times it. Sous vide can serve food safely at temperatures an oven cannot, because pasteurisation is time at temperature rather than temperature alone. Chicken held at 60 °C for half an hour is as safe as chicken taken to 74 °C instantly — and far better eating.
How the Sous Vide Calculator works
Time to core temperature from thickness and shape, plus the additional hold that pasteurises at that temperature. A 2 kg steak 25 mm thick cooks in the same time as a 200 g one.
Also known as: how long to sous vide a steak · sous vide time by thickness · sous vide chicken pasteurisation time · does a bigger steak take longer sous vide
Not medical advice. This calculator gives a general estimate, not medical advice. It cannot account for your individual health, medical history, or medication. Talk to a qualified healthcare professional before acting on any result.
Frequently asked questions
Does a bigger steak need longer sous vide?
Only if it is thicker. Heat travels from surface to centre, so a wide thin steak and a small thin one reach temperature together regardless of weight.
Why does doubling the thickness more than double the time?
Because heat diffusion goes with the square of distance. Twice the thickness is roughly four times the time — the single most important fact in sous vide timing.
How does sous vide make chicken safe at 60 °C?
Pasteurisation is time at temperature, not temperature alone. Chicken held at 60 °C for around half an hour is as safe as chicken taken instantly to 74 °C, and much better eating.
Can I leave food in the bath indefinitely?
No. Texture degrades — proteins keep breaking down — and below about 55 °C bacterial growth is not fully suppressed. The maximum useful hold is hours, not days.
Does it matter whether the food is a slab or a cylinder?
Yes. A cylinder heats from all around rather than two faces, so it reaches temperature noticeably faster than a slab of the same measured thickness.
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