Sous Vide Beef steaks look overcooked at 59°C and 56.5°C

I have just started cooking steaks in my sous vide machine.

I am getting results when cooking sous vide that do not agree with the theory and instructions I have read.

For my experiments I have cooked “rostas,” which is a beef part close to the filet (see link). I cooked two pieces for 1½ hours. One at 59°C and one at 56.5°C.

Result at 59°C:
Result at 56.5°C:

The white balance is off, but there was only a slight hint of red meat inside the piece cooked at 56.5°C.

What could be wrong? I get very different results from e.g. this page. I have checked the temperature of my sous vide machine and it seems correct.

Best Answer

If your sous vide machine is cooking to the right temperature then your steak is not overdone. That's the beauty of the process, your meat will go up to the temperature you set and no higher. You need to take the temperature of the center of the meat when you take it out. If the temperature of the meat is higher than you set the machine to then something is wrong with your machine. If the temperature is right then that is how the meat looks when cooked, unless you have marinated it or it's getting coloring from something in the bag. Maybe it's old, or hasn't been aged at all.

Different cuts of beef have different textures and colors before and after cooking, and depending on whether the meat has been aged or not, how it was aged if it was, and if it's close to spoilage. It's very hard to say in this case, what you need is data.

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Why is my sous vide steak overcooked?

Overcooking foods Even though people say sous vide is easy, you can overcook your food. The food continues to cook after it leaves the pot, unless you place it in an ice bath. Also, when you go to sear your meat, you can easily overcook it during searing, especially if you're using a thinner cut.

Can you overcook steak with sous vide?

While it's not easy to overcook meat when doing sous vide, it can happen, and that can lead to tough, unsatisfying meat, no matter what sort of cooking method you may be using.

What is the best temperature to sous vide steak?

Tenderloin: Temps and TimesDonenessTemperature RangeMedium-rare129\xb0F (54\xb0C) to 134\xb0F (57\xb0C)Medium135\xb0F (57\xb0C) to 144\xb0F (62\xb0C)Medium-well145\xb0F (63\xb0C) to 155\xb0F (68\xb0C)Well done156\xb0F (69\xb0C) and up1 more row

Does meat overcook sous vide?

While you can't overcook your food with sous vide, leaving it in the water bath for too long can result in changes in the texture. After a while, it can turn out soft and mushy. Also, with fish and eggs, it can make the fish too dry and the eggs too firm.

I COOKED a Brisket for a MONTH and this happened!

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: speak, Dimitri C, Ruslan Khmelevsky, Farhad Ibrahimzade