After having cooked sous-vide for six years, I still discover some improvements now and then. Until recently, when cooking beef sous-vide I would usually choose as low a temperature as possible, and then cook long enough for the meat to become tender. This has as an advantage that the beef retains as much juices as possible, because at higher temperatures more juice is lost by contracting muscle fibers (click here to read more about this). This way you can turn even very tough cuts into something that has the texture and color of a medium-rare fillet steak. Examples are beef short ribs or beef brisket for 48 hours at 57C/135F, flank steak or skirt steak for 48 hours at 55C/131F, blade/flat iron steak for 12 hours at 55C/131F, and oxtail for 100 hours at 60C/140F. Although beef cooked this way is amazing because it has the same tenderness as fillet steak but much more flavor, and there is no way besides sous-vide to achieve this, sometimes it smells a bit funky and some people don’t like it because it is different from what they are used to.
Instead of steak-like texture I also use sous-vide to cook beef with a flaky texture. To get a flaky texture I sometimes used 62C-63C/143-145F for 48-72 hours for chuck or (veal) osso buco, or higher temperatures like 82-88C/180-190F for 5-10 hours to get the same result as a stovetop braise, but with less effort and less risk of inconsistent results. This was all based on my own experimentation as well as Modernist Cuisine and various online sources including Jason Logsdon. When going from 55-57C/131-135F to 62-63C/143-145F I noticed such a large loss in juiciness that I never thought it would be worth trying anything higher than that, as I thought it would just take more time and achieve a similar result as going up to 82-88C/180-190F for a shorter time. That turns out to be wrong! It turns out that 74C/165F for 18-24 hours gives the same tenderness and flaky texture as going up to 82-88C/180-190F, but the beef ends up more juicy. And because of this temperature the connective tissue dissolves better, the meat is even more succulent than at 62-63C/143-145F. And so now 74C/165F is my new favorite temperature to get a flaky texture. It doesn’t only work for beef, but also for pork, lamb and turkey.
For this post I have tried cooking beef flank steak at various temperatures: 55C/131F for 48 hours, 60C/140F for 24 hours, 74C/165F for 24 hours, and 88C/190F for 7 hours and compared the juiciness and texture. The cooking times are based on my experience and all yield beef that is tender. I measured the loss of juices by weighing the meat before and after cooking. I used the above flank steak (which is called bavette in France and the Netherlands) and cut it into 4 pieces that were seasoned with salt and pepper and vacuum sealed. It is important for flavor and succulence that the steak is nicely marbled with fat.
I labeled the bags with the cooking temperature and initial weight in grams, and cooked them sous-vide for the time and temperature indicated.
The flank steak cooked at 55C/131F for 48 hours lost 23% of its weight.
I gave it a quick sear in clarified butter over very high heat, just to give it some color.
The meat was juicy, very tender, and very tasty, with a slightly loose but steak-like texture.
Cooked at 60C/140F for 24 hours, the weight loss was 31%, so quite a bit more than the 23% at 55C/131F.
The meat was not only measurably but also noticeably less juicy than when cooked at 55C/131F, and I also thought that the texture was a bit mealy. So for the two temperatures that result in a steak-like texture, I definitely prefer 55C/131F over 60C/140F.
Going up to 74C/165F, still for 24 hours, the weight loss is 39%.
The meat had a great tender flaky texture and despite the hefty loss of juices was very succulent. It is very different from flank steak cooked at 55C/131F, but just as good, only in a different way.
The weight loss after 7 hours at 88C/190F was 42%.
This was very flaky, quite dry and grey looking, like a traditional stovetop braise. It was still tender and pleasant to eat, but not by far as good as the flank steak cooked at 74C/165F.
So in conclusion: depending on what texture you would like, my recommendations for flank steak sous-vide are:
- 48 hours at 55C/131F for tender steak-like texture
- 24 hours at 74C/165F for flaky braised-like texture
P.S. Some sources will tell you that flank steak can be cooked sous-vide for 6 hours at 55C/131F. If you do that, the meat will still be quite tough and will have to be cut very thinly across the grain. If you think the flank steak is too tender/too ‘loose’ after 48 hours at 55C/131F, you could lower the cooking time to 24 hours.
Flashback
This butternut, parsnip and shrimp soup has great depth of flavor with an Asian touch.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
So fascinating. The difference in weight loss is incredible. I’ve been sous vide’ing flank steak for 48 hours at 135 degrees. I need to change this ASAP! Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you take it down to 131 degrees (or even 130), I’m pretty sure you’ll notice the difference. Would love to hear about your results.
LikeLike
Will definitely do it. I keep a little notebook on what I’ve done that works, mostly thanks to your input. I just found something called a whole top loin and cooked it at 125 degrees for 12 hours and the result was amazing. I would just eat it cold with mustard!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting post Stefan. I have just completed an experiment with feather blade. I cooked one for an hour at 55ºC. Then I flash fried on a very hot pan, alongside a raw steak. Results to follow when I get my act together and write it up.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Sei veramente un grande conoscitore della cottura sottovuoto. Bravissimo
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a virtual textbook on sous vide, which is one of the reasons I’ve been recommending my friends to visit here. Thank you, Stefan!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My husband prefers chuck roasts and brisket in the traditional braised manner (165F 24 hours), but I do know he would prefer the flank steak at the 131F 48 hours and then slice it thin to serve fajita-style in a flour tortilla with grilled peppers and onions. However, I have not cooked any of our flank steak yet in sous vide, but when I do I’ll let you know the results and his reaction. Thank you so much for having all this incredible information at our fingertips!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks for trying out all these experiments. Just one question: what is the advantage of cooking a cut like flank sous-vide? I mean: does it taste better than flash grilling it? ciao, stefano
LikeLiked by 1 person
Getting off the subject of steak.
I am interested in trying out Sous vide cooking in an ala carte kitchen.
Is it possible to do ala minute cooking with sous vide cooking?
Example can I reheat an osso bucco and serve it to a customer in a timely manner?
Thanks Dave
LikeLike
Hi Dave, that is definitely possible and it is what many restaurants do. There are two strategies for doing this. Both of them start with vacuum sealing and cooking single portions (of osso buco, for instance) like you usually would, and then cooling them in ice water and refrigerating them at 1C/34F. At that temperature, they will keep for weeks.
Now you have two options:
1) Reheat as many portions as you expect to serve so that they are ready at a holding temperature of 55C/131F so they hardly cook any further. When someone orders this item, they can be served in a few minutes by heating up some sauce in a regular pan and briefly heating up the meat in the sauce before serving.
2) Keep all the portions in the refrigerator and only reheat in sous-vide bath when the item is ordered. The time it takes to reheat depends on the thickness. For osso buco half an hour may be required, so that may be too long.
The advantage of option 1 is that you can serve quickly. The advantage of option 2 is that there is less waste. Although you can chill unsold items at the end of service and refrigerate them if they have been at 55C/131F long enough to be pasteurized again (this depends on the thickness, but 3-4 hours should do it). You can’t keep doing this without compromising quality, but a couple of times should be fine.
Hope this helps!
LikeLike
…or u could sous-vide reheat few portions as per #1method and then, as the evening progresss, decide to reheat more if necessary
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed!
LikeLike
Ciao Stefano, flank steak is a hell of a lot better than flash grilling it, because it will be much more tender after having been cooked sous-vide. If you only grill it, you’ll have to cut it very thinly across the grain to make it tender enough to eat. You could still flash grill after cooking sous-vide, which will give you the advantage of the tenderness of sous-vide as well as the grill flavor.
LikeLike
Thanks- it makes sense. I will end up getting the tool, I know – my curiosity will win + particularly interested in trying sous vide stews. (Which i now cook in a 90c oven over several hrs)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many stew recipes are great cooked sv for 24 hrs at 74C.
LikeLike
Stefano, it is also a matter of preference. After extensive s-v trials I now dry-brine all steaks for a couple of days and then flash fry or broil, and warm it up to 53C in a 60C -80C oven. Indeed slice across the grain. Hanger steak, picanha, flat iron, pork chops 4 cm thick and deboned, etc. Advantages: better crust, different texture, saves time especially when one wants to prepare a pan sauce in the pan that is used for frying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jeroen, agreed it is a matter of preference. I cook the cuts you mention sous-vide for a (much) shorter time than flank steak (bavette) though, max 12 hours compared to 48.
LikeLike
“Dry-brining” aka good old pre-salting..rocks! It does wonder to meat and (most) fish. Funny how we often give new, fancy names to very old techniques (changing topic: the contemporay craze for duch oven bread baking is for instance very, very old: Elizabeth David described it in the early 19seventies,with a different name. I had beautifull results pre-salting some meat cuts up to days in advance and I have noticed that pre salting cod up tp two days in advanc, in gives it a very intense flavour, reminiscence of salt cod.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I tried the 48hrs 55c version today. To be honest I never ate bavette before so I can’t really judge if it was worth the time, so I guess I will buy another one and cook it normally to see the difference. It was still very tasty (bit more meaty than a normal steak). I was also surprised by the brown colour it had when it was done without a sear.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And, did you enjoy it?
LikeLike
Yes, one part is the luxurious idea that while you’re working/sleeping the steak continues to cook. It was a very nice moist texture and a richer taste than a normal steak.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I expect that if I cooked one of my leather shoes or my belt in a sous vide for 24-48 hours it would come out tender; or perhaps they would need 96 hours at 98.6F.
Really, it is not remotely practical–or appealing–for those of us who live in the real world to think about cooking something for 24 or 48 hours–or even 12 hours in most cases. Before spending such large amounts of time I would spend a bit more money per pound to get a cut of meat that does not require such prolonged cooking (and saves electricity, as well–“green is good”).
During the 24 or 48 hours of cooking time how many times did you need to check the water level and add to the water? I gather that “easy” and “convenient” are not among your criteria for recipes.
And what about that funky smell? Ekkk!
LikeLike
The fundamental concept of sous vide is that you do not have to do anything while the meat sits in the water. No checking, no adding water, etc. (You do need to cover the container.) So you do not ‘spend’ any time and it is in fact very practical, because you can also cook it for 21 or 27 hours instead of 24 and it will still come out great. It is very easy to avoid any funky smell by using the method described here: https://stefangourmet.com/2017/11/01/how-to-prevent-a-bad-smell-with-long-and-low-sous-vide-cooks/
LikeLike
I usually my a chipotle marinated flank steak. Sometimes i immediately cook in crockpot for 6-8 hours and it shreds like pulled pork. Or aftwr marinade I grill and slice. Tasty but tough.
My question is whether it is ok to sous vide in marinade liquid? Or will this give a mushy or other texture. My desire is 131 for 24-30 hours in marinade.
LikeLike
If the marinade is not very acidic, it should be fine. A marinade with lemon juice would for instance give a mushy texture. I have done pork butt with a chipotle in adobo marinade for 48 hours without problems.
LikeLike
I’m new to sous vide and by coincidence I’d bought some flank steaks a day before the cooker arrived. This article could not have been more helpful – thank you!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Stefan, bought some bavette this morning for the bbq tonight.
After that I thought let’s peak into Stefangourmet for some tips.
Already heated up my sous vide machine.
What to do within 8 hours to enhance the meat and finish on the bbq?
(Sorry, I know I’m too late, but just give it a try…)
Best regards,
Frans
LikeLike
Hi Frans, it really depends on the bavette. Your best bet within this timeframe is to warm age 3 hours at 45C and then the rest of the time at 55. Make sure to dip in boiling water (or at least 77C) after vacuum sealing before the warm aging. And don’t forget to chill before going on the BBQ.
LikeLike
PS slicing thinly across the grain also helps a lot.
LikeLike
Thanks a lot, I’ll give it a try. Let you know.
Btw; the hot dip trick works great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Stefan, the result was perfect! The meat was tender and juicy. More steaky than flaky. The piece was quite flat in different thicknesses. So I tried not to keep it on the bbq too long. Somewhere in the middle I measured until 55*.
Me and my guests were happy…
Thanks for the advice!
LikeLiked by 1 person