Sous Vide Pork Chops
In the Sous Vide Recipes Forum
I am brand new to sous vide cooking. I received a PolyScience Immersion Circulator for Christmas and so far have cooked scallops which were fantastic. I have now put on some rib end pork chops which are 1 1/2 inches thick. There are four of them and they have been vacuum sealed in individual pouches. They have been seasoned with salt and pepper and that's it. I have put them on at 135F and plan on cooking them for 12 hours. I only have the one recipe book,Cooking Sous Vide and it calls for cooking BONELESS chops, mine are bone-in, at 131 for 12 hours. Is it okay to cook them at 135 or should I cook them at 131 as the book suggests? Also, will 12 hours do the job? Thanks for any help you can give me.
6 Replies So Far
Hi ElsieD, that's a good question. When it comes to the cooking temperatures, especially in the 131°F to 145°F range, it's really just a matter of how "rare" you want your meat cooked. For sous vide pork, I usually prefer 135°F, it still has a little pink in the middle and is very tender. My parents don't like the pink though so they usually cook their sous vide pork at 141°F. It's really a matter of personal preference just like a medium-rare steak vs a medium steak.
I hope this helps some. Also, I have an update to the Cooking Sous Vide book that I can send you electronically if you want to email me at
jason@afmeasy.com
As for the 12 hour cooking time I think it would be sufficient. The cooking time is really all about tenderization. A 1.5 inch pork chop should heat up in about 2 hours (for heating times you can see our
sous vide thickness ruler), so the remaining time is all about making it more tender. That's why the different chops have different cooking times, since some cuts are tougher than others. 12 hours should tenderize most pork chops, I usually do 4 to 10 hours if I'm not sure which type it is and it works well.
Thank you Jason. I will post my results.
It's probably worth mentioning that trichinella spiralis is 1. killed instantly at 137°F, 2. killed slightly more slowly at lower temperatures (worth looking up; people have done the math for us and posted on the webs), and 3. not a problem in US commercially raised pork because the pigs never go outside.
So I don't worry about that.
Just to let you know that next time I will cook my pork chops at a slightly higher temperature. I did them at 135F for 7 hours but I had a couple of bloody spots in them which I did not care for. But, they were deliciously tender. Learn, learn, learn!!!
Yup, I can definitely see that. That's the hardest part about making general suggestions, there is so much variation in what people like. There's no "prefect" meat, just perfect for your own preferences. Experiment away and have fun with the results!
Reply to this Topic
In order to add a reply to this topic please
log in or
create an account, it's free and only takes 30 seconds.
If so, please join the more than 19,000 people who receive my exclusive newsletter and get a FREE COPY of my printable modernist ingredient cheatsheet.
Just click on the green button below!
Get Started!
Thanks for signing up! I look forward to sending you recipes, links, and exclusive content and offers that you can't find anywhere else on the site, and I'll send you a free copy of my modernist ingredient cheatsheet too!
Enter your first name and email below, and I'll see you on the inside!
Thanks for signing up! I look forward to guiding you through the process of discovering sous vide with amazing articles, recipes, and tips and tricks you can use to impress your friends and family by turning out amazing food time and time again!
Enter your first name and email below, and I'll see you on the inside!
