How long can I Sous Vide a steak?

I am new to the sous vide scene and I am trying to find any information regarding how long to cook things. I have cooked beef short ribs for 24 hours @ 158 degrees and they came out amazing. So my question is, how long can I sous vide a steak (let's say 2" rib eye) for and the longer it sous vides does the same magic happen as when I sous vide beef short ribs?

Sorry that turned into a 2 part question really fast.

Thanks!

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Johan_Edstrom_5586

2-3h is usually the general recommendation with steaks.

You can hold for longer and start breaking down the protein more,

that isn't always desirable - it can get some weird textures and be too

tender.

I do mine 3-4h - mostly out of convenience.

InSearchOf_Heston_11061

I agree very very strongly with Tim about overlong cooking times.

We've cooked nearly all of Heston Blumenthal's elaborate In Search of Perfection recipes, and he uses a surprisingly long cooking time for ribeye steak - 24 hours at 50°C.

Granted, that's in a carefully controlled oven rather than sous vide (home SV being almost unheard of when the recipe was developed) to combine cooking / tenderizing with simulated extreme dry-aging. The result is, like Tim says, unusually soft and not entirely pleasant. We personally prefer something that reminds us why we still have incisors.

Our current fave is a cheap cut like flank or skirt (I think you lads call them hangar steaks) done at around 55° for about 8 - 12 hours, briefly seared in a pan afterwards. Don't bother with blowtorches, it takes forever to build up a decent crust.

tshewman

I would respectfully submit there is a large difference between a 2"/5cm ribeye and the roast Heston did in the oven for 24 hours before it was cut into approx 2" steaks. JMHO.

mr_vega2u

Thanks for all the great responses. More than answered my newb question.

Tim thanks for the awesome research material!

Mauro_Daniel_Rossi_73211