Sous Vide- Max per bag?

When cooking things sous vide, is there a max that you can put per bag? I.e.- if I have 4 pork chops and only 3 will fit without overlapping, should I put the 4th in another bag?

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Brendan_Lee_56950

Yes. Keep everything in a single layer so that they will cook at the same rate. I usually do each in their own bag for the convenience of being able to keep the rest warm while I'm searing them post cook.

SteveM_20803

Brendan is much more an authority than I am in all aspects of cooking, but I would say you can get away with it. I think of sous vide as heating to the core. So you would have to leave it in the bath longer for the heat to penetrate the thickest part of where the meat is stacked, but the rest of the bag is not going to cook any more than the temp you have it set at. And while your presentation might suffer, I don't think you will have any problems. I am confident in this as I have cooked hamburgers 4 flat in a single bag. I have also cooked 8 burgers stacked like a 12 inch tall hockey puck, just to see what would happen. I did leave the stack in 2.5 times longer but there was no discernible difference in the burgers.

douglas_bd

One issue I see with stacking is that if you don't presear, the outside of the meat becomes the core where it is stacked. Depending on type of meat, how it is handled before and after cooking, thickness of cut, and bath temperature, this could create an environment that promotes bacterial growth. Probably unlikely, but bags are cheap. I'd keep proteins in a single layer. For larger cuts like steak and chops, I almost always bag singly.

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Things like pork chops can end up almost bonding and create quite strange looking pieces too.