First time using foam trays--questions

[BBUTTER]

This is our first year using foam trays for parts instead of freezing whole birds. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice!
1. What wrap do you use? I can buy meat wrap, but I don't know what guage is best. Also, what about store-bought plastic wrap? What's the guage on that?
2. I don't have a meat wrapper with a hot plate to seal the wrap. I plan to get creative, perhaps using a pan on the stove? Does anyone know the temp needed to melt the wrap?
3. This may be a dumb question: How long do you let the meat rest? The same as whole birds? We're doing boneless/skinless breasts, boneless/skinless thighs, skinless legs, and skinless leg quarters.
4. Any other tips from someone who's done this before would be much appreciated!
Can you tell my plucker died? :/ We're just skinning the birds instead of hand plucking. Some of the meat is going to a local charity.

 

[BBUTTER]

Anyone?

 

[Elke Beck]

I have never used foam trays, so I don't know what to tell you. I just put the parts into freezer bags.

Good luck! Be sure to share your experience.

 

[BBUTTER]

I don't think I had the best results. No company was clear on the effectiveness of their wrap. Some said it was good for freezer use and other said not, but no one said which grade was best. Ended up buying a generic meat wrap and a wrapping machine. The machine came in defective and dented. The wrap is thicker than store-bought plastic wrap, but I don't think the meat is going to last long in the freezer. Starting a new thread to ask about vacuum sealers. :/

 

[Sandyd]

Why can't you just use shrink bags? Careful on vacuum sealers. We had to turn our vacuum down to half to suck some air out of our shrink bags before we dunked them in boiling water. Full vacuum it sucked the chicken down.

 

[BBUTTER]

I use shrink bags for whole birds and think they look great. With parts, I don't know a way to make the meat lay flat for a good presentation for sale. It just turns into a ball of meat at the bottom of the bag. I did that for my own freezer last year. How do you do yours?