Using a vacuum sealer?

[MamaRoo]

A friend has one that I've asked to borrow (he's never used it) so I can try sealing up some stuff for the freezer. I was planning on starting with dry trail mix for hiking, but I can sometimes get deals on meat and stuff at the grocery store, and it would be nice to seal these too.

Anyone have tips? List of things not to do? I don't yet know what type he has.

 

[sumi]

I used to use one at work. They are pretty straightforward and user friendly. As long as you don't put your finger in with the bag you're sealing like I did.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm sure there are different models. Mine's one of the Foodsaver ones. There could be some differences in different brands and models, so bear that in mind when you read what I say.

You have different options as to which bags you use. You can get different width pre-formed bags or just rolls that you cut to length. I'd suggest you start with the bags to get a feel for it, but now I practically always buy the narrower rolls and make my own. Part of that is what you are sealing though. You may need the wider ones.

If you make your own bags, don't try to get the length too close. It takes a fair amount of space to reach into the vacuum area. I used to try to measure it really close but have since just decided to make sure I don't have to throw the bag away because I cut it too short. You learn as you go.

Those things don't handle wet or damp food very well. The suction will draw out whatever moisture there is in it and moisture where it seals prevents it from sealing. I get around that by filling the bag with the produce and freezing it in the bag before I make the final seal if the produce is "moist". When I do that, I only take one or two bags out of the freezer at a time so they don't thaw while I'm working on the others. I use a dry cloth and wipe the inside of the bag to remove any ice crystals or moisture where it is going to be sealed.

If there is any question if it is sealed, just seal it a second time. Mine has different ways if sealing, one with suction and one without. For a second seal, I use the one without suction.

Think about how it is going to be used when deciding what sizes you are freezing. I freeze some stuff in serving sized portions, Some I freeze in bulk.

If you freeze something damp, you can't break it apart if you only want a little of it. I'll use chopped onions as an example, but this method could be used for a lot of things. When my home grown onions get toward the end of their storage life, I chop them and tray freeze them. That means I put them on a cookie sheet on wax paper and freeze them, busting them up a couple of times during the freezing time to keep them from sticking together. Then I pour them in the bag and freeze them. When I need more onions, I open a bag, use what I need, and keep the rest in a ziploc type bag. Since I use one of these ziploc bags in a few weeks, they don't get freezer burn before they are used up. The vacuum bags work real well to prevent freezer burn. Since they were tray frozen, I can measure out how many I actually need.

A lot of this stuff becomes clearer when you actually try to do it. The vacuum sealers are not that hard to use.

 

[Mskayladog]

I vacuume seal everything and the poster above has given good advice. I freeze soup in a covered bowl then vacuume seal it and throw it back in the freezer. If I cook chicken I vacuume seal the bones to make a broth with later. I dehydrate and vacuume seal veggies and such.
The only thing I don't like frozen and vacuume seal is potatos so if I make a soup I take the potats out before freezing and sealing.

 

[MamaRoo]

OK, I may try sealing some of my already frozen soups too. Probably don't have many potatoes in them, but I'm curious why you take them out? The mush factor?

Thanks for all the tips. I'm looking forward to a better way to store foods.

 

[Mskayladog]

To me potatos get grainy or mealie the texture changes.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I have used vacumm sealers for years. I just got a new one from Cabela's - I like it alot.

My previous ones were Foodsaver brand. I used to freeze soup, stock, and wet stuff all the time. I just hit the manual seal button before it could suck up the moisture. I almost always did a second seal on moist food though, just to be sure that it sealed. My last Foodsaver that I bought was a piece of junk. Never did a good seal, the bags always lost vacumm and I had alot of stuff that ended up with freezer burn.

The new one from Cabelas suggests that wet foods and liquids be frozen first, but also suggests for moist foods to put a strip of paper towel above the food and below the sealing bar. I did that with sliced ham, boneless skinless chicken breasts and hamburger and it works great.

And I agree, potatoes in soup go mealy when frozen. I always end up mashing the existing potatoes into the broth and boiling a potato in the microwave to add when I reheat frozen soup. Or I go without chuncks of potato.

 

[MamaRoo]

COOL!! This is so much fun!!

Turkey burgers bagged and frozen!

 

[wyoDreamer]

We use our vacumm sealer for marinating also. Especially for fajitas, we marinate the beef flank steak for at least 12 hours before grilling, 6-12 hours for chicken and 30 minutes for shrimp. Having the meat sealed in the bag allows me to flip it over whenever I open the fridge to get something, no mess, no fuss. I also mush the flank steak every once in a while to make sure that the marinade gets into the meat, between every meat fiber. It seems to tenderize the meat also.

 

[Jimsbirdhouse]

Be sure to put the rough side down when your sealing . The bag has a rough side and a smooth side.