which vacum sealer do you guys use?

fitzy

Songster
10 Years
Aug 25, 2009
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manhattan, ks
I'm assuming this is the best place to post this thread since i'm trying to use the darn thing to seal up my meat birds for the freezer....

Anyway, last night i was trying to seal up some bird pieces and my sealer isn't working like it used to....i've used it hundreds of times over the years without much worry. last year the foam rubber inside the lid was kinda wrinkled and it wouldn't vacum very well, but after i pushed it back into position it started working again. last night it wasn't sucking properly so i took the foam pieces out and turned them around backward and it was working like a champ...........except it wouldn't seal all the way across the bag!!! no matter which position i put it in (left, right or center) it always left a small gap somewhere. finally i gave up and figured they'd be good enough if i ate them in the first month.

i'm using a Rival "seal a meal" purchased from wally world....anyone out there know if this is just expected with these or if there's a more "heavy duty" model i should check into? i plan to butcher another 45 birds in the next week or two and hundreds more in the coming years so i don't mind paying for a quality unit if necessary....otherwise i'll have to just keep replacing them yearly.

Any input here would be appreciated
 
I use one that I purchased from Cabela's. $79 or something close to that. Use it mainly for the fish I catch, but have also used it for beef, chicken, pork and such.

I a bind you can use a 5 gallon bucket full of water and a ziplock. Not exactly vacuum sealing but it does okay.

Fill the bucket with water, put chicken/fish whatever in your ziplock, push the ziplock under the water level. The water in the bucket will force air out of bag. However you will end up with some water in the bag instead of air. I used this method for years with good results.

By the way it goes with out saying scrub and sanitize the 5 gallon bucket before use.
 
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I have the "Food Saver" Professional sealer which I bought about 4 - 5 years ago at a sportsmen's show.

A couple of years ago I noticed that the foam-like seal was wearing about. I turned it upside down and that seems to have helped. Just before I seal a bag I wipe the foam seal down with a very damp cloth... this really helps with a better seal. Of course, actually getting a replacement foam strip would be good too... I just never follow through with ordering one.

Good luck with your sealer... I use ours when processing and freezing our Cornish as well as when DH has venison to freeze. It's the only appliance that stays our on our counter full time... well, besides the coffee pot!
 
Consider getting some shrink bags from Cornerstone Farm. I can't get to the site from this computer, but you should be able to find it easily doing a search, or maybe someone will put up a link. They work great. I put my birds in a normal looking plastic bag, twist and cinch the top, then drop it into hot water for a few seconds, and instantly I have birds that look like they came from the store- and they last a year with no problem.
 
Can you put cut up pieces in the Cornerstone bags? Or are those made to just seal up the whole bird? Thanks, Jaku! You're always so full of good info!
 
I've had the food saver, for about 4 years. My only complaint is that, recently, the cutting knife just doesn't seem to be doing its job properly, which is very annoying, and I don't see any way of removing it, for sharpening or changing. I haven't gotten serious about it, though.

Just a note: I have figured out how to save a lot of wasted footage, in the bags, since they are expensive.
If you cut up, and separate you chicken, according to pieces, just seal off a 2' section of bag, and arrange the pieces in there, so that they don't freeze together, and seal it up. When you are done, you still have a fairly long bag, which you can wash and use again....I did the same thing with my corn. About 20 ears, to a package.
 
We use the shrink bags like jaku does from the same place. There are several different sizes. In the past we've tried many different bags and sealers and there is nothing like the shrink bags.

The best thing is when the wife is looking for the 'right' bird and moving everything around in the freezer looking for 'it' the other bags aren't damage in the process.

The worst bag is the Ziploc vacuum seal bags. When cold they are brittle and often tear when moved about in the freezer. Tried them with our vegetables this year-never again.
 
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I hate ziplock in general for whole birds. I just looked in the back of my freezer and had three birds I packaged before I found the shrink bags. They were freezer burned and covered in ice. So I boned it out, ground it, and I'm making chicken jerky tonight after work, which is very amazing!!
 

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