Do any of you use the vacuum sealers to package food for the freezer? If so, are there any particular models you can recommend? I've been reading reviews of various sealers and been getting mixed messages.
Thanks.
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Do any of you use the vacuum sealers to package food for the freezer? If so, are there any particular models you can recommend? I've been reading reviews of various sealers and been getting mixed messages.
Thanks.
I have been using the Food Saver vacuum sealers for years and swear by them. I am still using the simple base model I paid about $80 for 10 years ago. It really makes a difference in how long and how well food will keep. Saves on room in the freezer too. Of course the newer more pricey ones have more features and are more automated than mine, so when mine dies I will upgrade maybe to their mid price range.
Used one for about 2 hrs yesterday pack deer sausage with my boss, I will be a proud owner of one very soon and he swears by his
I'm about to put up some smoked deer sausage, too. That's what got me thinking about getting one. How well do they work on fish? I have always covered my fish with water before freezing.
Have a game saver deluxe and use it all the time. Works great! Tried fish once but you have to pre freeze them first. Easier to freeze in quart bags covered in water.
For sausage they work great, for fish, shrimp or anything that I normally freeze in water, I will stick to quart containers or bags. I have had air get in a few of the ones that I have done sausage or corn in though. I think as long as you can get it in the freezer fairly quickly after you have them sealed you should be ok.
Have one o the ziplock brand. like it alot. Saves alot o space.
Have used a commercial model for years and love it. Big bonus is it is great way to marinate meats and even veggies although the veggies sometimes get tenderized. Tried to find our model and saw they now have cordless models.
Wife brought one of these home a while back Cuisinart® 103-oz. Vacuum Seal Canister - JCPenney thought it would be good for veggies and salads, Does a great job with salad at least the lettucedoes not start to wilt the day after. I wanna try it for marinating chicken but she keeps is full of salad.
The only bad thing about them is the price of the bagging material. I went look for some on ebay and found them much cheaper and they work well.
"gene"
I have the 3880 and love it. I had an older model for years and was one of the old ones that were good, but lacked a lot of what the new ones have. This one is upright and auto detects if I am doing something wet. It also auto starts when you have the bag on right. I would look for one like this or newer, but upright and auto detect wet stuff.
I also still freeze my fish in water and shrimp in shells will stick a hole in the bag so not a good option for that, but so many things you can store using these!
I have a wessington does great saves lots of space I done my fish this yr I just put them in fridge for a day with no water to let them dry some and then put a paper towel at end of bag to catch water when sealing and worked fine. If I was buying another I would get the cabelas model.
I dry my crappie filets between two paper towels. Never had a problem. I can thaw them out in 20 minutes if I decide I want fish for supper. Have kept some over a year and they were just as good as more recent catches. Shrimp will not work unless they are shucked. The sharp points on the tails will puncture the bag. The horizontal units will save you money on wrap. The vertical units will waste about an inch and a half of wrap on both ends of the bag.
I have a food saver and swear by it...like PawPaw "gene" said though...the bags get a little pricey so if you can shop around for cheaper you should be golden. I have noticed no difference though between the "freezer" model bags and regular "refridgerator" bags. Bought some fridge ones once for venison and that meat lasted for quite awhile. The freezer ones tend to run more wherever they sell them but you are g2g with regular fridge ones.
Bought the Food Saver Bronze off Amazon. Cheaper than I could find in any store. It has a tilt function where it makes storing much easier. Comes with attachment for using canisters which I want to try. Found a deal on bag's in roll's on Amazon also. I freeze my fish by drying real good then putting paper towel just inside mouth of bag to capture moisture.. My wife buys a lot of meat in bulk packages so I seperate it season it and seal before freezing. Seems to have more flavor that way.
Thanks for all the replies and advice. I just got through boning out and freezing a deer, and I'm determined to have a vacuum sealer ready to go before I do another one.
I hear you cray, we buy bulk as well. Grind our own sausage, hamburger meat, etc. As well as cut larger cut pieces into smaller for later. Although I do freeze fish and shrimp in water. I was looking at the Cabala's unit only because I have their grinder and meat slicer. Very fine products they have and well made. The large dehydrator I have is an Excalibur, which was pricey, but was worth it after going through several cheaper types over the years. Like some have said, I think the bags are an issue. Have to think about that some more.
Well, my wife just came in from shopping with a Foodsaver model 2865 in amongst her loot. So, I guess that's what we'll be using. I haven't even seen it yet so don't know anything about it.
[QUOTE=skiptomylu;2844749]
I also still freeze my fish in water and shrimp in shells will stick a hole in the bag QUOTE]
Skip, I have had problems with them sticking holes in the bags but sometimes I have no other optin b/c I have used all my containers on other shrimp (on great years!). What I have found that does work better, if you have to use bags, is to put the water in FIRST and then put the shrimp in. This has reduced the # of holes that have been punched in bags greatly!
I will add this in. I shot a Axis deer and a Elk one year, probably 2000 and used the old Foodsaver to freeze the meat and the smoked sausage and we were still having some of that 3 years later and it was still great! Sure would like to take another elk again, but my body would only let me do that on a game ranch as I can never walk the mountains hunting now. However sure is a lot of great meat when you shoot a 1000# Elk. Wish I had got a shoulder mount too, but was so big my house wouldn't have had a place so just mounted the horns and even just them they weigh 40 pounds.
[QUOTE=shadow;2845655]Takes longer, but you can also pinch off the tails. That's how I do it.Quote:
Originally Posted by skiptomylu
somehow I knew Danny was a tail pincher lol :Rofl