I have two does filling up my freezer in 3 layers of thick foil and freezer bags. Since christmas is on the way i was thinking about asking the wife for a vacuum sealer. What brand/models work well? I know nothing about these things so any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
How do you freeze your meat??
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TrapperReady
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If you don't freeze yer meat, you can't have any pudding. How can you have any pudding if you don't freeze yer meat?
Sorry
Sorrynewfalguy101
Member
I bought a Rival brand vacuum sealer about three years ago and it was the BEST investment I have ever made.
The only issue I have with mine is the fact that the vac pump uses a small hose to pull the air and as it turns out anything else ( think blood/water) through the pump
makes a nasty mess to clean later when the pump quites pumping.
I learned to use bigger bags and I hit the seal button before the water gets to the sealer strip and vacuum area.
The only issue I have with mine is the fact that the vac pump uses a small hose to pull the air and as it turns out anything else ( think blood/water) through the pump
makes a nasty mess to clean later when the pump quites pumping.I learned to use bigger bags and I hit the seal button before the water gets to the sealer strip and vacuum area.
Lennyjoe
Member
Butchers paper and masking tape.
rwc
Member
We processed a doe last week and all 55 lbs. are now in vacuum bags in my freezer.
We use a Foodsaver V835. It came with canisters (very handy or merinading steaks, watching marshmellows balloon up, etc.) and a canning jar attachment..
One word of caution - do not try to seal liquids. Pre-freezing helps for a lot of things. It keeps liquids from getting sucked into your pump (which can kill it). Somewhat soft items with a lot of air (like crusty bread) will collapse if frozen at room temperature but will survive nicely if pre-frozen. As a test I pre-froze some hamburger buns, then vacuum sealed them. They collapsed like a cheap folding chair and looked horrible. But when I unsealed them and let them thaw to room temperature on their own they "fluffed up" quite a bit. Not back to their original size and smootheness, but not bad. My wife was not amused when I tried to vacuum bag a loaf of her fresh banana bread and it started to flatten out and collapse... Be careful what you test.
I make chicken stock, venison ragout, venison burgundy, etc. in large batches, pre-freeze it in different sized plastic containers and then freeze the blocks. I know folks who make all sorts of things and then freeze them in ice cube trays and seal bags of cubes of stock/pesto/soup/etc..
Another trick for dealing with something that may be damp, but not really wet, is to stuff a paper towel into the bag before sealing it. It will slow the fluids down enough to give you a good seal before you "weeze the juice" so to speak.
You will not regret the investment, but you may find yourself discovering all kinds of things you "need" to seal.
We use a Foodsaver V835. It came with canisters (very handy or merinading steaks, watching marshmellows balloon up, etc.) and a canning jar attachment..
One word of caution - do not try to seal liquids. Pre-freezing helps for a lot of things. It keeps liquids from getting sucked into your pump (which can kill it). Somewhat soft items with a lot of air (like crusty bread) will collapse if frozen at room temperature but will survive nicely if pre-frozen. As a test I pre-froze some hamburger buns, then vacuum sealed them. They collapsed like a cheap folding chair and looked horrible. But when I unsealed them and let them thaw to room temperature on their own they "fluffed up" quite a bit. Not back to their original size and smootheness, but not bad. My wife was not amused when I tried to vacuum bag a loaf of her fresh banana bread and it started to flatten out and collapse... Be careful what you test.
I make chicken stock, venison ragout, venison burgundy, etc. in large batches, pre-freeze it in different sized plastic containers and then freeze the blocks. I know folks who make all sorts of things and then freeze them in ice cube trays and seal bags of cubes of stock/pesto/soup/etc..
Another trick for dealing with something that may be damp, but not really wet, is to stuff a paper towel into the bag before sealing it. It will slow the fluids down enough to give you a good seal before you "weeze the juice" so to speak.
You will not regret the investment, but you may find yourself discovering all kinds of things you "need" to seal.
TrapperReady
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dakotasin - A play on lyrics from Pink Floyd's "The Wall". The title of the thread just made me think of it.
There are two enemies to frozen meat. Temperature -- for every 10F you drop the temperature you double the storage life.So keep your freezer at it's lowest temperature ,going from +10F to 0F makes a big difference ! Oxygen--oxygen in the package gives you "freezer burn" which reduces meat quality.Wrap carefully to try to remove as much air as possible or better , vacuum pack it.
Lupinus
Member
FoodSaver I think makes the best home vacume packers. Just make sure you get a good proper seal on the bag. Fishing trip that ended with some beutiful wild salmon I vacume packed (had a full sized freezer, onea them ones that jsut looks like a fridge, literaly enough salmon to fill a third of it). Most of it lasted me fine for a full year and looked just as good when I thawed the last bag a little over a year later as ones I defrosted after a week. I did loose a ew bags though because I didn't get a good seal. Between the large amount of stuff I was freezing combined with fact I was still new to it led to that. Also be cafeful when you actually put the meat in the bag. Air can sometimes get trapped between it in pockets and as far as the vacume packer is concerened it is ready to seal but your eyes tell you better, so just watch it when you pack.
1911 guy
Member
How I wrap 'um and freeze 'um
Assuming the meat is ready for wrapping, pat it dry with clean towels, paper or cloth. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Grunt, groan, whatever, just squeeze it as much as possible to get any and all air out. Wrap this with butchers paper and masking tape. Label and stuff in freezer for a while. Thaw and consure with great pleasure. Mmmm, Bambi!
Assuming the meat is ready for wrapping, pat it dry with clean towels, paper or cloth. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Grunt, groan, whatever, just squeeze it as much as possible to get any and all air out. Wrap this with butchers paper and masking tape. Label and stuff in freezer for a while. Thaw and consure with great pleasure. Mmmm, Bambi!
Kingcreek
Member
I'm a FoodSaver fan.
I wore out one of the early basic models and last year bought a Pro Turbo. nice features, dual piston vac, really fast and easy. the wife and I use it all the time.
I wore out one of the early basic models and last year bought a Pro Turbo. nice features, dual piston vac, really fast and easy. the wife and I use it all the time.
Ancient Mariner
Member
I use a Foodsaver also and have found I can reduce the loss resulting from a bad seal by over half by doing a double seal on each end of the plastic bag. It may use another inch of the roll for each bag to get the room in the bag for doing this but I think its worth it. I also agree on prefreezing. I put salmon filets on cookie sheets until they are pretty solid then vacuum pack them using the double seal and have kept them for over a year.
stevelyn
Member
I wrap it in plastic wrap and make sure all air is out and the wrap is clinging to the meat. Then it either gets placed in ziplock bags or wrapped in freezer paper.
Gonna do the Foodsaver thing one day though. The gf's family uses one to package a couple hundred pounds or so of king salmon every year.
Gonna do the Foodsaver thing one day though. The gf's family uses one to package a couple hundred pounds or so of king salmon every year.
Like Dakotasin mentioned, venison doesn't last that long at our house, so we use freezer paper and masking tape (for steaks/roasts/ground). If it was going to be in the freezer longer, I'd go with the vacuum packing though, which is what gets done if a nice sized batch of venison jerky is made. We have a foodsaver 1050 and it works great. Super for times when your favorite meats or other items go on sale and you'd like to store them longer. Besides packing food items for the freezer, the bags are pretty heavy quality, so it comes in handy for packaging other things--even gear or items you want to keep dry for your hunt.
MrDig
Member
I freeze my meet when I'm underdressed for the weather.
But Seriously if you need more time to keep the product the Vacuum Packer is the way to go. Black and Decker even makes on now. Saw them at wallyworld
But Seriously if you need more time to keep the product the Vacuum Packer is the way to go. Black and Decker even makes on now. Saw them at wallyworld
Outdoorsman70
Member
Meat
I double wrap my Venison. First in Cling Wrap, then in Freezer Paper.
I double wrap my Venison. First in Cling Wrap, then in Freezer Paper.
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