We have two weber kettle grills (one LARGE and one small/average), the SnS and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18" smoker. We use both natural lump charcoal and KNB for smoking and measure our temps with a Maverick 733, thermopen and MK4. Favorite beer depends on what is cooking (alt answer is yes).
Stick with something fairly basic. Rarely need or use all the "bells & whistles". The more extra "stuff" you get the more there is to go wrong. I think I remember that some of the more "automatic" ones were a bit of a problem if you want to use something like the dry age steak bags.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
richinlbrg , I have a similar-looking model of Foodsaver (4860), and I love it. I store almost all of my freezer goods in it. My older Foodsaver died after over 10 years of frequent use. It was an entry-level one. I like this one much better.
I bought the model 4980 at Costco when they first went on sale 10-29-15. It replaced a 10-11 year old foodsaver that finally gave up the ghost. I have had limited experience using the new one but one thing is apparent right away, it is much slower at vacuum sealing when using the automatic mode. I use the manual mode instead. One feature I use everyday is the retractable handheld sealer. It works great sealing the special zipper bags they make. Cheese, lunch meat, and other items you use all the time can be opened and resealed very quickly. I'm hoping this model lasts as long as some of my previous foodsavers. I believe this model from Costco has a 5-year warranty.
The foodsavers from Costco and Sam's Club are the same machine. They change the model number depending on whose selling it. Both are on sale right now.
We have two weber kettle grills (one LARGE and one small/average), the SnS and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18" smoker. We use both natural lump charcoal and KNB for smoking and measure our temps with a Maverick 733, thermopen and MK4. Favorite beer depends on what is cooking (alt answer is yes).
OK, we actually got two 4980s. #1 thought it looked and sounded like a good idea, so she got one for us, too. We've been so far behind, I just opened ours and used it for the first time today. Got a big tenderloin at Costco, cut it into individual steaks and bagged them in pairs.
Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
Thought I'd throw this into the discussion. I use a Cabelas brand vaccum sealer. I believe it's a commercial or heavy duty model, all stainless steel. It's a double piston pump and works great for us. I fish a lot. During tuna season, I go through at least 100' of 11" wide bag rolls. Bluefin, yellowfin, yellowtail, duck, quail, pheasent, dove, and grocery store buys all work great. I can keep fish about as close to fresh for a year no problem in the freezer. The best price I've found for bag material is through Cabelas. I use this:http://www.cabelas.com/product/cabel...aler+bag+rolls
And the rolls work for foodsaver brand sealers just fine. About $15 for 50'. Best price I've found. When on sale, I pick up about 10 boxes for even cheaper. Just thought I'd throw this experience into the discussion...
Zip Loc brand has come out with bags (rolls) for the vacuum sealers. I just used it for the first time today--so no pluses or minuses to report yet, aside from the fact they seem a bit sturdier than Food Saver brand and were a bit cheaper too.
Retired high school teacher and principal
Dr ROK - Rider of Kawasaki &/or rock and roll fan
Yoder 640 on Husker themed comp cart
Cookshack Smokette smoker
Antique refrigerator smoker
Weber 22 1/2" kettle w/ GrillGrates AND Slow and Sear
Rec Tec Mini Portable Tailgater w/ GrillGrates
Plenty of GrillGrates
Uuni wood pellet oven, first generation
Roccbox Pizza Oven
Meater Block
"Go Big Red" Thermopen instant read thermometer
Ultrafast instant read thermometer
CDN quick read thermometer
Maverick ET-732 thermometer
Maverick ET-735 thermometer
Tru-Temp wireless thermometer
Infrared thermometer (Mainly use for pizza on the Uuni and Roccbox)
Beverages - Is there really anything other than Guinness? Oh yeah, I forgot about tequila!
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I've been looking for bags other than the Foodsaver brand because my vacuum sealed smoked sausages leak fat to the outside when stored in the freezer for a month or more. I've never seen that before.
Maybe I'll give Willy 's or Dr ROK 's suggestions a try.
I finally bit the bullet and bought a chamber sealer. Wow! Once you get one of these there's no going back. Still have my foodsaver but haven't used it since the chamber sealer arrived. Here's the one I got: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-...VMASVP112.html
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Thanks for the additional info, mgaretz . I'm going to work or a rationalization. I don't sous vide, but longer, safer food storage is definitely right up my alley.
I have this model of Foodsaver and love it. Used it for pulled pork, pulled beef, brisket, ham, chicken, ribs, sausages, fatties, soups. Works well with all.
The quart bags or rolls are the ones we use 90% of the time. Pint bags are really too small. I wouldn't freeze that small of a portion. Would just use Ziploc instead. You need at least a roll of gallon size for large items but not used that often.
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