So I like my vacuum sealer. However, I'm wondering how you get your food into the vacuum sealer bags efficiently without leaking juice on the outside of the bag or wetting the area you plan to make the final seal? Seems like you could make something to pull the bag up onto in an upright position. Then the food could slide in without leaking goop/juice all over the bag. I'm not really talking about a funnel.
Since many of you seem to really use your sealers, I'm curious how you accomplish the job.
I’ve had to wipe it or fold the opening back and over like putting a new trash bag in the can to keep it dry. I have more issues with juices being sucked up from the meat during sealing.
Agreed with snowswamp . Fold the bag back--on the outside--and then fill it. I also sometimes use a widemouth canning funnel to help. If the contents are full of liquid, close the bag and keep it closed with clothes pin and freeze until solid, then suck it. If there aren't many liquids, say, just a juicy steak, I often fold a paper towel to just fit the inside of the bag (picture a paper towel folded crosswise several times and then just wide enough to fit the width of the vacuum bag)and push it down deeply enough that it doesn't interfere with the sealing region. The vacuum bag will necessarily be a couple inches longer than normal to accommodate the folded paper towel.
I fold down a cuff to keep moisture, food particles, and grease off the sealing area.
Also -- you know those flexible cutting boards that are made out of milk jug plastic, but thicker? (Here's an example...) I cut one of those cutting boards into several strips. Each strip is about as wide as the vac bag is wide. I left the strip as long as the cutting board is long. Slip a long strip into the vac bag so about 1/2 of the strip sticks out. Slide the food down the strip into the bag.
When sealing soup or other liquids, I carefully press as much of the air out of the bag as I can without wetting the sealing area. I then manually heat seal the bag without using any vacuum. Works just as good as freezing the soup and then vacuum sealing, with the advantage that I don't have to heat seal a cold bag and deal with any condensation that might ruin the seal.
Equipment
Primo Oval xl
Slow n Sear (two)
Drip n Griddle
22" Weber Kettle
26" Weber Kettle one touch
Blackstone 36†Pro Series
Sous vide machine
Kitchen Aid
Meat grinder
sausage stuffer
5 Crock Pots Akootrimonts
Two chimneys (was 3 but rivets finally popped, down to 1)
cast iron pans,
Dutch ovens
Signals 4 probe, thermapens, chef alarms, Dots, thermapop and maverick T-732, RTC-600, pro needle and various pocket instareads. The help and preferences
1 extra fridge and a deep chest freezer in the garage
KBB
FOGO
A 9 year old princess foster child
Patience and old patio furniture
"Baby Girl" The cat
I use a wide mouth jar canning funnel that prevents liquids from spashing the top of the bag. I also seal liquids like soups or stock the next day in my chamber sealer. The process works great.
I always used to cuff the bags, and recently found this clever trick demonstrated on ground beef and a batch of chili. These are direct links to the technique:
As a side note, the guy in the video (Steve Hall) has a bit of fame behind him, and sadly he passed away recently. I only learned about him because of this video, and he must have had a long list of memories. Quite an entertainer.
Definitely cuff it. If I have soup, chili or liquid to vac seal, I will lay the bag flat in the freezer without sealing. I keep the cuff pointed up so the liquid does not leak out and allow to freeze partially. The cuff can be propped up by the wall or another item in the freezer. Then I vac seal. Premade burgers I just place those on a cookie sheet allow to harden and then seal. Your burgers won't flatten out when sealing.
I haven't tried it yet but it seems as though one of those popcorn machine popcorn scoops you see at movie theaters should work for most items. Your thoughts????
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