Reheating from a Food Saver bag

[Stevo]

Hey all, I've been using my food saver to seal and store cooked/smoked meats that I want to eat through the week.

Q: Can I microwave the food saver sealed foods directly? Or maybe boil in water?

Thanks!

[BBQCentralShow]

I boil water then drop in with great success...I wouldn't microwave it.

[Spinaker]

I would boil in water.

[randy.56]

I do not think you are suppose to microwave at all. In the water heat not over medium. About a month ago I found in my freezer, some ham that I had vacuum packed in 2015, eat it and was fine, If the water is to hot it will melt the bag and let water in.

[scottranda]

I’ve done microwave but I watch it closely.

[Troutman]

Sous vide circulator

[barelfly]

What’s a good reheat temp with the SV? I thought I saw a comment about this a few weeks back but can’t find where I saw it.

[Troutman]

Depends upon the food you are re-heating. By general rule I always try to reheat just under the temperature it was originally cooked to. If it was a 140* cook, for instance, I'll get it up to about 135* for about an hour or so to let it get up to temperature.

[RonB]

I think 145* is the "safe" temp, but that depends on how long it's swimmin'.

[Steve R.]

I just catch some hot tap water in the kitchen sink and let it heat up in there. Works great.

[DWCowles]

Definitely boiling water.

[T-bone]

Boiling water definitely works. I did that for years. But now the SV is my favorite. No worries of over cooking on the reheat. Never SV over your original cook temp. I usually SV non-steak items to 140-145* so they will stay warm after plating.

[scottranda]

Yep. SV is the best and most precise. I do about 150 on everything but steaks.

[jlazar]

From FoodSaver:

Yes. You can heat cooked foods, such as leftovers, in a FoodSaver® bag. The bags should never be used to cook raw foods. When microwaving, cut open a corner of the bag before putting it in the microwave so steam can escape.

I use the boiling water method if there is time. Best if food is defrosted. But have gone from the freezer to boiling water or microwave without problem, especially for something like soup or a sauce. For microwave, put tiny holes in top with a knife instead of cutting corner if there is going to be a lot of liquid.

[jfmorris]

I reheat meat in the food saver bags both in the microwave, and by dropping bags of things like pulled pork into a pot of boiling water. Never had an issue.

[Stevo]

Thanks everyone. SV is too slow for me, and my MCS muse hasn't moved me to SV cooking (yet). Boiling water sounds good to me, because sometimes reheating in the microwave makes meats tough on the edges, or rubbery. Perhaps because I overcook them. I would think a boneless cooked chicken breast half, not frozen, and sealed in a FS bag, should heat up in 10-15 minutes in boiling water. Does that sound about right?

[jlazar]

I usually go 20 min for a chicken breast due to thickness. Something like 10-15 min for ribs, pulled pork or brisket not layered too thick in the bag.

[RonB]

The problem with microwaving is that the temp of the oils in the food can far exceed the boiling point of water. That can melt the plastic bag. It's the same with other plastic containers. Have you ever noticed that some plastic containers will develop a damaged ring near the top? That ring is caused buy oils in the food that come to the surface and get really hot.
Further, I'm not sure if that hot oil leaches anything out of the plastic container, and since I'm not sure, I don't microwave anything in a plastic container that has any visible oil or solidified fat on the surface.