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MCS or practicality?...a vacuum sealer

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    MCS or practicality?...a vacuum sealer

    I have only learned how to BBQ low and slow meat this summer and I now find myself making large chunks of meat and there is only my wife and I. I love the cheap delicious cuts but I have a new problem to deal with - lots of left overs. I need a strategy for saving and reheating meat. Also, I've only had the sous vide a few days but I can see some of the benefits of a vacuum sealer there as well - batch cooking chicken breasts for sandwiches for example.

    My current option will be to freeze individual servings but don't see that working well for lunches at work. Also not a fast way to reheat.

    I'd like to know your thoughts on how much you actually use a vacuum sealer once the novelty wears off.

    Compare the time, effort and quality of vacuum sealing individual servings against individual portions ziplocked into the freezer. How much better is the meat when reheated comparing vacuum in the fridge vs displacement method in the freezer?

    Counselling services greatly appreciated.

    #2
    I love my vacuum sealer! It just stays on my countertop because I use it so often.

    Comment


      #3
      I use a vacuum sealer a lot, so much that I purchase 50' rolls to make bags Much more
      economical than pre- made bags. E-bay or amazon is my source. I use it often.

      Comment


        #4
        Ok, now I'm talking to myself! Assuming I don't have a vacuum sealer and I freeze individual servings in ziplocks using the displacement method.

        I just re-read Meatheads material on Freezing and Heating Leftovers as well as Thawing Meats. In the article on thawing he mentions a hot bath option for thawing.

        "4) Hot water bath (for thin cuts only). A USDA sponsored research project published in mid 2011 showed that you can thaw a 1" thick steak in a 102°F"

        So do I understand this correctly? I an freeze an individual serving of anything - roast/chicken/ribs/steak - and as long as it is sliced less than an inch and I can go directly from freezer to hot tub?

        Then I ask the obvious, could the SV be set to say 145 so that it goes directly from frozen to thawed and then heated for serving right in the ziplock bag?

        Not a bad solution for meals at home. Doesn't solve the lunches at work.

        Comment


        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          You've got the SV for at home. Get a sealer - you'll use it. For lunch, if there's some kind of pan you can warm water in, put the sealed bags into it a relatively low temp (150 or so). This is a practicality in your situation with only two of you.

        • Hugh
          Hugh commented
          Editing a comment
          Sorry EdF, I replied to your comment in the wrong spot below to Ddecker.

        #5
        I SV straight from frozen.

        Comment


        • Hugh
          Hugh commented
          Editing a comment
          Outstanding. I am liking this Anova.

        • Ddecker
          Ddecker commented
          Editing a comment
          Yeah I use Anova too. It works great. For Foodsaver, I got the 2 in 1 from Costco. 5480 is the model. So far so good but have only had that about 3 weeks(2 briskets and a turkey). Before that I was using ziplock bags with the SV.
          Last edited by Ddecker; August 25, 2017, 03:10 PM.

        • Hugh
          Hugh commented
          Editing a comment
          No pan to heat water at work. Have access to a fridge. there is a microwave but there is a long line up for it. I've just been eating the cafeteria food. I'm thinking home made sandwiches and salads now. Between purchasing bulk, SV and vacuum, seems like a doable strategy.

        #6
        Thx guys. Im looking at the Foodsaver. Keep it simple or spend the extra on features like 2 in 1?

        Comment


          #7
          My wife kicked it off the counter so I do not use it as much as I want because sometimes I just say screw it and freeze something in the package. I use mine a good amount. For me I will mostly freeze salmon and then when I get home I throw it in the sous vide. It takes and hour to thaw and such but I usually go watch tv or do something else so I do not count it as cook time. Then after just pull it out of the bag season and sear like 3 min a side. Also I like vacuum sealing for when whole tenderloins go on sale. 9.99 a lb I trim them up and make as big of steaks as I want then vacuum seal it. The trimmings go in beans or a good stir fry. I want to do it with whole ribeye some day but they are very heavy so not made the investment.

          Comment


          • EdF
            EdF commented
            Editing a comment
            If you have fridge space for it, get an Umai bag (https://umaidry.com/) and dry age for 35 days. Slice into steaks and bag individually. You won't regret it.

          #8
          Zip lock use to make fresh saver bags but have stopped and gone full vacuum now. So food-saver is your only option (that I know of) that has both Fresh saver and vacuum saver bags. Whats the difference you wonder well the fresh saver are zip lock type bags that have a port on the side that allow the air to be sucked out once sealed.I use these for lunch meat, Keeping butter from taking on the fridge smell and leftovers that I know will be eaten quickly they are of course reusable (thus perfect fr lunch meat and cheese) and vacuum bags are well vacuum bags. The food saver vac's work on both (so no water displacement needed) I actualy use the fresh saver bags way more than the vacuum.

          Comment


          • Nate
            Nate commented
            Editing a comment
            I have the little hand held pump from ziploc.

          #9
          Click image for larger version

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          Comment


          • Hugh
            Hugh commented
            Editing a comment
            That looks interesting Ed. I've read about but never tried more aged beef.

          • Oakgrovebacon
            Oakgrovebacon commented
            Editing a comment
            That looks absolutely amazing

          #10
          One report I saw says vacuum sealed beef and poultry can be stored up to 2 weeks in the fridge versus 1-2 days non-vacuum sealed.

          If you were to compare the flavor/quality of 10 day old food reheated from the fridge vs the freezer, what would be your assessment?

          Comment


            #11
            Practicality be damned! MCS, feed the need!

            Comment


            • Hugh
              Hugh commented
              Editing a comment
              Yep. A man needs his toys.

            #12
            Can't answer that one as we don't usually vac pac leftovers unless they are going in freezer. I do know that if I buy a big block of cheese and cut it in smaller pieces, the vacuum sealed ones don't mold while the zip loc portions better get eaten within a week. I've been using vacuum sealers for many years for LOTS of things. Process all of my own game, fish, as well as bulk purchased commercial meats. I do 20#-40# of bacon at a time and vacuum pack the end product in 1# bags. My wife has about 200# of peaches, pears, apples and blueberries vacuum packed (seriously) for next years smoothies and desserts. She dries a lot of fruits as well as cherry tomatoes all of which gets vacuum packed and then frozen. She also cooks gallons of tomato sauce from garden produce, freezes it in quart plastic containers then pops them out & vacuum packs them. Vacuum bags stand up to shuffling around the freezer better than plastic containers. As long as the vacuum is not compromised, the freezer life is phenomenal!!! I have found packages of vacuum packed meat in my freezer that was older (years older) than I care to admit on a public forum that was still fine. In our household the vacumm sealers are an absolute necessity. We always have at least one backup unit on hand in case one wears out. Probably should have bought a commercial unit years ago.

            Comment


              #13
              You're lucky! You can feed MCS, AND buy something practical at the same time. I use my sealer all the time.

              Comment


                #14
                So, it's unanimous. Feed the flame!

                Comment


                  #15
                  To seal or not to seal that is the question. Answer: I love the Foodsaver, have been using for Fresh Fish for a long time.

                  Comment

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