Rag Horn Report post Posted June 17, 2017 I picked up a "Food Saver" vacuum sealing setup. I have done a small to moderate amount of research but am looking for some lessons maybe you guys learned the hard way that I could learn the easy way. You know the kind of stuff YouTube can't teach you. I bought it to preserve some chicken we buy in bulk. Also plan to use it on the monster elk that will be hitting the dirt early December. Any other uses you guys have come across. Thanks for the help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daryl_s Report post Posted June 17, 2017 For chicken I like to use quart size glass jars and a pressure cooker. It is very easy to do and it is good for a few years on the shelf. I can fit about 2 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken per jar and I can do 7 jars at a time. Open a jar of chicken, heat it up with salsa verde and you have some very quick burritos. I've also done this with beef and it works great. Open a jar and heat it up with bbq sauce and you have shredded beef hamburgers in less than 10 minutes. It makes a great quick and easy camping meal. With the canned meats you don't have to worry about freezer burn or power outages. I recently lost a freezer of game meat because my 7 year old unplugged it to plug in his electric razor scooter Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rag Horn Report post Posted June 17, 2017 We do lots of canning chicken with my parents and we love it. It is so easy and so good. This food saver is a second option. Sorry to hear about the freezer. 😕 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted June 17, 2017 2 things, be sure to get all the air out, I try to help by pre squeezing air out of pockets or anywhere you can. Even pre wrap some foods like fish in plastic wrap. Also after packing protect with newspaper in freezer, number one issues is bags getting banged together and getting holes. Oh and label even if you don't think you need to. Haha I have many mystery meats !!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rag Horn Report post Posted June 17, 2017 2 things, be sure to get all the air out, I try to help by pre squeezing air out of pockets or anywhere you can. Even pre wrap some foods like fish in plastic wrap. Also after packing protect with newspaper in freezer, number one issues is bags getting banged together and getting holes. Oh and label even if you don't think you need to. Haha I have many mystery meats !!! Good tips. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rag Horn Report post Posted June 17, 2017 2 things, be sure to get all the air out, I try to help by pre squeezing air out of pockets or anywhere you can. Even pre wrap some foods like fish in plastic wrap. Also after packing protect with newspaper in freezer, number one issues is bags getting banged together and getting holes. Oh and label even if you don't think you need to. Haha I have many mystery meats !!! Good tips. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azslim Report post Posted June 17, 2017 the bags are the most expensive part of the deal, I cut mine long, write what it is on the flap above the seal since that is the part that is cut off, then just wash and reuse. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted June 17, 2017 My son gave me one a couple of years ago and I just started using it this year. One thing I found is to make sure I have enough extra plastic sticking out or it does not pull all the air out. I am just about out of bags too, where is the best place to get them? Before I started using it would use freezer paper but I found that putting meat in plastic wrap and getting as much air out as possible before putting it in a freezer bag will prevent almost any freezer burn. I just thawed out some dove that was six months old and was not burnt at all. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnSWA Report post Posted June 17, 2017 One other thing that helps prolong the life of your food saver is to put a paper towel before the edge that you close the door on to prevent fluid from entering your vacuum chamber which can be a pain to clean out. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
el diablo Report post Posted June 17, 2017 My son gave me one a couple of years ago and I just started using it this year. One thing I found is to make sure I have enough extra plastic sticking out or it does not pull all the air out. I am just about out of bags too, where is the best place to get them? Before I started using it would use freezer paper but I found that putting meat in plastic wrap and getting as much air out as possible before putting it in a freezer bag will prevent almost any freezer burn. I just thawed out some dove that was six months old and was not burnt at all. Wally World has the variety pack of rolls. I've been packing all my game meat with mine for a coiple yrs now. Takes more time but well worth it. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MULEPACKHUNTER Report post Posted June 17, 2017 We get our bags in big rolls on Amazon 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elkaddict Report post Posted June 17, 2017 I've bought bags at Walmart and eBay, easy to check prices online. One tip I could give is take the time to seal each side twice, makes sure it doesn't loose its seal. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PRDATR Report post Posted June 17, 2017 One other thing that helps prolong the life of your food saver is to put a paper towel before the edge that you close the door on to prevent fluid from entering your vacuum chamber which can be a pain to clean out. Yeah, I don't like when it does that but didn't think it could be taken apart. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
More D Report post Posted June 17, 2017 As mentioned before. ... Seal twice on each end. Use only food saver brand bags. My wife just made two elk roasts from November 2015 and they were delicious 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave Price Report post Posted June 17, 2017 Pre-freezing moist items then bagging them is the best way to avoid getting liquids inside the FS'er. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
