Thinking about buying a vacuum sealer – beginner advice needed

T

tritonas

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Hi everyone! 😊 i hope you re white

I’m new to vacuum sealers and thinking of buying one, but I don’t know much about them yet.

Can anyone share some basic info?
• Are vacuum sealers useful in everyday life?
• Is it worth getting one as a beginner?
• Any simple and reliable models you would recommend?

Thanks a lot!
 
Borzak

Borzak

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I use one all the time. I bought a cheap one from walmart decades ago and still going. Normally not for putting up store bought food in buld but my stuff. You will use a lot more of the stuff for bags than you think you will if you use it a lot. Look for deals on long rolls which will seem like a huge amount and before you know it that roll will be gone.

You can get a home freeze dried machine if you really want to get into keeping stuff. Of course a "good" one starts at $3-4k and up.

But the sealers are super handy when you have only a few ducks to put up. Breast them out and vacumn them down and in the freezer. What I do with all the meat here except for when I have a cow butchered and I let them just do it.
 
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tritonas

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Thanks a lot for the reply! 😊

3k is a bit too much for me for this kind of machine.

I’m mainly thinking about getting a vacuum sealer to store meat when I find it on offer and buy in bulk.

What I’m really worried about is this: if I vacuum seal cooked meat and freeze it, how will it be after I defrost it months later? Will the texture and taste still be good?
 
Lanx

Lanx

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tritonas said:
Thanks a lot for the reply! 😊

3k is a bit too much for me for this kind of machine.

I’m mainly thinking about getting a vacuum sealer to store meat when I find it on offer and buy in bulk.

What I’m really worried about is this: if I vacuum seal cooked meat and freeze it, how will it be after I defrost it months later? Will the texture and taste still be good?
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it'll be about the same, vacuum sealing adds about a year or 2 in the freezer vs just saran wrap

idk how youre going to afford a vacuum sealer w/ 10 euro budget, maybe go google using ziploc bags and water displacement
 
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Borzak

Borzak

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I never have. I only seal up foods like meat and such. I guess I'm old fashing. If you cna't finishe it off in a day or two as left overs cook less next time.

It will take a little practice to get the hang of it. When my girlfriend moved in she would seal up a duck breast or two that are about the size of one mcnugget and she would use a foot or more of bag till she got the hang of it.
 
Borzak

Borzak

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You can use it to seal up your sous vide and let it marinate then just toss it in and let it cook. When done open the bag and brown it/eat. Like overnight or whatever.

I only store ingredients, never something cooked. That seems wrong on so many levels.
 
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tritonas

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Borzak said:
You can use it to seal up your sous vide and let it marinate then just toss it in and let it cook. When done open the bag and brown it/east. Like overnight or whatever.

I only store ingredients, never something cooked. That seems wrong on so many levels.
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dont care about that
 
lurker

lurker

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tritonas said:
Hi everyone! 😊 i hope you re white

I’m new to vacuum sealers and thinking of buying one, but I don’t know much about them yet.

Can anyone share some basic info?
• Are vacuum sealers useful in everyday life?
• Is it worth getting one as a beginner?
• Any simple and reliable models you would recommend?

Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
We've used the FoodSaver brand for years. I think we get a new one every 10 years or so. We're on our third one; they don't last forever. However, our current one is marketed more towards hunters and is called a GameSaver. It's still made by Foodsaver but seems a little more robust. It has lasted longer and we've actually been able to buy parts for it, like the sealing strip, to keep it going.

We use it every day. For us, the most useful feature is the jar sealer attachment they've all come with. My wife bakes bread and all her different flours are vacuum sealed in mason jars. I'll open up a bag of coffee beans. pour a bunch into the espresso machine, and vacuum seal the remainder. In each case, we just open the jar with a coin, take out what we need and seal it back up. Fresh as the day we bought it.

The bags are a little spendy. Buy the rolls and seal your own, don't buy the pre made bags. Say you have a nice chunk of parmesan that you take a piece of and grind up once a week. Make a large bag and when you need, cut it open close to the sealed edge you made. Use the cheese, put it back in the bag and reseal it. If you've done this right, you can get 3 or 4 uses out of the same bag.

Anyway, I highly recommend getting one.
 
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Borzak

Borzak

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Mine is the same brand. I know they have very cheap ones and some very expensive ones. I used the theory it worked and was cheap when it quit working I would buy another. Walmart sells them as well as amazon and such. Maybe the more expensive ones are made for all day use every day or something. Mine gets the job done and was cheap.
 
lurker

lurker

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tritonas said:
aware me on this nikkas
is it good to seal cooked food for meal prep ?
Click to expand...
Not sure what you're asking. We store left-overs or things we've made a bunch of for later use. You can store these items in regular plastic bags if you're going to use them in a day or two, but if you're going to freeze them for a long time, they will last longer in Foodsaver bags because you've removed the air. You need to refrigerate or freeze anything for storage. Putting food in a Foodsaver bag, sucking the air out, and sealing it doesn't mean you can leave it on the counter.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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tritonas said:
aware me on this nikkas
is it good to seal cooked food for meal prep ?
Click to expand...
do you not pay attention, yes b/c it's easy portion control and prevents freezer burn, jeezus christ please go spend some money on an attention span
 
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Haus

Haus

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OK, here is the one I got from Sams here in the US :
www.samsclub.com

FoodSaver 14-Piece Starter Kit with Vacuum Seal Roll and Bags - Samsclub.com

Buy FoodSaver 14-Piece Starter Kit with Vacuum Seal Roll and Bags at Samsclub.com
www.samsclub.com
1773065463050.png

Around $100 USD , but it's been a work horse for YEARS now so I consider it a solid investment. I can now shop around and wait for sales or good prices on meats I want to cook, buy in bulk and freeze them. I get pre-cut replacement bags on Amazon as I get annoyed trying to use the "roll of bag" myself, but your mileage may vary.

tritonas said:
sure why not ?
but for meal prep mostly
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I use one both for meal prep and for long term freezing. If you want to really get the most out of meal prep with it also invest in a sous vide. I can take a frozen pack of cooked brisket and a bag with a frozen lump of mashed potatoes, drop it in the sous vide at 165 or so and have a meal in an hour. No muss, no fuss, minimal clean up. If you want to go serious meal prep and freeze the meals this is the way.

It's what has let me enjoy cooking large briskets in my smoker. I smoke a large brisket, slice it, put 1.5 pounds into each bag, and vac freeze. I do the same with smoked pork chops. That way I do one big smoker run and have meats frozen and ready to heat and eat for a good while. Vacuum sealer + Sous vide will change how you approach cooking.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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Haus said:
OK, here is the one I got from Sams here in the US :
www.samsclub.com

FoodSaver 14-Piece Starter Kit with Vacuum Seal Roll and Bags - Samsclub.com

Buy FoodSaver 14-Piece Starter Kit with Vacuum Seal Roll and Bags at Samsclub.com
www.samsclub.com
View attachment 620667
Around $100 USD , but it's been a work horse for YEARS now so I consider it a solid investment. I can now shop around and wait for sales or good prices on meats I want to cook, buy in bulk and freeze them. I get pre-cut replacement bags on Amazon as I get annoyed trying to use the "roll of bag" myself, but your mileage may vary.


I use one both for meal prep and for long term freezing. If you want to really get the most out of meal prep with it also invest in a sous vide. I can take a frozen pack of cooked brisket and a bag with a frozen lump of mashed potatoes, drop it in the sous vide at 165 or so and have a meal in an hour. No muss, no fuss, minimal clean up. If you want to go serious meal prep and freeze the meals this is the way.

It's what has let me enjoy cooking large briskets in my smoker. I smoke a large brisket, slice it, put 1.5 pounds into each bag, and vac freeze. I do the same with smoked pork chops. That way I do one big smoker run and have meats frozen and ready to heat and eat for a good while. Vacuum sealer + Sous vide will change how you approach cooking.
Click to expand...
dude, he can't even afford to buy $10 protein powder, he can't afford foodsaver
 
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