Vacuum Sealer

[Bill B]

Any suggestions on a vacuum sealer?  Are they all about the same?  Thank you for your input. Bill

[Wompus Cat]

Unless you are doing Commercial amounts of Packaging just use a Good  Quality Zip Lock Freezer Baggy and a straw . Works fine .
I have bought nearly every brand of home use sealers and they all only last a while. Not worth the money spent and seems like every brand uses a different seal bag ...lol Maybe they have better ones today .
I would invest in another IF they have improved and under 200 bux.

[Swami805]

I've had this food saver for quite a long time and has held up well. I think I just got lucky with this one though, the first couple crapped out after a few years.

[philaroman]

Unless you are doing Commercial amounts of Packaging just use a Good  Quality Zip Lock Freezer Baggy and a straw . Works fine .

finger-sausage nozzle from broken meat grinder, duct-taped to weak dust-buster 

[Brewcrafter]

Bill - I have a Food Saver, and do clean fish but here is where I am at currently:
If you have the option for professional processing (like on your upcoming San Diego trips) - DO IT.  And I spend the extra coin for the thicker material; it really makes a difference.
For trips on my buddies boat, if it is a lot of fish, yes we fire up the vacuum sealer.  Mine is a household model Food Saver and does "OK".
Something else that works really well for us if you only have a few fish - heavy duty ziplocks are recommended - is we fill a 5 gallon bucket with water, and then the guy bagging the fish zips the bag most of the way, but then immerses the bag in the bucket (keeping the open part above water of course) and "massages" the bag of fillets and then finishes zipping the bag.  The pressure of the water in the bucket outside of the bag presses it in and forces most of  the air out, the "massaging" helps break up pockets of air trapped between fillets.  With a little attention to detail it works pretty well in a pinch.

[Maxed Out]

 Food saver is ok if you only use it minimally. I lost count of how many sealers I killed. I was cutting steaks for our bar and fish too. Finally bit the bullet and got a mini-pak Torre mvs31x chamber sealer. Bulk pre cut 4 or 5 mil bags are very inexpensive. This sealer also does retort bags for canning my fish. In 12 years of use, I saved money by not having to buy a cheap sealer every year.

[jzman]

I own the cheapest chamber vacuum sealer that I bought on Ebay for I think about $325.  Bought it 6 years ago and still works very well.  Only gripe is that it smelled like cheap plastic when I first got it.  This is exactly the one I have:

Well known brand of chamber vacuum sealer is Vacmaster.  Vacmaster's cheapest sealer regularly on sale for $700 if I remember correctly.  Cheapest maybe $500.

Thoughts on Chamber vs Food Saver
-Chamber is going to be more expensive and take a up a lot more space.  Chamber however, is more durable and repairable.
-Chamber vacuum bags are cheaper.  Usually 50% or cheaper than the price of food saver bags of the same size.
-Chamber requires more maintenance: break-in and regular vacuum pump oil change, the nickel heating element burns out, etc.
-Food Saver you can vacuum pack longer items if you use the vacuum sheet roll.  Chamber is whatever fits in the chamber.
-Chamber vacuum settings: You have to customize the vacuum, seal, and rest time (before air release).  Usually trial and error.

Best to try to find a used one on Craigslist.  I even saw one or two ads on bdoutdoors once.  Sometimes restaurants and food processing companies go out of business and you can score one on the cheap.  Might be more than what you need though.

[Wompus Cat]

If you got the Dough Go For  The Pro.

BIG BUX MACHINE

If you just do a Few . Here is what to Do


Straw Way

Or


Or Combine Water Way With Straw Way

Flash Freezing is THE BEST WAY FOR ANYTHING If you have a way to do it !

For Fish and Poultry I put the Fillets in a baggy ,fill it with water ,add a little salt , and either use the Water Method  or straw.

With Meats like Steaks and  Chicken Breasts I double wrap in plastic wrap individually  (makes it easy to get one or two out for a meal) then use one of the posted economy methods .

BIG chunks of Meat like Pork Butts, Roasts, Venison Leg Quarters, Hams,Briskets etc.

Double Wrap in plastic wrap then double wrap in Butchers Paper.

Did a Brisket that way and Four Years later it was still GOOD .

Yep it had a Few fringe areas that turned a little brown but not much and easily Trimmed off with a knife.

Another thingy to consider is What type of Freezer and length of time you intend to keep frozen .
In my experience the old No Frost Free Freezers are Much better for keeping things for long periods  as the Frost Free Freezers tend to Dry out the Foods because of the Frost Free Defrost Cycles . ( FACT JACK ).

Of course like Sub Way  Commercials say EAT FRESH is the Best Way for Food Consumption.