Vacuum Sealers

P

Pangaea

Member
I'm looking to buy one and wondering whether anyone has a favorite brand. Are the Costco ones any good?
 
Ya they do the job. I obviously prefer to tak it in and get it done by a professional machine, but in a pinch those ones will work.
 
"Foodsaver" is the brand name, and they work well
i bought a cheapy at crappy tire for 69.95 and it didn't
work. Took it back and bought the "foodsaver" for 139.95
and it's great !
 
Yes the Food saver one is a good value for the money. Friend of our has one and it has excellent suction! My parents bought a very expensive Vacuum packer, made in Italy,forgot the name of it, can use very wide bags wider than the Food saver ones, however the Food saver one from Costco had better suction than the expensive, Italian made one!!.... I would have to suggest the Food saver from Costco, best value for the money. I totally agree, Don't waste your money or time on the cheap ones.... had a cheap one once.. money down the drain, ended up throwing it away... do it right the first time put that money towards some thing that's good..
 
There is another option! You don't need a vacuum sealer... this will put vacuum sealers out of business! All you need is new large zip lock freezer bags and a bucket of water..! Put your fish/meat in a large zip lock bag and some water in it if you like, I prefer to add some water, submerge the whole bag under water up to the zipper! some like to even submerge the zipper, all the air inside the bag rises out!! seal the bag underwater or at the water line! done.. natural vacuum packed zip lock!! Zero air inside! Box of 30 Zip Lock or Glad bags for $3! and a bucket of water.. make sure you use NEW bags.. I've tried re used ones and they more often than not fail... I have a few zip locks done this way in the freezer that are 2-3 years old with Zero freezer burn.. and they look like they were just frozen!
 
Thanks all for the tips. I just tried the submerge and zip technique this evening. Is it ok to add a bit of water? I've always dried my fillets carefully before sealing - worried about that spring smell... I mentioned to my wife that I was thinking about a vacuum sealer, and she got all excited(!) I guess there's one in my future:D
 
Tell me if I'm wrong in doing this, and I'm sure you will:D, but I dry the fillets, wrap them tightly in the flimsy 'film wrap' then into a freezer baggy, with as little air as possible, then into the freezer. The film wrap seems to hold off the burn for quite some time. Works well with steaks etc.

Tom
 
I usually add some water to the bag, helps to submerge the bag and preserves the fish, the fish steak is 70%-80% water any ways, a little bit of water can't hurt as long as it freezes quick.. getting all the air out is the key.. Works great for prawn tails! several hand full of prawn tails in a zip lock, add some water, zip under water and freeze flat and you can stack them up, saves lots of freezer space and lasts for years.... zero freezer burn.. frozen in water with no air! last longer than just vacuumed packed I find... If you have it in your freezer for a longer time I found vacuumed packed items gets tossed around in your freezer and is prone to punctures, as soon as air gets in, your done,, freezer burn, I lost several packs cause of vacuum packing... zip lock bags in water with no air in is pretty damn good..
 
If your worried about bad fishy taste in salmon meat, when your cooking it or canning it, add a half tea spoon of white vinegar to each can or brine... it takes away that bad fishy taste! [B)]
 
Thought I would comment on this as being a chef as well water can only freeze to a temp of -0 it cant get any colder than that, when you do the zip lock way you have completly sealed the product you are freezing because even if puntured after frozen the water has sealed it complety freezer burn is created by AIR and Air only ive had fish in the freezer 2 years and at it and you would have thought it was fresh!!!!! water aint going to hurt the fish (where did it come from LOL) I also do it also for prawns and grouse we shoot up north

Good luck Wolf
 
Pangaea,

The FoodSaver Professional II is a really good vacuum sealer to get. I am not sure if Costco still sells them or not but definitely get the large bulk vacuum sealer bags from Costco since they are the cheapest in $. You will really notice the difference in your fish from the freezer. It's worth the money.

Hyde-N-Seek.
 
I totally agree with Hide-N-Seek. The Foodsaver Pro II is the ticket. Mine also came with a wide mouth sealing cap for jars, as well as a wine vacuum attachment. They also have obvious applications. I know that foodsaver makes cheaper models but I can only strongly recommend the Pro II. eman
 
I quickly process all my fish with the Foodsaver when I'm at home. In Port Hardy there's a great processing outfit that's even better (hey, they have the best equipment). None of my fish goes off, and it tastes great! No wasted burnt fish. To keep fish past a year or so, I'm about to learn how to can fish. But I don't catch enough fish to need much canning. This year I did catch some socks that I may can.
 
I recommend putting your fish on cookie sheets and into the freezer for a couple of hours before vacuum sealing. This freezes the juices and keeps them from getting sucked into your sealer. It is this liquid that will kill your sealer.

I am happy with my Foodsaver.

Tips
 
for the zip loc method how much water are u putting in, just enough for a light coating?
tks
 
what about the oil from smoked fish , how do you stop that from getting in your sealer??? pat dry maybe?
 
quote:Originally posted by wolf

Thought I would comment on this as being a chef as well water can only freeze to a temp of -0 it cant get any colder than that, when you do the zip lock way you have completly sealed the product you are freezing because even if puntured after frozen the water has sealed it complety freezer burn is created by AIR and Air only ive had fish in the freezer 2 years and at it and you would have thought it was fresh!!!!! water aint going to hurt the fish (where did it come from LOL) I also do it also for prawns and grouse we shoot up north

Good luck Wolf
Click to expand...

Wrong! Wolf with all due respect I know for a FACT that commercial Ice chips or flaked as it is refered to in the commercial industry that is supplied to fish boats in particular is SALTED ice the difference being that the melting point of this ice is about -2 deg C a small difference to be sure but it makes a difference in the storage of fresh fish salted flaked ice is far superior in the presevation of fresh seafood than regular ice.

I am in the commercial refrigeration/ HVAC industry over 20 yrs exp
I have serviced a few ice makers in my time.

Lastly water can be made to freeze at many temps below 0 c you just have to add the right chemicals salt is perfect for food products.
 
Your talking about 2 different applications im talking about home not commercial and we are talking about putting a little bit of water in the bag to seal it off!!! how does food freezer burn??? simple oxygen so if you submerge something in water it cant get penatrated,think of that guy they found somewhere in the mountains and he was frozen solid in a block of ice for 100,000 years and when the thawed him out his hair was even in tact sure they didnt put salt on him first :Dcommercially yes i would love salted ice but im talking home. thanks

Good luck Wolf
 
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