Tip for vacuum packing deer/hog

[Smoke4320]

Please any tips would be appreciated
One question any advantage to plastic/ Saran wrapping meat before vacuum sealing

[MyFlatline]

Pat dry as best you can and suck er down. Have on occasion added a papertowel to help adsorb moister but that is mainly with seafood. Just make sure it stays sealed and you will have no problems..

[BK7saum]

I've been vacuum sealing my game for about 20+ years. Just place the meat in the bag and seal. Less moisture on the meat can help get a better seal. I package mine as an uncut or whole muscle/muscle group. All the air is pulled out and I activate the seal before the liquid gets pulled to the heat sealer.

Vacuuming hamburger or cut up/sliced meat is more difficult because of air trapped between the cuts of meat. That is where patting dry really helps. I still don't vacuum seal catfish. Ziplock bag and water for it. It is recommended to fold a paper towel inside the bag near the sealing end when vacuuming items with a lot of liquid.

One tip for items with a lot of liquid, let the bag hang over the edge of the counter. Gravity is a big help for getting the air to the top to be vacuumed out.

Good luck. I vacuum seal from a roll to custom cut bags. I find the larger bags are a bit of a waste to me as they are much larger than needed or not quite big enough sometimes. You'll see what I mean if you try the precut bags. Lol.

[archeryrob]

As said dry and can be is best. I have set roasts on the racks my wife cooks birds on to air dry a bit. Semi wet and par-freezing on trays helps. Ours has a moist setting, but I don't trust it.

If moisture starts wicking toward it press seal.
If water got in, I dry out the open part of the bag left and do a second seal.
I do a second seal on everything just in case.
Seal your bottom seal and let it set a minute to cool before sealing the top with vacuuming. I normally cut a few so they can set and start back on the first one.

I buy 8" and 11" bags as BK7 said and trim to the length the special cut needs. I did deer ham and needed 8" bags 7" long and cut a bunch.

[BK7saum]

One advantage of the rolls is that I sealed an entire cooked brisket in a 15 inch wide bag made from a roll. The bag that I made must have been about 2 ft long, but the friend that I cooked and packaged it for transported it out of state on vacation and heated it up when they got to their destination

[Omega]

For venison burger patties I partially freeze them before sealing, that way they don't get deformed. I've used most of the techniques listed above, they work. One thing I also learned is to make sure the bag is even with the sealing chamber, I place a small cutting board under the bag, that way I can press on ground meat, to flatten it, it helps work the air out.

[tja6435]

Food saver bags are not air tight. Eventually the food within will become freezer burnt. Mylar bags made in the USA let less than 1 gram of air in over 30yr period. I have found Mylar vastly superior to the food saver bags, but the food saver machines will not seal Mylar, you'll need a vac sealer that can handle Mylar.

[BK7saum]

I have had no issues with FoodSaver brand or Cabela's brand or generic vacuum seal bags letting air in except for when they get jostled around in the freezer and end up with pin holes in the bags. That is when the meat can get freezer burn in my experience. I have cooked vacuum sealed venison that was 3 years old. It was sealed just as tight as when I put it in the freezer.

[Omega]

Food saver bags are not air tight. Eventually the food within will become freezer burnt. Mylar bags made in the USA let less than 1 gram of air in over 30yr period. I have found Mylar vastly superior to the food saver bags, but the food saver machines will not seal Mylar, you'll need a vac sealer that can handle Mylar.

I've had no problem with the current bags from Food Saver, the textured ones. The older slick bags sometimes would not evacuate all the air, but they sealed fine. Only time mine break the vacuum, is when moisture gets in the seal, or a bone pokes a hole, and a double seal takes care of the first issue. I've found 5 year old venison with no freezer burn, and no discernable taste difference.

[WebMonkey]

+1 ^^
no need to wrap first unless you're blunting a sharp bone protrusion.

good luck/eating.

[archeryrob]

I just bought these bags at Amazon and going to try them. Guys at Smokingmeats.com said they were using them and they worked in food savers and saved money. You need to save an old roll and roll half on the empty roll to get them in the top of the food saver. I'll report back after killing another one and trying them out. Actually still got food saver bags to finish off. Food saver bags are 20' and these are 50' and its 100' of 11" bags for $20 with tax.

I sealed front shoulders years back like BK7 said. I got tired of that big bulk in the freezer and either grind them or debone and string tie for roasts.

[Smoke4320]

archerybob
Thanks for the link ...4 mil bags are even better .and 100 ft for $20.00 is real good

[dverna]

Be careful of some of the generic bags. Some report they do not seal well or of holes when stored and jostled.

The ones made by OutOfAir have the best reviews I have seen:

https://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Sealer.../dp/B01GSOXAXU

[Smoke4320]

dverna .. Thanks for that heads up.. Looks like some very good reviews ..
anytime I see that many 4 and 5 star reviews and no negatives it turns out to be a good product
and the thickest material I have seen yet

[dverna]

Smoke,

I have not used them yet so cannot attest to their quality but I am looking to buy them. Best I have found so far just hammering away at the keyboard. They also make them in 100 ft rolls but that size will not fit in the Foodsaver machine.

Good luck!

[Lloyd Smale]

ive ate meat in food savor bags that's been in the freezer for two years with no freezer burn what so ever.

Food saver bags are not air tight. Eventually the food within will become freezer burnt. Mylar bags made in the USA let less than 1 gram of air in over 30yr period. I have found Mylar vastly superior to the food saver bags, but the food saver machines will not seal Mylar, you'll need a vac sealer that can handle Mylar.

[talon7825]

Very rarely do I have a issue with my food saver, out of freezer into microwave or boiling water. Have to admit nothing usually makes it over 3 years.