Who Vacuum Seals Their Meat?

[ElkNut1]

Curious as to how many use vacuum sealers? We tried it years ago but then bags got very expensive & we seemed to get away from it! Nowadays we just wrap cuts in separate baggies, once we get 6-8 baggies we then put them in a large ziplock & seal & in the freezer they go! We've done this for quite a few years now & haven't noticed any difference in the meat when compared to vacuum sealing! Of course my kids tell me I have no taste buds!! (grin) What do you guys/gals do? How does it turnout a year or so later?

ElkNut1

[>>>---WW---->]

Just plain old meat wrapping paper here. But I remember one time when I was rideing with the game warden. We came across a hunting camp that had their own portable meat locker. It was a 16 ft. enclosed trailer with two freezers, a couple of stainless steel cutting tables, and two vacume sealers.

They had five elk on the ground that had already been cut up , sealed, and packed in the freezers. The warden just about pulled his hair out trying to figure out if they had any more meat than just the five elk that he knew of for sure. LOL!

[Lefty]

Meat keeps much longer in vaccuum sealed bags. So anything we dont plan to eat in 3 months is sealed
We also buy the rolls and make our own bags
We had one year where I killed over 100 ducks, an antelope, three deer and an elk,..full freezer the deer , and elk we sealed and some wasnt eaten for well over a year
Ducks had to be eaten as fast as possible to stay with in possession limit,..
Another year over 120 geese killed by me and my daughters and lots of elk meat,.. Ended up giving away 80 lbs of burger and 40 lbs of other cuts
Lots of feasts at work

[WA Backcountry]

I don’t like to vacuum pack the steaks for a few reasons:
It sucks all the blood out of the meet and I feel the steaks are not quite as Juicy
They don’t stack well in the freezer
Expensive to purchase
I only have the Costco vacuum packer and sometimes the seal doesn’t hold.
It takes longer.

I use my vacuum packer for sausage, peperoni and Jerky. I do it in portions that I can throw in my pack and head out.

Hamburger and Breakfast sausage goes in the tubes.

[cnelk]

depends on the meat

burger/steaks - nope. Plastic bags then wrapped with freezer paper

fish - yes

elk sausage/brats - yes

[Magic]

I just got one this year and I love it. I started off with the $169 Cabela's special, but sent it back. I then got a $99 "Wally World" Food Saver, which does a fine job.
The loins were simply sliced into 1" thick steaks and vacuumed 4 per package. The steaks from the quarters were "cubed" and again, vacuumed 4 per package.

[WA Backcountry]

I have been dying to try the cuber. What kind did you get and how well does it work? That is one of my favorite steaks with fried onions.

[Harmy]

I have never used a vacuum sealer personally but have had poor experiences with the end result from meat given to me. I pack all my meat in quart freezer ziplocks and then wrap in freezer paper. I carefully ensure all air is removed before I seal the bag. I have found that even after 3 years the meat is fine. A month ago I had a cooler of frozen halibut and salmon sent to me from Alaska by my aunt. They vacuum packed everything. I found several packages that were not air tight and were badly freezer burned. Those that remained air tight were fine. Most of this fish was from 2010 and 2011. I have used the technique of wraping in serane wrap then in butcher paper. I find that they leak all over the place when thawing out and that they do not last more than a couple of years. The ziplocks hardly ever leak out. I feel they are the best solution I have found so far.

[huntnfolk]

We have vacuum sealed our deer meat for years without any problems. The meat will last for a couple years without any issues. We also vacuum pack salmon and smoked fish. The fish doesn't seem to last as long as the deer meat though.

Whether you vacuum seal or wrap with plastic wrap and paper, the one thing to avoid is frost free freezers. The defrost cycles on those freezers will lead to meat issues faster than anything. Never have meat get freezer burn in the old freezer that I have to defrost by hand once a year. However the newer frost free freezer will get freezer burned meat if the meat is kept in there about a year.

[foxvalley]

I have only used a sealer a couple times,with mixed results.It seems that if the bag developes a pin hole, you loose your vaccum. We just double wrap all our meat first with 18" food service film,(2000' ft roll for about 12 bucks),then freezer paper.

[Magic]

I have been dying to try the cuber. What kind did you get and how well does it work?

That unit is actually a commercial cuber that came from a grocery store that closed and it is shared between friends. I run it through one way then turn it 90 degrees and drop the back through.

This was simply "pan grilled" in Wishbone Italian Dressing and served with a couple of veggies.

[WA Backcountry]

Thanks for the tip on cooking the cube steak. I have not tried using the Italian dressing before. I'm going to pick up a cuber before next season. Oh, and so I'm staying on track with this thread, those appear to stack well in the vacuum bgs in the freezer.

[Herb]

Everything!!

Find a commercial supply for the bags and you will save a bunch of money. I package meat commercially, wouldn't do it any other way.

When packaging, place your similar cuts and grinds in boxes that will fit well in your freezer, then freeze them, the key is to stack the stuff before it is frozen.

On cube steaks, marinade in teriyaki sauce, then grill, awesome.

[Indian Summer]

I'm spoiled because Hamilton Pack in the Bitterroot only charges about $30 to vac seal an entire elk. I like the fact that I can quick thaw in hot water and no freezer burn.

Last year I went to a food prcocessing class. It was interesting to learn that the brand name "Saran" wrap is the only plastic wrap that is not intentionally made to be gas permeable. The others are meant to breath which is good for keeping vegetables and other food items fresh. Same goes for zip lock bags. If you plan to wrap your own that's something to consider. Evaporating moisture results in freezer burn, especially in frost free freezers.

[Herb]

For retail purposes, many of those over wraps breathe to offer the "red" color.