FoodSaver and other vacuum sealers

[RoadRunner18]

I vacuum sealed approximately 9 pounds of Hickory Smoked Pepper Bacon this morning and I am amazed how efficient and easy this is. And like some of the comments before this one, my sealer is going to get a work out as well!

 

[RemE]

I think I will upgrade to one that handles gallon width bags. My little Ziploc model is quart sized.

I like those re-sealable bags with the valve as well!

 

[Timmy]

I think I will upgrade to one that handles gallon width bags. My little Ziploc model is quart sized.

I like those re-sealable bags with the valve as well!

In the manual/catalog that came with my Foodsaver, you can get canister also, they are like Rubbermaid containers.

 

[mikeytee]

I've had Cabelas and Food Savers brands of sealers. The Cabelas one had stronger suction but always seemed to have issues sealing the bags. The Food Saver brand that I had, I bought for $7 at Savers or Good Will, someplace like that. It worked fine. The problem with all of them is the price of the bags. It's almost $1 per bag. And serious issues sealing anything a little wet.

I finally gave up and bought a real machine. I now own a VacMaster VP321 and a VP230 (the VP230 is small enough to go with me to Canada fishing...) Yes they are expensive. But... The bags end up being around $.07 each. You can seal liquids. All parts are replaceable. Many different bag materials to choose from.

I understand not wanting to spend a lot of money, but when you look at how much gets spent on everything else... (Boats, licenses, trucks, rifles, grills, smokers, etc...) It seems silly to then not want to spend any money preserving the food that you've already spent plenty on.

Short of spending (real) money on a VacMaster Chamber vac. My vote would be to pick up a Food Saver style one for almost nothing at Savers, Good Will, etc. and when it dies, go get another one for under $10. I did that for years until I decided I wanted something better.

View attachment 2853View attachment 2854View attachment 2855View attachment 2856

I'd have to add on another room to put it in

 

[Timmy]

I should be set for a while.

 

[RemE]

I'd normally agree but you are a food machine!

 

[Last-Cast]

I replaced my food saver after 15 years with another one. I found that even though their bags a little more expensive it's worth it.

 

[jp9724]

I should be set for a while. View attachment 3745

I thought about ordering these from amazon too! Let us know how they hold up!

 

[davwhite]

Lucky all of us! i just got a FoodSaver FM5200 2 in 1 for Christmas from my in-laws! used it once for smoked cheese thus far, used both the regular vacuum and the removable cord. Both worked really well! Next up will be testing the marinade option for jerky I think!

Hi jp, when you have time can you do a post on what you do to smoke cheese. So many variants around and I would appreciate seeing what you do, thanks.

 

[jp9724]

Hi jp, when you have time can you do a post on what you do to smoke cheese. So many variants around and I would appreciate seeing what you do, thanks.

Light a smoke tube full of wood products, I used only pellets this time. I have mixed pellets and chips before, works fine. Smoke for a few hours, 2 hours for white cheeses and 3 for orange this time. You can do this in any grill/bbq as long as ambient temp is cool or cold. Here in Canada its a good chunk of the year so i dont worry about it melting.
Vacuum sealed and placed in fridge for long time(4 weeks to 6 depending how it tastes when you check it at 4 weeks). It entirely depends on the cheese and what kinda flavor you like. If you want heavy smoke flavor, longer its In the smoke ect. Its really something you have to experiment to see what you like. Just keep in mind when you take the cheese out of the smoke, its gonna taste like ashtray. It needs to rest for a while before it gets better. The longer it rests, the better it gets.

 

[davwhite]

Thanks, and what size cheeses are you using?

 

[jp9724]

Thanks, and what size cheeses are you using?

I believe these were 400g blocks from walmart

 

[Timmy]

I thought about ordering these from amazon too! Let us know how they hold up!

I ordered the bags because of this....Post in thread 'FoodSaver and other vacuum sealers' https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/foodsaver-and-other-vacuum-sealers.1790/post-13801

 

[Timmy]

My first try at mass vacuum sealing!
Worked out pretty good, didn't screw up any bags either!

 

[RemE]

Great tool!

I like the variety of bags these days as well. For jerky they have nice bags that heat seal on one end and have a ziploc on the other that you cut and can re-seal once opened.