[denny]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the advice.

I bought a bottom of the line Foodsaver at Bimart for about $50.  I've been using it for several years now and I'm pleased with it.

[mikeypedersen]

That is one of the things that make the vacuum sealer pay for itself.  If some cuts of  meat  are on sale, my wife gets 2 or 3 times what she normaly would, fixes some for dinner, and seals up the rest for the freezer.   

+1 there.  I will buy ground beef in bulk and seal it freeze it.  Plus, when pork chops, or chicken breast, or just about anything else goes on sale buy a bunch and seal it up.  It really does save a lot of money.  It's also great for when roasts are on sale and you can make a bunch of pulled pork or beef and then freeze that along with some sauce.

Not to mention the huge bonus for having lots of hops on hand all the time.

[dean]

I just ran out of foodsaver bags, we broke down 1/4 pound of both Columbus and Cascade.  We're making bbq porkloin today and half of it or so  will need to be vacsealed so going to the store for more.  Love this machine... it even has a marinator attachment!   

[babalu87]

Another +1 on the Foodsaver

A tip for freezing meats.
Partially freeze the meat first, then it holds its shape AND liquids. Prevents having to clean up the vacuum channel

[denny]

GREAT idea!  Thanks!

[blatz]

Another +1 on the Foodsaver

A tip for freezing meats.
Partially freeze the meat first, then it holds its shape AND liquids. Prevents having to clean up the vacuum channel

wow.  that is brilliant.  thanks!

[ndcube]

Another +1 on the Foodsaver

A tip for freezing meats.
Partially freeze the meat first, then it holds its shape AND liquids. Prevents having to clean up the vacuum channel

wow.  that is brilliant.  thanks!

Suddenly I feel like a Guinness.

[enso]

I'm late to the thread, but let me add this. Don't waste the money on the Zip-Loc one. The bags are very hit and miss. I've found that if any hop dust gets anywhere near the "suck-hole", it will never properly seal. I'm getting a Foodsaver model in the near future as i tend to buy meat in bulk when its on sale.

Not to mention they do not seem to be available anymore.  Or is it the Reynolds?  Can't remember.  I have one of them.  It has the battery eating operated vacuum.  All local stores still carry the vacuum but no bags?!

They worked well enough.  Some were hit or miss but it was a cheap solution for a while.

I guess next season I will need a new system, but every review I read about all the various $$ brands (foodsaver,  seal-a-meal, deni, rival, etc...) out there are pretty uninspiring.  All seem to have there issues. Whether expensive bag material or ineffective sealing.  It seams like you need to spend a few hundred dollars!

Guess that is why I went with the $10 solution to begin with.  Wish the still sold the bags.

 

[charlie]

I like the Sorbent Systems VS280. Had mine for almost a year and no problems. Advantage is it will seal Mylar oxygen barrier bags which the seal-a-meal type won't.

http://sorbentsystems.com/sinbosealer.html

Charlie

[bspisak]

I like the Sorbent Systems VS280. Had mine for almost a year and no problems. Advantage is it will seal Mylar oxygen barrier bags which the seal-a-meal type won't.

I assume the snorkel is what gives the machine the ability to seal mylar bags. Is it hard to pull a tight vacuum on loose things like pellet and leaf hops? Would the channel type bags that FoodSaver uses do better?

Brian

[dean]

I've got some larger mylar bags, I wonder if I can cut them down and make bags on the FoodSaver    Maybe I'll give it a try this year, anybody tried it?

[bspisak]

The FoodSaver requires special bags that are channeled which I believe is what allows the air to escape when the bag collapses. I'm guessing that to use mylar and other non-channeled bags, you need a unit with a snorkel.

It seems that the problem with a snorkel bag is that you need to get the snorkel right up against the contents of the bag. That would imply that something loose like hops might get sucked up as the vacuum is pulled.  I'm wondering if the channel bags do a better job or if it's even a problem???

[euge]

I bought a Seal-a-meal that started malfunctioning after a few months. It was the sealer strip that sealed the bags with a flaw in the seam.

The Foodsaver I bought next appears more robustly built. And it's still working over a year later.

The Seal-a-meal had a stronger vacuum than the Foodsaver does but even so I don't recommend this brand. Lot's of poor reviews online.

I also don't recommend freezing store bought raw meat. Usually it has been previously frozen so freezing it a second time in a vacuum bag wrecks the meat. No freezer-burn mind you but all the juices will run out of the meat when it is thawed again. Ruined a couple nice prime NY strips this way.

If you notice all the "advertisements" feature cooked meats. So besides hops these bags get BBQ and left-overs.

[denny]

I also don't recommend freezing store bought raw meat. Usually it has been previously frozen so freezing it a second time in a vacuum bag wrecks the meat. No freezer-burn mind you but all the juices will run out of the meat when it is thawed again. Ruined a couple nice prime NY strips this way.

No experience with steak, since it never crosses our threshold  , but it works fine for chicken.

[bearcat]

I hadn't seen this benefit listed to FoodSaver yet... the attachments - I like the Mason/Kerr canning jar one.  I have row of mason jars of pellet hops in the freezer.   Pop it open - measure out the addtions...the put the same lid back on and put on the attachment ..push the button and done.  The hops are now in  a low/no oxygen glass storage in the freezer--I have no idea if it better than the bags but it can't be worse.   Just a method I have seen other more experience brewers use... so I figure it can't be a bad way to do things and save on bag costs.