Vacuum sealers?

[crappyice]

I use freezer paper to wrap my venison and typically it doesn’t last a year due to consumption.

 

Starting to think about vacuum sealing for added freshness and maybe some convenience.

 

The prices ranges are crazy...looking to burn up some cabelas gift cards so they should help. Any good ones around $125 or so???

 

 

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[REDNECK4LIFE32]

Goldwater vacuum sealer are great I've had venison for over a year and no freezer burnt meat. Well worth the money. Mine is the cheapest one they sell only problem is the best up quite a bit then have to let cool b4 sealing more bags. If you have all the time in the world like me it don't matter if your in a hurry is go with the higher end models.

[Steve D]

We had a foodsaver that was a piece of junk and like you was not sure what to get since they vary so much in price.

This one seemed to get good reviews so we took a chance and bought it. So far it has been has been good and the one feature it has that I like is you don't have to hold the top down like some of the foodsavers. You insert the bag and can lock the cover down instead of holding it down.

There are a bunch of  youtube videos on it:

https://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Sealer-Sealing-System-FDA-Certified/dp/B07FM3J6JF

This the model we have TVS 2150

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FM7C7DB

 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Steve D

[Hitching post meats]

Vac master makes a great sealer they are chamber sealers ours is a vp112s it can do 2 pkgs at a time. We use it for our deer business.  Works great but we need a few steps up to make up some time but for one guy and a few deer I would recommend a vac master for sure

[Rack Attack]

I also have a vacmaster chamber sealer, it's night and day compared to the standard type vacuum sealers.  I use the VP215.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I have an old Black & Decker sealer that has developed a hot spot in the sealing strip, and will need to be replaced. Im watching the recommendations

[Doewhacker]

This one is big enough for wolc to seal a whole but hole shot bb. 

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-vp734-two-chamber-floor-model-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-34-seal-bars/120VMASVP734.html

 

but seriously I want a vacmaster next time around. Our food saver is old and does not handle continuous use well at all. Ex butchering and sealing 100 chickens is a pita. Ask me I know. Lol 

[dbHunterNY]

it was a hard sell for me to buy a vac master and spend close to or over $1k. i've used a big one in a butcher shop that could do like 6 large bags at once. definitely sealed tight and well.  I had a basic food saver model and killed it within a couple years.  different bags from ziploc and others had wrinkles that wouldn't seal well too. I used coupons and Cabelas bucks and got their commercial grade 12" vac sealer. changed the look but features seem to be the same. had it now for several years. seems to pump harder, has an extended double seal, manual seal, tube for containers, and other wet seal options. also has a bulk roll tray with a cutter bar on it. works as good as the day i got it. thought about getting the seal replacement kit for it as i'm afraid it'll be so long from now that when it breaks they won't have one to offer anymore.  i do at least a few deer, handful of shopping bags worth of veggies from the garden, and things like leftovers and store sale meat every year. i buy Cabelas bulk rolls too and use the cutter bar to cut a bag only to the length that i need.

[ATbuckhunter]

Ive been using a food saver for the last few seasons and I really like mine. It seals pretty well if I give enough room in the bags. Only thing that annoys me is its much more time consumung compared to just putting them in ziplock bags like I used to use. I dont have any experience with using other kinds of vaccum sealers so maybe what I think is good, really isnt.

[Merlot]

7 minutes ago, ATbuckhunter said:

Ive been using a food saver for the last few seasons and I really like mine. It seals pretty well if I give enough room in the bags. Only thing that annoys me is its much more time consumung compared to just putting them in ziplock bags like I used to use. I dont have any experience with using other kinds of vaccum sealers so maybe what I think is good, really isnt.

Have used food saver for 20 years. No problems with mine...you did good.

[Hock3y24]

Love my food saver. Cabela’s vac bags are pretty good for the price also precut.

[moog5050]

Our food saver works well 95% of the time.  Occasionally you get a bag that doesn’t seem to seal tight.  

[Five Seasons]

Don’t buy a cabelas or dedicated outdoorsman model. Just get a food saver and be done. If you can wait, there are some great holiday deals. I actually upgraded mine last year to a model that has the bad slider built in. Well worth the added cost even if I don’t use some of the other features.

 

I have the fm5460 for $119, which can retail for over $200.

 

They can be finicky, but when you get the process down, they’re great. Check out there holiday deals on the rolls too.

 

Same advice for grinders. Love my stx3000. No need for a $400 cabelas version.

 

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[wolc123]

4 hours ago, ATbuckhunter said:

Ive been using a food saver for the last few seasons and I really like mine. It seals pretty well if I give enough room in the bags. Only thing that annoys me is its much more time consumung compared to just putting them in ziplock bags like I used to use. I dont have any experience with using other kinds of vaccum sealers so maybe what I think is good, really isnt.

I got 15 years, and about 50 deer from my first foodsaver, before it finally crapped out last fall.  I also started using it for fish 5 years ago (aprox 20 quart sized packages per year).   I thought it was shot back then, when it would not lower the pressure enough in the bags for the sealer to activate.  Before trashing it, I took the pump apart and removed a tiny pice of grit from the diaphram,  The repair worked and I got 5 more years out of it.  Prior to fixing it, I asked for and received a new one from my folks for Christmas.   That new one started service this year, when the old one stopped sucking properly again and I was unable to fix it.

You a right that It is more time-consuming than stuffing zip lock bags.  We go thru 4 average sized deer per year.  I save some money and time, by stuffing the grind from the first one each year into zip lock bags.  Since that is usually consumed within three months, vacuum sealing is not necessary.  There is no difference in "fresh taste" after three months in the freezer, between ground venison from a zip locked or a vacuum sealed bag.   

Long term storage is where the vacuum sealing really pays off.  I have thawed out 4 year old vacuum sealed roasts and backstraps that tasted like they were freshly killed.  The difference in freshness is far more noticable with fish over shorter terms.   One year old vacuum sealed fish (bass or walleye) tastes just like fresh caught.  

The additional time required for vacuum sealing does not slow me down that much because my wife usually does it.  That, and cleaning up the equipment, is the limit of her contribution to the deer processing job.   I am not sure what my new foodsaver cost (it was free to me), but I hope it lasts 15 years like the last one.   It sure is nice to be able to have fresh tasting meat whenever you want it.           

[turkeyfeathers]

$70 foidsaver from Target works well for us. Use it for sous vide and the salmon caught on Ontario 

[jmark]

First year using it but this Foodsaver seems pretty darn good so far, and cheap - 

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

and it came with some bags and roll.  

[dbHunterNY]

just did half my doe last night when i got home. from fridge, to cutting board, to the vac sealer. multiple cuts of meat ranging in size. glad i had bulk rolls of different widths and a cutting bar on the sealer. i would've otherwise waste a ton of bag material. also it was good to have at least 12" wide bags (15" would be better) for doing ball roasts and other roasts. but then switch back to the 8" wide ones for smaller cuts. bulk roll bags are worth it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

2 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

just did half my doe last night when i got home. from fridge, to cutting board, to the vac sealer. multiple cuts of meat ranging in size. glad i had bulk rolls of different widths and a cutting bar on the sealer. i would've otherwise waste a ton of bag material. also it was good to have at least 12" wide bags (15" would be better) for doing ball roasts and other roasts. but then switch back to the 8" wide ones for smaller cuts. bulk roll bags are worth it.

Where did you get the bulk rolls? I remember seeing them in the 100', 200' and 300' rolls and can't seem to find them anywhere now. 

[Five Seasons]

On 11/6/2018 at 9:01 PM, jmark said:

First year using it but this Foodsaver seems pretty darn good so far, and cheap - 

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0044XDA3S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

and it came with some bags and roll.  

I have that model. It is indeed a solid no frills machine and the price makes it very attractive. But I'll stress to anyone who wants a long term, time saver to get one with the built in bag cutter. Unless you're using the more expensive premade bags it's well worth the extra $40 or so. I bought a nicer one last year and only regret not buying it the first time around.

Foodsaver's website tends to offer the best deals and if you sign up for their emails you'll see some good bogo roll deals too.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Belo

[dbHunterNY]

12 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Where did you get the bulk rolls? I remember seeing them in the 100', 200' and 300' rolls and can't seem to find them anywhere now. 

nothing near that big that i know of anymore. right now i've just got 50' bulk rolls from Cabelas with credit card points. if i didn't it'd get them from a couple different restaurant warehouses through a friend or rod and gun club i'm a member of. one we have here in albany is restaurant depot. i'm seeing them more and more they're starting to carry only the smooth vac chamber style bags versus the mesh bags used with a pump style sealer like everyone's talking about.

[DanD]

Gasket on my foodsaver disintegrated after 1 year. After going in circles with customer service, I gave up... I wouldn't spend my money again on a foodsaver. 

[Doewhacker]

38 minutes ago, Culvercreek hunt club said:

Where did you get the bulk rolls? I remember seeing them in the 100', 200' and 300' rolls and can't seem to find them anywhere now. 

Amazon, just one example. We got a deal on pre cut/one end sealed bags last year. 

https://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Sealer-Bags-Roll-11x50/dp/B072DXQVKQ/ref=sr_1_25/135-2629462-9632816?ie=UTF8&qid=1542143330&sr=8-25&keywords=food+sealer+bags

[Doewhacker]

24 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

nothing near that big that i know of anymore. right now i've just got 50' bulk rolls from Cabelas with credit card points. if i didn't it'd get them from a couple different restaurant warehouses through a friend or rod and gun club i'm a member of. one we have here in albany is restaurant depot. i'm seeing them more and more they're starting to carry only the smooth vac chamber style bags versus the mesh bags used with a pump style sealer like everyone's talking about.

Need to be a member for the depot,  not sure if I still have my card or not. Plus that place doesn’t offer that great of deals honestly.  

Edited November 13, 2018 by Doewhacker

[dbHunterNY]

22 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

Need to be a member for the depot,  not sure if I still have my card or not. Plus that place doesn’t offer that great of deals honestly.  

rod and gun club (for their clubhouse/bar) is that i lived next door to. i just tell them what to pick me up and give them the money. your right though it's hit or miss it seems. they have stuff on sale and stuff normal price just like a regular store. i don't go their often.

[Redneckoflatham]

I have previously used a vacuum sealer witch broke. Is it worth purchasing a new one or is there a better option ?