Vacuum sealer bags

[MThuntr]

What is the best vac bag/roll?

The revival of the vacuum sealer thread has me thinking even if you use a $1k vac chamber the weak link is still probably the bags.

I spent a bunch of $ on bags via Amazon that were much thicker than the standard FoodSaver brand and gave vacuum sealing a try again last year. Most seem to hold well even with my low end vacuum sealer but I've had a handful of seals fail or simple punctures after being moved around in the freezer. I know some of the bad seals is related to them being a touch wet from blood or from not enough heat but they seem so fragile once at freezer temps.

I've gone back to wrapping with plastic film and then freezer paper as I've never had problems and even found 6 year old deer meat at the bottom of the freezer that looked great when I thawed it.

 

[Clarence]

My vacuum sealer has it's place, but I have gone back to freezer paper when butchering. Just as fast, seems to hold better, and more durable. I know when it's wrapped, it's good for 1 year+. Disappointing when a bag seal fails on a favorite cut, and you have to trim freezer burn.

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[shtrbc]

For non-chamber machines, I have found Out of Air bags and roll material to be top notch. Very durable and able to use for sous vide cooking too. The discount gets progressively better the more you buy also. Best deal is 3 or more items for a automatic -15% off. A close 2nd would be the bags/material sold through Walton's.

 

[scottprice]

My vacuum sealer has it's place, but I have gone back to freezer paper when butchering. Just as fast, seems to hold better, and more durable. I know when it's wrapped, it's good for 1 year+. Disappointing when a bag seal fails on a favorite cut, and you have to trim freezer burn.

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You’re doing something wrong

 

[Centralcoastca]

I always used the food saver brand since Costco sells them in a big box that has a variety of sizes and is not too expensive. Yesterday I saw that they now have the Kirkland version is a variety box and is a way better deal, about $15 cheaper and you get one extra roll of both widths and a few more pre made bags. I sealed up some meat yesterday and they seem to the same as far as I could tell. I usually don’t have trouble with the bags unless there’s something sharp like bone or they get banged around when looking for something else. I started being extra careful to organize my standup freezer with baskets to keep from having to handle everything too much and that seems to cut down on leaking bags dramatically. My friend told me the other day he dug out an overlooked chunk of backstrap from the bottom of his chest freezer that was vac sealed with his food saver that was 7 years old. He grilled it for dinner and said it was fine and if he didn’t know he would’ve never guessed.

 

[Dash]

I’ll second Out of Air. Best bags we have used and we use a lot of them on our homestead from veggies to meat to freezing portion sizes for family meals. A+

 

[Zappaman]

Waste of money...

I put up four deer (plus an elk or oryx on occasion) along with some waterfowl every year (just finished four deer a few weeks ago). I THREW the vacuum sucker out into the back yard about 10 years ago when me and a few hunters were processing a pair of oryx-- the bag "stuff" was expensive and the machine quit "sucking" worth a S**T. Two machines failed that day (I didn't throw my buddy's machine out though).

Since then I've put my cuts into better zip locks WITH water. You drain the water out some after over-filling over the sink, then "zip" them shut. Worked for 25,000 year old mastodon steaks served to miners in Alaska 150 years ago (also fresh frozen in water)... works great. When your meat is frozen IN (a little) water, it's shelf life is years if you keep it -10 (in a good freezer).

 

[GringoBling]

If you don't get a proper seal, then there is a wet spot or your sealer isn't getting hot enough. That's what I've found with my VacMaster. The other problem I've had is with something hard and rigid, like a bone or jerky protruding through the bag and puncturing it. Otherwise, I have cuts of meat in my -10 degree deep freeze that are several years old with no signs of freezer burn.