Kitchen

[4uthebest]

On 4/9/2015 momtochloe said:

4uthebest, thank you for your reply. I think the majority of the items I will be using this for will be chicken and beef. I kind of plunged into this headlong and didn't realize about the moist setting but too late now I need to learn to work with what I have. The first thing I tried it out on was a steak and there was no liquid at all so it didn't even dawn on me there could be a problem with other foods. I have been reading that some folks buy say a tray of chicken parts and cook them all at once and seal them up that way. Since I cook for one and it's grilling season, that would be a great option for me. Have you tried this and if so do you recommend it?

momtochloe, glad you know about moist setting now.. Myself personally unless I was preparing chicken that I was going to cook in the bag as in Sous Vide., i would not cook them and freeze them especially after grilling them. I would rather break the pack into smaller portions and package what I will be cooking at one time so you could take the package out of the freezer , thaw it and cook it. In that way not only will your food be more tasty, but you can control your portions.

If I was making a chicken stew or something like that I would have no problem using the whole lot of chicken and then freezing portions of the stew for later meals.

The same thing goes for soups or chili type preparations.. they freeze superbly. I just would not grill chicken.,steak fish or any other protein and freeze it for another day. That may be just me but nothing like fresh grilled protein.

[momtochloe]

I completely agree about fresh grilled proteins 4uthebest. A couple of people recommended doing batches when grilling (grill once, eat several separate meals kind of philosophy) and I was hoping when you sealed the freshly grilled food it would also seal in the flavor but it sounds like I will continue to cook as I go. Thank you so much for all your help with this, I truly appreciate it!

[4uthebest]

On 4/9/2015 momtochloe said:

I completely agree about fresh grilled proteins 4uthebest. A couple of people recommended doing batches when grilling (grill once, eat several separate meals kind of philosophy) and I was hoping when you sealed the freshly grilled food it would also seal in the flavor but it sounds like I will continue to cook as I go. Thank you so much for all your help with this, I truly appreciate it!

momtochloe, yes that is what I believe to be by far the best course. You are welcome..

[Mominohio]

On 4/8/2015 jaxs mom said:

Just choose the moist option on the foodsaver. I never prefreeze ground meat before vacuum sealing.

Another vote for this method. I never pre freeze any meats, it's just asking for the freezer burn to begin. Sometimes the juices and blood do leak out when sealing, even on the moist option, but it is just a matter of rinsing the bag off, and cleaning out the 'drip tray' in the Food Saver. It helps if you have extra bloody meat to pat it dry with paper towels a little bit, and use a bag that is big enough, don't skimp on the bag size. I'd never seal a paper towel in the bag with the meat. That would be a mess trying to get it out when ready to used the meat.

[cah]

I wrap meat in plastic wrap before I seal it.
Been doing this for years, it works, simple and easy!

[debic]

On 4/9/2015 momtochloe said:

I completely agree about fresh grilled proteins 4uthebest. A couple of people recommended doing batches when grilling (grill once, eat several separate meals kind of philosophy) and I was hoping when you sealed the freshly grilled food it would also seal in the flavor but it sounds like I will continue to cook as I go. Thank you so much for all your help with this, I truly appreciate it!

You might want to try the portion bags if you're sealing small amounts. It's 11'' bag that has been made into 2 smaller bags. They don't vacuum well together like they show tho. I separate them first.

[debic]

On 4/10/2015 mominohio said:

On 4/8/2015 jaxs mom said:

Just choose the moist option on the foodsaver. I never prefreeze ground meat before vacuum sealing.

Another vote for this method. I never pre freeze any meats, it's just asking for the freezer burn to begin. Sometimes the juices and blood do leak out when sealing, even on the moist option, but it is just a matter of rinsing the bag off, and cleaning out the 'drip tray' in the Food Saver. It helps if you have extra bloody meat to pat it dry with paper towels a little bit, and use a bag that is big enough, don't skimp on the bag size. I'd never seal a paper towel in the bag with the meat. That would be a mess trying to get it out when ready to used the meat.

It's not a mess at all, you just cut the bag open and no different than handling the blood that's in any thawed meat.

LOL, I have never used my moist setting in over 20 years.

[Mominohio]

On 4/10/2015 debc said:

On 4/10/2015 mominohio said:

On 4/8/2015 jaxs mom said:

Just choose the moist option on the foodsaver. I never prefreeze ground meat before vacuum sealing.

Another vote for this method. I never pre freeze any meats, it's just asking for the freezer burn to begin. Sometimes the juices and blood do leak out when sealing, even on the moist option, but it is just a matter of rinsing the bag off, and cleaning out the 'drip tray' in the Food Saver. It helps if you have extra bloody meat to pat it dry with paper towels a little bit, and use a bag that is big enough, don't skimp on the bag size. I'd never seal a paper towel in the bag with the meat. That would be a mess trying to get it out when ready to used the meat.

It's not a mess at all, you just cut the bag open and no different than handling the blood that's in any thawed meat.

LOL, I have never used my moist setting in over 20 years.

IT is a mess, when trying to use the meat in the frozen state, like putting it in a pressure cooker or crock pot frozen, with a paper towel stuck to it. Part of the beauty of having a Food Saver is taking things out of the freezer and directly putting them in to cook, without prior thawing or preplanning when you will need to let something thaw.

I't is just silly to make more work by sealing paper towels in with your food. Blot the meat, or drain in a colander first, then use that moist setting. If paying for the top of the line Food Saver, I want to make life easier by using those great functions. I use my moist setting on a regular basis, along with the jar sealer.

[debic]

On 4/10/2015 mominohio said:

On 4/10/2015 debc said:

On 4/10/2015 mominohio said:

On 4/8/2015 jaxs mom said:

Just choose the moist option on the foodsaver. I never prefreeze ground meat before vacuum sealing.

Another vote for this method. I never pre freeze any meats, it's just asking for the freezer burn to begin. Sometimes the juices and blood do leak out when sealing, even on the moist option, but it is just a matter of rinsing the bag off, and cleaning out the 'drip tray' in the Food Saver. It helps if you have extra bloody meat to pat it dry with paper towels a little bit, and use a bag that is big enough, don't skimp on the bag size. I'd never seal a paper towel in the bag with the meat. That would be a mess trying to get it out when ready to used the meat.

It's not a mess at all, you just cut the bag open and no different than handling the blood that's in any thawed meat.

LOL, I have never used my moist setting in over 20 years.

IT is a mess, when trying to use the meat in the frozen state, like putting it in a pressure cooker or crock pot frozen, with a paper towel stuck to it. Part of the beauty of having a Food Saver is taking things out of the freezer and directly putting them in to cook, without prior thawing or preplanning when you will need to let something thaw.

I't is just silly to make more work by sealing paper towels in with your food. Blot the meat, or drain in a colander first, then use that moist setting. If paying for the top of the line Food Saver, I want to make life easier by using those great functions. I use my moist setting on a regular basis, along with the jar sealer.

ok.....

[4uthebest]

On 4/10/2015 mominohio said:

On 4/8/2015 jaxs mom said:

Just choose the moist option on the foodsaver. I never prefreeze ground meat before vacuum sealing.

Another vote for this method. I never pre freeze any meats, it's just asking for the freezer burn to begin. Sometimes the juices and blood do leak out when sealing, even on the moist option, but it is just a matter of rinsing the bag off, and cleaning out the 'drip tray' in the Food Saver. It helps if you have extra bloody meat to pat it dry with paper towels a little bit, and use a bag that is big enough, don't skimp on the bag size. I'd never seal a paper towel in the bag with the meat. That would be a mess trying to get it out when ready to used the meat.

Honestly I do not know what you are talking about re " a mess" unless you are using toilet paper to stop the flow of juices instead of paper towels OR are sealing the meat with the paper towels TOUCHING the meat in the package.

Regarding asking for freezer burn to set in. I have been using a FoodSaver since it was first available when Costco was selling the Italian made machines in the early 90's and never ONCE with a good seal being made have I seen or tasted any freezer burn.

What actually is freezer burn? It has little to do with ice but it occurs when AIR is allowed to contact food as it is being frozen. When you are using a FoodSaver correctly you are evacuating virtually all the air out of the product and sealing in an air proof enclosure.-

More technically, freezer burn is caused by sublimation which is almost impossible in a vacuum (condition without air not an appliance to clean your carpets :-) ) and the powerful vacuum and effective seal of a FoodSaver virtually stops any sublimation.