Kitchen

[Mom2Dogs]

I have a vacuum sealer for food, I used it today to package up chicken....I am wondering now if it is working correctly.

The vacuum works as well as the sealer but the chicken does not feel like all the air has been removed...I expected the chicken to feel more firm.

If anyone has one do you think my sealer is not working properly?

[CelticCrafter]

Does it have settings?

Mine has Normal, Gentle, Dry, Moist.

I have a NutriChef brand.

[Tuffcookie]

I have a Food Saver vacuum sealer and I always partially freeze meats before vacuum sealing. Do your bags Shrivel up as you are in the vacuum mode?

This is the model I use.  It is so easy to use, as everything is automatic.

[Mom2Dogs]

@Tuffcookie 

@CelticCrafter    I did partially freeze the meat, and I do not have any settings to control the vacuum.  The bag did not seem to shrivel up as I vacummed it...I think I will try another food item to see if this is my imagination or if it is faulty.

The machine with the settings - are you able to vacuum bread products like dinner rolls?

I have had mine a long time, they are expensive but I might have to purchase a new one.

I took a quick online, they are not as expensive as I thought.  The ability to choose the vacuum level is of interest to me.

[CelticCrafter]

@Mom2Dogs I don't know how it would do with bread and rolls.  I don't freeze baked goods.

[Tuffcookie]

I have only sealed bread with it but, I suppose, if you wanted to vacuum seal it, you would have to freeze the bread first, and then vacuum seal it.  Not sure how vacuum sealed bread would look after thawed.  It might be squished!

[Jo1313]

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@Mom2Dogs wrote:

I have a vacuum sealer for food, I used it today to package up chicken....I am wondering now if it is working correctly.

The vacuum works as well as the sealer but the chicken does not feel like all the air has been removed...I expected the chicken to feel more firm.

If anyone has one do you think my sealer is not working properly?

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Did you try to seal something after sealing the chicken?  I ask because I have had a similar problem once in a while..If the edge of the bag isn't isn't even in the channel when it pulls the air out I get a "sloppy" seal..like you are describing(not firm enough)..Then another one will be fine as long as the bag edge is in and flat...I have an older Food Saver.

[nyc1]

@Mom2Dogs   I've been using a FoodSaver since the 80s.  The bag should absolutely shrivel up and form against the shape of the food item.  If it's something soft like rolls or muffins,  and you stop it sooner,  that's okay.  For chicken,  it should have traced the shape of the chicken.  Make sure your bag edge is not creased in the channel.

[Icegoddess]

You can hit the Seal button before it crushes your bakery item to seal it without crushing it.  You could freeze the bakery item first, but you still would probably want to seal it before it vacuums it all the way.

[Mom2Dogs]

@Jo1313   Yes, I did, it seemed to work ok!!  I did freeze the chicken but maybe it was not solid enough....at least I can put buying a new one on the back burner for a while, but when I do purchase new, I will look at one that has a few settings for the power of the vacuum.

I have used mine for years, and freezing in the bags sure takes up a lot less space in the freezer.