Food vacuum recomendations please

Lux Man

Lux Man

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Here is the back story...a fiend of mine has a friend who takes him salmon fishing in lake Michigan every year for the past 22 years. I get to go every so often and this is is one of those years. The thing is, they/we only wrap the salmon in meat wrapping paper and freeze it. No matter what, in 3-6 months after being frozen it is in bad shape and unfortunately so much has gone to waste over the years. Even when I don't go with, I am still the benefactor of a portion of the catch. So today I told my friend we really need to get a food vacuum device and he agreed.

The question is, which one and how much do should I spend? We will really use it pretty much once a year or maybe twice. This is the only reason I have ever had use for one.

So-- educate me please! We go fishing in 3 weeks and I love salmon! Grilled, hot smoked, and my wife's favorite is cold smoked. I can't do cold smoked for another 5 months so I need to preserve the salmon at least that long.

I'd look at reviews online but I only trust you guys, "unless you sell them"!
 
I had a friend that did the Salmon fishing thing in Alaska annually. What he did was can the salmon in glass jars. It lasts a very nice long time that way, and needs no refrigeration. He is gone now, so I cannot ask him his method.

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Hard to beat the price on the FoodSaver V2244 for occasional use. About $60 on Amazon and gets good reviews. You can also save some bucks buying generic brand bags.
 
bobva said:
No1. you get what you pay for. For 60$ all you get is a piece of junk that might keep your socks dry
If you want the very best call Tom at
https://vacupack.com
Click to expand...
Very nice but who wants to spend upwards of $800 on something they'll use once a year, unless it's a hunting rifle.:D
Seems like everybody sells their own version of these things.
https://www.cabelas.com/browse.cmd?...earch=vacuum+sealer&CQ_view=list&CQ_ztype=GNP
BTW, we have one of the better Food Saver models and are quite satisfied with it.
 
I have a nicer Food Saver, not sure the model, but it has a bunch of buttons and a tube you can use to evacuate jars with specially equipped lids. I don't use it all the time but it's held up pretty well in my estimation.

I don't see anything exactly like it on their website now, the styles have changed. My sister gave me this one and I wouldn't be surprised if it was $150-$200 several years back.
 
Saw this thread had an unread post and looking at the thread title again before clicking, I thought "A food vacuum? That's basically a dog." :rflmao:

Jimmy had good taste in audio, I see. :thumbsup:
 
Besides preserving your food for the freezer, a Food Saver system allows you entrance to the world of sous vide cooking.

The vacuum sealer is more expensive than the sous vide heater as they have dropped dramatically in price since I got mine a few years ago so you are two thirds of the way there.

I do not want to go into sous vide as that is a classic thread crap, but look it up if interested.
 
I like the food sealers, even have a few of the cannisters that allow vacuum sealing, (great for shrinking large marshmallows). They get you on the bags. They seem quite expensive in the stores.
 
I reuse my bags by cutting them extra long and then carefully slicing off the end when opening, so only an inch or so is discarded. Also if bagging greasy stuff like meat, I use a cheap bag to hold the food so the bag doesn't get greasy which is hard to remove. Only problem with this approach is if the bag gets a hole in it from handling or knocking around the freezer, it's toast. But mine last pretty well, usually get several uses out of them.
 
Give your old bags to the local school's science department and see if they can figure out what all's growing in them after several uses ... just make sure these guys don't get hold of one, or we're all doomed ...
543295_1
 
Soap and water, same as the dishes. :dunno: We don't get food borne diseases at my house so I must be doing something right.

I miss the old barf emoticon. :biggrin:
 
Toxcrusadr- how long does it take to suck all the air out before you seal? Can you use the 4-5 mil thick bags? What is the approx width?

Is there something you don’t like about it??
 
We have a Foodsaver that's several years old, can't make out which of their current models is comparable and my wife thinks she might have paid a hundred for it. We originally used it to freeze hamburger meat and some other stuff she buys in bulk. In the last few months, I've started grilling or smoking multiple items or large items and freezing meal-size (for three people) portions. We're very happy with ours for no more than we use it; if I hunted often and processed my own deer/moose/elk/hog, I might want something a little more robust.

I never thought of trying to re-use the bags. The Foodsaver and some of the other name-brand bags are pretty steep; I bought two rolls of 3 mil Weston bags off Amazon over a year ago that should last at least another couple of years. The only thing is that the big roll does not fit in the machine - I just roll a bunch off, cut it, then roll it back up to fit in the machine.

Alan
 
I also have a foodsaver. Somehow the rubber gasket melted and it no longer holds a seal. I suspect it was user error by a member of the household.. I'm sure I can order the part.. Anyway, It worked just fine for about a year until that happened. I used it quite a bit when it was working. Looks like its the equivalent to what they are selling for around $125 now.. They also have a model called the "gamesaver".. I think that once you use one, you will use it more ofter than you think. Spending a little more on a better model isnt a bad idea, but its a pretty simple machine, so anything in the $100-$200 range should be good for moderate home use.
 
I see those things at the local thrift store all the time. I have been tempted to pick one up, but have a feeling that it would end up back at the thrift store.
 
Lux Man said:
Toxcrusadr- how long does it take to suck all the air out before you seal? Can you use the 4-5 mil thick bags? What is the approx width?

Is there something you don’t like about it??
Click to expand...

Usually 15-30 sec I'd say. Mine is automatic, you can set the desired 'vacuum' with a knob and when it reaches that it heat seals by itself. Or it also has a manual seal button you can hit any time.

Not sure how thick the bags are that I use, but I once got some cheapie rolls online and they didn't have the crosshatched texture of the Foodsaver ones, so it couldn't suck the air out. Kinda thin too. Ended up using them as disposable inner bags.

Width is about 12" I'd say, I've never had a bag that big.

I second the advice to get a nicer one rather than the cheapest option. The pump will hold up longer and that's the heart of the thing.
 
Last year, I bought the Foodsaver "Gamesaver" Vacuum Sealer. This thing is very large, quite heavy, not really the sort of machine you can simply leave on a kitchen counter top.
It's a little pricier than the run of the mill wally world foodsavers, but is one of their top of the line models, has stainless steel outer construction, rubber sealed buttons, removable tray, and has the ability to seal very large bags, and items like large fish, whole beef primals.

Had many good features. And is said to have a lifetime warrantee. I got mine from Amazon, saw a very good price less than MSRP, and then also used some discover points to lower the price I paid even further
 
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