Food Saver

[Burt Gummer]

I am considering purchasing a Food Saver and have a few questions.

- Can you use it on prepared foods like bbq? If so, to reheat do you just leave it the vacuum pack and put it in hot water to kind of boil in a bag or sou ve reheat it?

-Do you like yours?

-Better brands? for cheaper?

-Operational costs?

Your guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[rdenn_58]

I have a Food Saver and love it. We use it for not only Q, but for vegetables, etc. When we are ready for some Q, we take the vac sealed package from the freezer and right into boiling water. When it's hot....serve. Taste is still great and meat is still juicy....way better than other freezing and heating methods.

I haven't heard of anyone using any other brands of vac sealers.

The worst cost for the Food Saver beyond the initial purchase is buying the sealer bag rolls. I have owned my Food Saver for 4 years now and haven't had a problem with it. As a note, it pays to keep the inside of the sealer very clean though. Besides just the obvious sanitation issue, this will keep the vacuum operating correctly.

Once you commit to the initial costs and buy one, you'll wonder why you waited so long.

[Myrdhyn]

What rdenn said, though we mostly use ours for meat/BBQ, hops (beer brewing), and long term cheese storage, not vegetables.

I would *highly* recommend getting the "lower end" food saver, not one of the nifty, higher-end automated ones. I have one of those, and would much rather just have the type where you put in the bag and clamp it down rather than trying to feed a bag in properly etc.

[---k---]

I got one for Christmas. I use it after every BBQ meal no matter when the left overs are getting used up. Boiling in the bag is so easy to re-heat.

Sign up for FoodSavers email list and they email out really good deals on the machines every so often. Wait and you'll get 50%+ on the machines. I got 60% off on the V3480 at Christmas. Buy the 100 quart and pint bags from Ebay and you'll be set. I like the bags better than rolls for things that can fit.

[smokeyw]

I vacuum seal BBQ all the time. I bag it in serving sizes for a meal and when I get ready to use them I just throw them in boiling water for about 15 minutes. It is just as good as when it was fresh. I also use it to freeze uncooked meat if I find some on sale and buy extra to cook later.

I have a Cabelas CG-11 that is absolutely awesome. It has a commercial vacuum pump that really gets the job done.

[lionhrt]

I use mine all the time and love it. To save money I buy the no name rolls of bags off eBay. I think it was 38 bucks for 2 50 foot rolls delivered last time I ordered and I haven't had a failure on a single bag yet

[The_Kapn]

I had had foodsavers for years and use then often.
"Boiling Bag" (actually "High Simmer Bag") works wonderful.

We use mostly pints and quarts and buy them off EBay.
Boxes of 100.
Never a problem and about 1/2 of Foodsaver price.

TIM

[purplestarrider]

I love mine. I have had 2 now. the first one was the lowest end you could get and i abused the hell out of it. I owned for 7 years and then it died so i bought the v3440. I usually go and buy meat when it is on sale in bulk and go home and seperate it and then freeze it up. I wouldnt recomment the other brands as i have had friends that had the other and they just weren't as happy with it as i have been with mine. I like the one i have now cause i did tend to over use the other and wasn't always sure if i was overheating it and my new one will let you know.

Now it was stated that the bags are pricey. This is true, however if you go to costco or sams you can get a great deal there. Now you can buy the other brand bags, however my experence is that they don't seal right.

Just my .02

[Wampus]

I cannot recommend this product enough. I use mine ALL THE TIME. We seal up leftover BBQ a lot. We'll buy foods in bulk and then portion them out, vacuseal them and then freeze for later use.

For instance.....this past week, Restaurant Depot had 40 lb boxes of jumbo chicken wings for $0.60/lb. I bought a box for our annual Memorial day cookout, my brother and I cooked up about 100 wings and I took the other 40-50 wings home, split them into 4 packages, sealed and froze them for later. Sam's club has chicken wings for $2.34/lb, so for $.60/lb I just cannot beat that price.

We'll buy large family packages of pork and portion them out and freeze, etc.


I'll cook 2 pork butts at a time and after dinner, just portion the extras up, vacuseal them and freeze. Just drop the still frozen pulled pork into a pot of boiling water until heated and it's just as good as the day I put it in the freezer. No moisture loss like reheating in the oven or micro.

I'll also cook up several chicken breasts on the grill on the weekends, cool, then slice up and vacuseal them and stick 'em in the fridge for salads throughout the week.

I'll cook whole chickens on the smoker, we'll eat one for dinner (big family) and I'll vacuseal the extras for enchiladas later in the week.

See, not only does this product and the bags keep food fresh in the freezer, but also in the fridge. Because it removes all the air, the food will stay longer in the fridge than if just in a thin plastic bag or a "freezer bag". Just take out what you want and re-vacuseal the bag. Easy peasy.

I agree that the bags are not cheap, but I've also found that the rolls are MUCH cheaper. I'll just buy a 11" roll, cut the roll into bag sizes that I want for that meat, seal one end with the vacusealer and viola....cheaper bags. A roll lasts me a long time.




Needless to say.......I love mine. Best Christmas present I ever got from my BIL.

[Soybomb]

I'm going to buck the trend and say both of mine are a pain in the butt. If you don't use a lot of "extra" bag or cold meat you might as well forget sealing it to start with. The bags are expensive. I've have several bags open in simmering water trying to reheat that way.

Freezer paper and tape is just as good to me.

[eggzlot]

Can someone give me a quick education on the Food Saver bags?

Someone mentioned go for a cheaper sealer, not the fancy ones. Would the $30 hand sealer do the trick? Could I use the hand held with bags to seal things for either refrigeration or long term freezer use?

http://www.foodsaver.com/Category.aspx?id=c&cid=1152

I ask because the info for this product says it is good for deli meats and cheeses, but I would want to obviously use it for 'cue and other foods too.

[Burt Gummer]

Originally Posted by eggzlot

Can someone give me a quick education on the Food Saver bags?

Someone mentioned go for a cheaper sealer, not the fancy ones. Would the $30 hand sealer do the trick? Could I use the hand held with bags to seal things for either refrigeration or long term freezer use?

http://www.foodsaver.com/Category.aspx?id=c&cid=1152

I ask because the info for this product says it is good for deli meats and cheeses, but I would want to obviously use it for 'cue and other foods too.

Yes, this. Some links or model numbers would help me as well.

[sincitydisciple01]

If you plan to buy a Foodsaver, keep an eye on their website. I bought one @ Target and once I registered it, I started getting emails for Foodsaver sales. After paying full price, I was a little pissed that they then ran an offer for almost half off the model I just bought, w/ free shipping.

[Parruthead]

I have a rival brand food saver. I love it we use both rival bags and food saver brand. I used it this weekend to store my pulled pork. I also seal all my venison up ever year with one.. Biggest thing is to make sure that your sealing area is dry so that it seals tight.