Best Purchase I've Made - Vacuum Sealer

[splendorlex]

And I'm not talking about the particular model I got, I'm just here to laud the success I've had with pulled pork especially now that I have a vacuum sealer. I know everyone's methods are a little different, but here's mine.

I cook my pork in an aluminum pan. I don't get the best bark, but I'm not a bark guy. So keep that in mind. When I pull it, I have all the juices in the pan with it, and I don't need to add a thing. When the eatin's all done, I grab the pork with tongs and fill sealing bags with anywhere from 2-4 servings worth. Because I'm just grabbing with the tongs, I'm getting a good amount of the juice in there as well. I use the gentle/moist seal, then drop them in the freezer. I pop the bags in boiling water to reheat, and they come out perfect. The only thing I don't yet have down is the timing of the reheat.

Anyhow, I can't believe I've gone this long without a vacuum sealer just for this purpose!

 

[SmokyMose]

I've worn out three in the last 10 years. Can't live without one.

 

[kilo charlie]

Congratulations on the new addition and you'll be surprised at how many things you can use it for

 

[kruizer]

I use mine all the time for leftovers and meal prep. I don't know how I got along with out it.

 

[sandyut]

Vac sealers are priceless! could not agree more!

 

[old sarge]

A vac sealer is a must have for many reasons and you stated one of the best reasons to own one. You can shorten the re-heat time by placing the frozen goodness in the fridge a day or 2 earlier to thaw; that helps.

 

[thirdeye]

Whether it's fresh or cooked..... If you partially freeze meat items on oiled wax paper they won't collapse and you get a neater sealing job with no juices moving around. For things like chili, soup, stew etc., I freeze them in plastic containers, then the next day pop them out of the mold and vacuum seal. They are all a uniform shape and serving size.

 

[splendorlex]

Awesome, I can see I've only scratched the surface here. What do you all do for bags or rolls?

 

[mike243]

A SV unit is great for reheating, not over heated and no worry about the bag unsealing, yes I have had a bag open up trying to reheat when trying the boil method , 140 with the SV works great.

 

[MJB05615]

Agree 100%. Vac sealer completely changed everything. I didn't realize how much we were wasting until I started Vac Sealing leftovers. Now we get 2-3 add'l meals out of Brisket, Pulled Pork, etc. Roast Beef as well. I got the Inkbird sealer, and their bags I get on Amazon. Sealer works great and the bags are great quality.

 

[912smoker]

Yep used my Inkbird VS tonight for the first time.
Gonna be nice to have fresh leftovers!

 

[MJB05615]

Yep used my Inkbird VS tonight for the first time.
Gonna be nice to have fresh leftovers!

Congrats! You're gonna enjoy it.

 

[pineywoods]

Your right it is a great purchase not only for smoking but lots of things. A good large freezer is also a wise investment. We buy a lot of meat on sale usually it comes in family packs but that's no problem we break it down into packs for a meal for us and vacuum seal it. Catch a good sale and stock up many times we buy steak as cheap or cheaper than ground beef. We have 2 large freezers and the top freezers in 3 fridges and most of the time they are all full between venison and meat we get on sale. Heck sometimes we can get meat on sale by the case like wings and butts ya just got to have the freezer space when those deals come up.
I keep a couple rolls of bag material on hand but that's just for the odd ball stuff the rest of the time I'm using a premade bag. I usually buy them from Vacuum Sealers Unlimited they are a site sponsor and Lisa is great if you have any questions about anything vacuum sealer related

https://vacuumsealersunlimited.com/

 

[old sarge]

Awesome, I can see I've only scratched the surface here. What do you all do for bags or rolls?

Since I own a LEM, I buy only from LEM.

 

[cmayna]

Congrats on your acquisition. Vacuum sealers are one of our most highly used kitchen appliances.
I use mainly all rolls. 8", 11", 11" perforated. We have 2 vac machines so just in case one dies just when we need it the most, we have Mr. Backup. Also having two allows you to share the heat sealing responsibility. One can rest and cool down while the other is sealin'. Now if you use bags, you are sealing half of what I do with rolls.

 

[MJB05615]

Same as Craig. I use only the Rolls, 2 sizes and I also have 2 machines in case 1 breaks at the wrong time, which is the only time it would break, lol. I prefer the rolls because you can customize bag sizes for each thing when needed.

 

[Rugerbear]

I was wondering if I messed up on sealing some meat. I made some Hamburger and Sausage patties. I put them in the freezer to set up as soon as I had made them. I went in today to put them in bags and vac/seal them. They had a few ice crystals is the best way to describe it. Was I ok to go ahead and seal them up?

 

[cmayna]

How long were they in the freezer before you vacuum sealed them? Sounds like a little too long.

 

[Rugerbear]

It was just about 24 hours.

 

[mike243]

that's normal and no harm, too short of a time to draw out much moisture