Vacuum sealing meats & foods

Submitted: Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 10:33
ThreadID: 41993 Views:4988 Replies:12 FollowUps:13
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I am interested in peoples experiences in using the cryo vac principles, is the manual pump setup worthwhile and how does that compare to the electric version?

We are going away for 3 months in NT/NQ and we were looking at maybe vac sealing foods on the way.
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Reply By: turbopete - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 11:45

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 11:45
If u have refrigeration,,,, perishables ..meat ,fish, lettuce, etc will keep much longer if cry o vacced,,,if u have a freezer u probably don't need cryovac but if u went bush for weeks at a time and had no access to fresh produce on demand then a cryovac is handy
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Follow Up By: vcbb - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:03

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:03
Thats what we had in mind, use the firdge, that way we dont use too much power having the freezer going.

Was interested in how others have gone using the different methods available
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Follow Up By: Ron173 - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 16:07

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 16:07
Run your freezer, keep long term food in there, and rotate freezer bricks or similair on a nightly basis to your esky which becomes your fridge.

This way your fridge is always very cool, and as the bricks dont thaw totally overnight its not such a big ask for your freezer to refreeze overnight.

I do this with an Engel on setting 3, and a tropical icebox, beer comes out the tropical as cold as i've ever drunk it. Superb.

I use 1ltr plastic containers in tropical, without ice, I swap 2 on a nightly basis. Nothing gets soggy either.

(best to do at night then it refreezes easier)

Ron
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Reply By: John R (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:04

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:04
I don't have any experience with the hand pumps, bit I've got a sunbeam electric jobby and it is very handy. A few lumps of beef has been sitting in the fridge for a couple of months now and is fine.

I was a bit concerned when I was using it that it wasn't getting all the air out (and I'd be interested to know if the hand pumps can create a strong enough vacuum), but that hasn't been a problem.

Having used it a bit at home, I'd be quite happy to seal meat etc for a three month trip and have confidence it (beef at least . . . not sure about chook) would still be fine a couple of months later.
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Follow Up By: Member - Graeme (NSW) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:24

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:24
DO NOT TRUST CRYOVAC CHOOK, FISH, OR PORK!
Lamb and beef are perfectly OK, so is camel, goat and venison.
Graeme
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Follow Up By: Member - Jack - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:01

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:01
Strewth - you'd need a big bag to fit the camel in.

:)

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Follow Up By: Geoff (Newcastle, NSW) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:34

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:34
And I'll bet he's none too pleased about being stuffed into a bag!
Bloody hard enough with the C A T word! :))

Geoff
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Reply By: vcbb - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:44

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:44
Thanks for the info, are there good or bad units out there.

Also, interesting about the beef & lamb.

What expereinces are out there about cryo vaccing meals?
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Follow Up By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:17

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:17
Anything with liquids (eg casseroles) is hard to cryovac, so its often better to freeze it first, and then cryovac it
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Reply By: Member - Lance S (VIC) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:52

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:52
They, ( the butchers ) recommend that u eat chicken, pork, and fish within the first 2-3 weeks and lamb and beef 5-6 weeks, that is not being frozen, just in the fridge. If u can freeze that is a bonus.
cheers, Lance
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Follow Up By: John R (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:28

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:28
Freezing it does defeat the purpose though.

Mind you, I can't stand frozen meat for anything but stews anyway!!
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Reply By: Tony - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:54

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:54
Had great success with stews, spag boll, using the electric machine. Fresh chicken (boneless), mince and pork should be used within the first week or so.

Also great for pre greased wheel bearing, loose ammo, nuts and bolts etc.
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Follow Up By: markeaust - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:58

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 12:58
Doesn't sound very appetizing though?!??!??!?!? 8-)

Cheers,

Mark
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Follow Up By: Member - Matt M (ACT) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:10

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:10
Tony,

I'm with Mark. How long do you need to stew up the wheel bearings before they are edible? Do they taste a bit like chicken? Is it illegal to pack your children in this way?

Good idea though, hadn't thought of that one.

Matt.
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Follow Up By: Busy Bee - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:14

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:14
yep, rice, nuts, just about anything unless it's very juicy or will crush. Then you can just seal without vacuum. Won't keep as long of course.
For juicy stuff like fresh caught fish or meat sometimes the juice squeezes to the mouth of the bag during vacuuming and stuffs up the process. If you are going to freeze the food then freeze first in this case, then vacuum.
The catch with these sealers is that most brands need the bags with cross hatching on one side to allow the air to come out, and they are expensive. But they are reusable, though not recommended for meat.
I got bags at the local Butchers' Supplies, $30 plus a hundred depending on dimensions. The vacuum sealers seal (and reseal) other bags but won't vacuum them.
Try Ebay to purchase, keep bidding to a limit till you get one for around $80, which gets you out around $100 with freight. Full ebay price is around $160 plus freight, and retail could be more.
Don't get one that seals under 28cm width or so.
It is possible to find ones with 12V adaptors, but don't know how they perform.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Kerry W (QLD) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:05

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:05
VCBB

Try speaking to Vacuseal (07) 5499 2300 they may be of assistance (as well as users opinions) - they manufacture the kits in Caboolture Qld

cheers Kerry W
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Follow Up By: vcbb - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:14

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:14
Thanks Kerry much appreciated, do they have a website that you are aware of ?
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Kerry W (QLD) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:20

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:20
www.vacuseal.com.au/
Kerry W (Qld)
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Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:29

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:29
I've had an electric one for 12 months, and it's been great.

I think you might find they work OK off an inverter for when you're on the move - haven't tried it, but the power draw is low.
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Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:46

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 13:46
Where you are going cryo meats are the norm. Every butcher has or will cryo meat for you. I would rather have it done by someone that does it all the time with a industrial machine that will suck all the air out and seal the bag.

I can't think of any thing worse than having the whole family sick with food poisoning in the tropics.

Avoid any meat or eat first any meat that has a bone in it. This is where it could rupture the bag or if all the air is not sucked out bacteria could grow in the bone.

Other white meats should be also eaten first.

I have eaten cryo vac rump steak after 4 months kept in a fridge at beer temperature.

Wayne
AnswerID: 219880

Follow Up By: John R (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:26

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 14:26
Well made points, though I don't agree with 'Every butcher has or will cryo . . '

The butchers I know who can & do cryovac are in the vast minority, and is rarely related to the size of the town.

Some do and openly promote it, a couple can but you need to ask, and the rest still use plastic sandwich bags. That's round here anyway.
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Reply By: Steve63 - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:20

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 15:20
You don't need to cart meat for that long. A large pecentage of butchers in the NT and NQ will cryovac meat for you, usualy at some cost. I can think of a few off hand that I have used in the last few years, Katherine, Darwin, Weipa, Cooktown. I have seen the service advertised in a lot of other places. You need to use some caution if you are doing DIY cryovac. Any contamination can cause serious trouble. There are quite a few bacteria that reproduce in low oxygen environments and they produce potent toxins. I'm sure you have heard of the neurotoxin, used in BoTox, produced by Clostridium Botulinum. Any meat that has been Cryovaced should be well cooked. This tends to kill the bacteria and it deactivates many (but not all) of the toxins. I would be wary of giving anything that has been cryovaced for an extended period to a child under 12 months or any adult with a surpressed immune system.

There are several "additional" features in some products. Some of the plastic bags used in Cryovacing absorb free oxygen as well as keeping oxygen out. These tend to last much longer.

Cut/sliced/minced meats last significantly less time. Meat with bones lasts less time. Red meats last longer than white meats. I would avoid cryovacing sliced fermented meats.

Steve
AnswerID: 219910

Reply By: Alan H (Narangba QLD) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:34

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 17:34
We use vacuum sealed meat or most other food for that matter. I agree have to be careful about shelf life of certain foods.

However, it is nice to not have any mess with the storage and enable you to portion into meal size lots.

Never done real long trip with resupply on the road yet. Currently we deep freeze the vacuum packed meat and then carry it in the Engel.

One advantage I found over lots of plastic boxes is that the sealed bags take less room in the fridge and once removed that space is reusable where half empty containers still take up the same space.
AnswerID: 219938

Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:22

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:22
We also cryovac precut pumpkin and cabbage (for coleslaw) and keep it in a cool spot rather than refrigerate.
AnswerID: 220047

Reply By: Member - JohnR (Vic)&Moses - Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:43

Monday, Feb 05, 2007 at 22:43
I have vacuum sealed bacon bought in the deli as it is so much nicer than the ready packed stuff. Lasted and and going well after three months just kept in the fridge.

Tried some veggies like asparagus but that is only a short hold food! I hot smoke salmon portions cut in half to cook and they are best contained in a bag. Teriffic actually against other storages. Good to do steak and that sort of thing as there is no spillage.
AnswerID: 220054

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