Vacuum Bagging Best Practices

[DWard51]

I've never run that much chicken before, but I have run about 15 pounds of boneless skinless breasts.   The only problem I ran into was the Foodsaver heating element would overheat.  I had to stop twice and let it cool.  The unit will tell you when that's a problem as it flashes red and  does not want to work until it cools.

If I'm running a lot of bags like that, I now make up the bags and then let the unit sit for a while to cool before actually sealing the food in.  That way your food is at it's coldest as you leave it in the fridge and your bags are ready to go and the heating element is cold when you start.  It also helps to lay something under the food bag to get it level with the vacuum chamber.

[TecCrash]

Pappy you can place a folded paper towel strip between the sealing point and the meat in the bag. This will catch a majority of the liquids that travel toward the foodsaver when sealing. There will be additional liquids even after patting dry.

You can also season them before you vac seal. Allows the flavors to really penetrate and saves time

hmmm I've never tried this, can I use this with Marinating as well?  Would you happen to have any pics of what the finished product looks like?

I tend to Filet the Zaycon breasts in half due to the thickness, and put them in a freezer for a bit to cut down on the liquid that gets sucked out.  Lay em flat both in the pre-freeze and after the are sealed so they stack well.

Chris

[spuds]

Hmmmm....hadnt considered that.Guess I will flash freeze and seal.Depending on size 2 or 3 to a pack I reckon.

How do you "flash freeze"?

Not sure...but I think Spuds is referring to laying the breasts on saran wrap or similar - and leaving them in the freezer long enough to get very firm - so that you can vacuum bag and freeze them without squashing them flat. This is something I do with shrimp - especially after cooking and peeling them, and the like-

Except i freeze em until hard when I use that method.I set em on a cookie tray or such with a light spray of spray oil on try.Just me.Have to see what I get and decide then exactly how I will do them.

When I do sausages or meat patties I layer on the tray with saran wrap between layers like Tee says.

Vac seal wet products has never been successful for me,FWIW,my technique might be lacking?

My order got delayed by 3 weeks BTW.