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Air in bag?

Adriana_310509

I seem to be getting some air in my bags during cooking. I think the bags may not have had a perfect vacuum sealer before I started cooking, meaning there was still some air in the bag before. But the question is whether it's dangerous or a potential health concern. Is it normal to have some air build up in your bags? Please advise. Thx!

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Comments

seijoed

Air is always there, no worries.

Adriana_310509

So the air build up is more from condensation and the air previously trapped in the bag, not necessarily from gas forming from bacteria formation or something like that?

FrankM_3301

It is not condensation. That is the formation of a liquid from a gas. What are you cooking? There is a lot of air trapped in the cell structure of vegetables, for example...bones contain air...this air can be released during cooking. However, gases can also be created by bacterial action. So, you have to be more specific for better advice. A little air in the top of a bag, from a less than perfect vacuum seal is fine. In fact, a majority of low temp cooking simply uses ziplock bags.

matthewmicahhall

Another factor to consider is the ingredients being put into the bag. Are you placing fresh vegetables into the bag (e.g., a mirepoix)? Uncooked vegetables can also release gas during cooking. A combination of large amounts of uncooked vegetables and/or relatively high cooking temperatures (for a braise-type situation) can lead to significant puffing of the bag. Fortunately there is an easy fix -- pre-cook your vegetables before bagging.

Adriana_310509

I am cooking pork ribs, so they do have a lot of bone. I am also cooking brisket and pork shoulder, but I mainly noticed it in some of the bags of ribs. The bags with brisket and pork shoulder where not filled with air, but there were no longer tightly sealed after cooking. The bag was a little loose. It could be that is stretched a little from the heat? Not sure.

fisher23

Hi and welcome. As you didn't say what your cooking it's hard to give you a specific answer. You will have air in almost every thing you cook. Some foods produce air as they are cooking as the cell walls break down and release small amounts of air. It can also happen from fermentation and bacteria. So make sure you are following the standard safety protocols and you will be fine. If you are talking meat, a pre-sear should take care of the problem.

Adriana_310509

FYI, just about everything turned out great! There where a few of the packs of ribs which I ended up throwing away. They just didn't smell right to me and I didn't want to risk it. Overall a huge success though! 14lbs of Brisket, 9lbs of pork shoulder, 6 racks of ribs! It was a feast!!!

Thanks for all the advice!

FrankM_3301

That is a lot of product, did you cook it all at once? Another possible reason for air in bag/smelly results (indicating bacterial growth) is that your bath may have been over-filled with product. If there is not enough circulation in the bath, you will get cool spots where bacteria could survive and incubate.

Adriana_310509

I actually did not cook everything at once. Although I had a big container (about 40L cooler; see pic) which worked quite well, it was done in three separate batches. I tried cooking at three different temperatures to see what turned out best. First batch was ribs at 145F for 36Hrs (very nice, seemed like people's favorite). I raised the temp to 147F and kept the brisket and pork shoulder in for an extra 12 hrs. The second batch I cooked everything at 155F for 24Hrs. The last batch was only ribs cooked at 165F for 12hrs.