Go to the Article: So You Wanna Buy a Vacuum Sealer?
And ladies and gentleman here are you choices of Vacuum sealers as long as they're Foodsavers
Personally, I think having a pulse option is key to a vacuum sealer.
If you want to seal up food for storage or routine SV there's probably no reason to spend much on a sealer. If you want to up your game you'll either need ingenuity or big bucks. A simple bag sealer or even the small hand held things will do that. But if you want to freeze the food you'll need a bag that is heat sealed. Melted shut. None of the valved bags will hold up to freezing no matter what they say. Plastic undergoes is a considerable amount of change in sub zero temps and those valves will fail.
The vacuum chambers you see on sites like this cost 1000's of dollars. And they perform like it. Most home grade chambers won't get to 300 microns while a pro job will go below 20. That's a big deal. You won't be able to de-gas with a home unit like a pro unit. Or if you want to pull all of the oxygen out of a bottle of wine you'll not find anything in a wine store or a cooking store that will do it. You have to know where you want to go as vacuum sealers have a huge buyers remorse factor if you miss match what you want and what you bought. . Your options are an inexpensive low performance bag sealer, a 3 to 6 hundred dollar home chamber or big bucks. The 4th option, ingenuity is my forte but it's beyond the scope of this comment.
( Alex says he likes a pulse option ) A normally open momentary switched receptacle ( 15 bucks or so ) gives a pulse mode to anything you own.
What? Is this product placement for Foodsaver? WestonSupply.com, Chef Steps is accepting product placements. Please apply.
@bartonk What are you talking about?
Is ChefSteps now accepting fees for reviews? If so, that's fine, but please disclose. [This article seems very out of place; have never seen them so pro one particular brand. In fact, in the past they have always extolled the virtue of chamber sealers--it's all they use in videos]. In fact, in past I seem to remember ChefSteps criticizing FoodSaver because they require specific bags.
Also very fishy the ChefSteps is linking to FoodSaver site directly. ChedSteps almost always links to Amazon, and all of these sealers are available there at a lower price. (Previous ChefSteps article on vacuum sealers had a link to their favorite sealers on Amazon, but the link is mysteriously empty now).
I sous vide at least twice a week and vacuum seal with the Waring Pro PVS1000 pistol sealer. They have 1/2, 1 and 2 quart reusable bags that give me a near perfect vacuum and a very reliable seal. It is a fraction of the cost of a Foodsaver, and has heavy duty reusable bags that are dirt cheap. The best part is how small it is. In a small kitchen counter space is at a premium. The whole system is under $80.
Hi Randolph- I also own a Waring pistol sealer, but yesterday after sous voicing beets using the Waring bag, I noticed that the bag was leaking after I took it out of the ice bath that I had transferred it to after cooking. The bag seemed to vacuum just fine when I sealed it, but now the bag can not be re-used. I thought maybe I should get a standard sealer that might use bags that could withstand the sous vide process better, especially when using higher temperatures for vegetables. What has been your experience?
This reads like it is an ad for Foodsaver.
No, it doesn't. Nearly anything electrical today has electronic control which will "disconnect" from whatever process you were doing when power is removed. This would include your "momentary switched receptacle" suggestion. Would've worked many years ago, but not today.
If you happen to be building a kitchen or already have an Ikea kitchen the ARY VacMaster fits perfectly in one of the lager bottom drawers.. With extra room for your circulator(s) and bags.
Newbie question about vacuum sealing and the sous vide- I'm confused about when to freeze and then how to get it ready for a meal.
1. Seal and fully cook (Joule) the meat, then freeze... then to eat do you re-warm it up with the Joule and grill to finish? Or just microwave? Or warm in oven then grill?
2. Prepare and seal the uncooked meat, freeze, then cook all the way to ready with the Joule when it is meal time?
Thanks for any advice!
Ryan:
First things first; JUST SAY NO to reheating proteins in a microwave! If you have a steam oven that will work but otherwise reheating food in the oven will cause some moisture loss.
Option 2 is generally preferable. Just add 30 minutes SV cooking-time when starting with frozen product (steaks, chicken, etc.... food that isn't too large).
The Chefs Steps crispy chicken thigh recipe is a great first recipe to demonstrate why option 2 is best. Variations of this recipe are always in our freezer (it's very versatile!). We prep twenty thighs, four to a bag and freeze them (Grant only does two thighs per bag because he wants them very flat for searing but we are a family of four and we seem to get them flat enough with four per large bag). The day of is EASY. Drop the bag in the water. You are ready to crisp them up in a skillet anytime after one hour and fifteen minutes (thirty minutes extra since they are frozen). It only takes a few minutes to heat the pan and crisp them up.
If you wanted to, you could precook it sous vide, then freeze it but you would still need to warm it back up before the finishing step of crisping the skin in a skillet. You would not want to reheat this dish in your sous vide after the skillet step or you would get soggy skin.
Good luck!
Thanks Carlton, that helps a lot! I think in general I'll just always aim to prepare the item, vacuum seal, then refrigerate or freeze uncooked. Then cook it up when ready to eat.
Question for chef step: Which vacuum sealer are you guys currently using?
I have the Vacmasater PRO380 - LOVE IT. It also boasts a 16" wide sealer bar, which gives you plenty of room for say larger cuts, like a whole brisket. I got it here - https://www.webstaurantstore.com/ary-vacmaster-pro-380-external-vacuum-packaging-machine-with-16-seal-bar/120VMA380.html
I'm considering purchasing a foodsaver vacuum sealer but I'm not sure if it could be used to lengthen the shelf life of previously frozen beef. I've purchased a side yearly thru a local grower after it has hung, been butchered and then wrapped according to given specifications. All if my children are now grown and my husband is deceased, but the overall cost (approx $4.06 lb including butcher fees) and my taste buds prefer the yearly investment. After I share with my children, donate to a homeless shelter, give some as gifts and even barter with the beef instead of paying for services, I'm still left with a lot. So, I'm wondering if it's possible to vacuum seal the frozen packages of uncooked beef ive had in my freezer since June 2018 (it's currently January 2019) so I'd only have to purchase every other year? Would it be necessary to start the process after picking up a fresh order? Thank you for any input.
I'm currently living in Bangkok, Thailand. I really wanna buy a vacuum sealer, but there are too many choices. The price is ridiculously various ranging from just few hundreds baht till 30k baht. Also, I'm not sure about which brand is good? Most of the time, I just use it to do sous vide myself at home and vacuum packing some frozen meats. Any recommendation? Please help
I'm not sure how much or how many do you usually do per day, because that's what price range determines. If you are doing at around 1-5 KG per day then an 800~3,000THB range would be fine. Also, it depends on what kind of food you are vacuum sealing too because dry and moisture will need a different kind of vacuum sealer too. There is one site i know that has a few price ranges for vacuum sealer https://www.sgethai.com/ . I suggest you just discuss it with them.
You give us EVERYTHING EXCEPT how to purchase items from you!
