New Food Saver! Any tips? [Archive] - Walleye Message Central

eyewitness

03-26-2002, 12:05 PM

Just picked up a model 1050 Food Saver the other day and can't wait to use it. Any of you regular users of these things have any hints or tips to share? I bought the accessory pan for marinading meats and am going to try it out tonight. Is there an amount of time when marinading with this thing that once you exceed it, it really won't do any more to the meat because it is being done in a vacuum? I can't wait to use it on fish....

perchjerker

03-26-2002, 12:11 PM

I have had one for a few years now. A few quick tips I can give you is for fish, I normally put them in the bag, put the open bag in the freezer for an hour or so to let them firm up a bit before sealing them so they dont get flattened out. Another thing I do is if there is a lot of liquid in the bag, I take a paper towel and fold it up and put it just below the sealing area before vaccumming. It catches any excess liquid.
As far as marinating, I dont have a container, I just use a large mason jar, and do like the directions say.

03-26-2002, 12:15 PM

I have had a food saver for about a year. I just unpackaged some Perch Friday for dinner and it tastes just as it did the day I caught it. As far as I am concerned, you can't beat them.

I agree with PerchJerker, use a paper towel to make sure you don't get any moisture in the vacum portion of your unit.

Enjoy!!!

Ed

Mal

03-26-2002, 03:56 PM

I just got a Food-Saver a couple of weeks ago and have tried it out on various things. Thanks for the hints on freezing fish. That is what it will be used for alot. How long can fish be kept in the freezer with the vacuum freezing?? Need all the hints I can get, please!!!

eyewitness

03-26-2002, 04:01 PM

So you freeze the paper towel inside the bag?

03-26-2002, 04:19 PM

I think the book that came with your unit, probably tell you. I, would have no problem in keeping fish like that for a year.

Ed

RTD

03-26-2002, 07:30 PM

They are also great for leftovers like soup. When I make chili, I pour the leftover in a tupperware container and freeze. Then I cut up "squares" and vacumn pack them. Just throw them in boiling water to reheat for individual servings. They will last for many months.
I also vacumn pack everything I can like steaks, ready made hamburger patties, and cheese for camping and fishing trips so nothing gets wet when the ice melts in the cooler. Nothing worse than blood soaked water getting into everything else.

tshot

03-26-2002, 08:10 PM

The paper towel trick on fish works great!
We vacuum pack boat registration, licenses, etc. Keeps that stuff dry and in great condition.
tshot

REW

03-26-2002, 09:58 PM

The food saver is fine, if you can get the water out - and get a good seal.

Some folks have better luck at it than others.

Many of us simply freeze our fillets in zip lock bags - put under water, and expel all of the air - leaving a bit of film of water around the fillet to keep it sealed.
I have had some fillets - frozen in this manner - that have been buried in the freezer for several years. Open them up - cook them up and they are just like the day that I caught them.

The key thing about freezing -- what ever method that you use - keep the air - off the stuff being frozen. If you do this - you will have product that will be great for many many months or even years.

Take care
REW

Atomic Eye

03-26-2002, 10:12 PM

I really like my food saver - a lot! When I put away meats, I'll often add Watkins "Meat Magic" liquid to them before I seal them up. This provides some nice marinading whilst they are in deep freeze. It also helps to prevent freezer burn of low fat meat (which I buy to keep my cholesterol lower).

For soft items, like salmon & walleye, I put them into aluminum foil packets and freeze them about 1 day so they don't get squished when the vacuum is applied. Then, I do the vacuum sealing. Works Fab!!

I recommend that you make your initial sealing bags much "oversized" while using zip-locks on the inside in contact with the food to keep the interior of the vacuum bags clean. That way you can vacuum seal one item and reuse the bag over & over for smaller items. This will save you big bucks over the long run!

Sort of like Xerox - they don't sell copying machines to make their profit. They sell expendables & service.

Good luck.

Atomic Eye (New Mexico) -- "Gone Fission!" ~~~<}}}:>

perchjerker

03-27-2002, 12:02 AM

Eyewitness-
Yes you fold the towel so thats its maybe an inch wide, then place it in the top of the bag just below the sealing area.

I also save used bags that are in good shape for extra socks, tools, anything you dont want to get wet.

curt quesnell

03-27-2002, 05:36 AM

I have the marinating accessorie pan and we use it often. It really
does a good job. Love the entire package, my wife said we are finally
running out of bags. We have the bulk rolls of bag stuff but she
doesnt like them as well.

We do use the Food Saver quite a bit.

Curt Quesnell

WALLEYE CHOP

03-27-2002, 05:57 AM

I've had one for about a year now and love it! Not only do I use it for the Fish, But its great to have a fruit salad with melons and peaches when they are out of season at the market. and fresh veggies are great too. I also make my deer jerky in 15lb batches and vacuum seal that also. If stored in frig, it will keep for 6 months. maybe longer but I don't give that stuff a chance to last that long, Man that stuff's good. One Tip, Like above I to season the fillets before I seal them but if I want a quick fish dinner I put some butter in with the seasoning also then when I get home from work I just pop the whole package into the microwave and in six minutes I have some nice broiled fillets!

Bradnd

03-27-2002, 06:13 AM

We use our foodsavor for just about everything. Perchjerker is right about using the paper towel to absorb any moisture. Another tip is to wipe any moisture off the end of the bag where it will be sealed. The drier the bag, the better the seal. I usually pat dry my fish filets after rinsing & let air dry a few minutes in the fridge before sealing them.
My wife uses it for hamburger, cheese, lunch meat, vegies, & other stuff. She throws the used bags in the dishwasher to reuse.
The seasoning sheets are excellent on steaks, chops, & etc, Just take a scissor & cut a sheet in half & fold it over the steak so both sides are covered. Vacuum seal it in a bag & refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Works great & easy to prepare.

Take care,

Brad

fishon2

03-28-2002, 05:55 AM

I have had one for about 8 years and have many uses for it. One that is a real saver for me is using quart mason jars to store extra paint in. I assume that you have the mason jar attachment. I have had paint in the jars for over 4 years and when I open them they are good as new.

Just a non-fishing use of the equipment.

RTD

03-28-2002, 11:38 AM

Thanks for the paint tip. We have tons of jars and don't can any more so I'll try it.

Shorty

03-28-2002, 12:16 PM

Here's another tip. We were having problems getting all the air out. Found out on the bottom of it there is a altitude adjustment. Just turn it up. Now it works like a million bucks. Maybe you guy's knew that but thought i'd throw that in. Shorty

TLY

03-28-2002, 01:15 PM

Great device. We just marinared some shish kabobs last night (1/2 hour). I have left a full tenderloin in for several days with boullion, wine & soy sauce and it was great. The extended length of time seems to have no adverse effect.

It is great for packing fish. We take along to fishing trips and have a wrapper as well as cutters. Wrap one fish to a packag to appease the DNR, immediate freezing is not an issue because of the vacuum and when we do freeze the extended freezer life (we never let it get that far) would be great.

The materials are pricey but you can economize some by not putting so far into the vacuum channel as instructions say. It will be safe because it will not shut off until vacuum is set.

You will enjoy the unit.

TLY

Big Sky

03-29-2002, 08:18 AM

I have one of these too and it seems like I'm losing my sealing ability. Somethimes works great other times it leaves too much air in there. I will try the adjustment but wonder why it worked well before. Does it matter what side of the bag is up or down when sealing?

Walleye One

03-29-2002, 10:02 AM

CrestHawk

03-29-2002, 03:38 PM

I've had mine for about 4 years and the machine is not sealing anything. The vacuum still works but it won't seal bags. Also looking for suggestions before throwing it out.

abbay

07-30-2010, 02:12 AM

I just got a Food Saver V2840 Advanced Design, today was the first day I used it. I love it so far, but have only sealed up a few packages of walnuts and cheeses. I have both the bags on the roll and the precut bags, used the precut ones today....

tip for potatoes..

1 Peel your potatoes with the potato peeler and then slice them with a knife. Put the potato slices inside... ･ 2 Place a few potatoes in each foodsaver bag. Add a squeeze of lime in the bag and zipper shut. Keep... ･ 3 Wash your potatoes...

for more tips and reviews..click here..

http://www.foodsaverblog.com/

perchjerker

07-30-2010, 03:46 AM

Boatnut

07-30-2010, 06:29 AM

I have had a Food Saver for a couple years and now I seem to be losing my sealing power also. It's only sucks out about 20% of the air before it seals.

Anybody have similiar problems and have corrected it. I would hate to have to buy a new one.

Call them up. they have great customer service. I had one that was several years old and started losing its suction power. they sold me a re-furbished one for like 50 bucks.