Management recently purchased a vaccum sealer. We purchased some sirloin steak and sealed it and froze it. We are heading off on our winter travels next week and will take some of this steak with us in the fridge. Can someone tell me about how long it will last? I imagine it will thaw out in a day or so, but how long after that will it remain edible? Thanks in advance.
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If there is such a thing as a tourist season.... why cant we shoot them?
We've frozen before and it works fine. Also once it thaws the meat may turn a slight brown. It's fine though, as it's all part of the process. Best advice is if it smells, then don't it eat. 99% with meat you can tell right away as it'll smell very off before you even cook it.
Should not be a problem for a week or so when thawed provided that it remains sealed and has been thawed in the fridge, not at room temperature.
Sealed meat can get a meaty smell about it when opened, this is ok as long as it's not obviously "off".
I regularly freeze vacuum sealed meat and meat frozen this way will last twice as long in the freezer as normal and will not show any freezer burn when thawed.
Vacuum sealed meat that hasn't been frozen should be stored as cold as possible (without freezing) to maximise its unfrozen storage life.
Why would you get meat vacuum sealed if you are going to freeze it? It defeats the purpose of getting meat vacuum sealed in the first place. Just wrap it well and place it in the freezer.
The reason that vacuum sealing is done is to remove the bacteria in the air that contaminates the meat!
Why would you get meat vacuum sealed if you are going to freeze it? It defeats the purpose of getting meat vacuum sealed in the first place. Just wrap it well and place it in the freezer.
The reason that vacuum sealing is done is to remove the bacteria in the air that contaminates the meat!
Regards Chris
All meat and especially fish last much longer in the freezer without 'freezer burn' when vacced.
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Neil & Lynne
Pinjarra
Western Australia
MY23.5 Ford Wildtrak V6 Dual Cab / 21' Silverline 21-65.3
When we bought our vaccum sealer I asked the butcher how long beef would keep in the fridge after being vaccum packed he told me two to three weeks have kept it for two weeks and never had any problem with it. We will often buy beef in a little country butcher and vaccum seal as we continue on our journey. Helena.
as a ex butcher cyrovac machines are unreal a few false myths out there this is the truth with cy freeze first it will improve with age true then in fridge bout 6 times longer than normal as others have said if in doubt throw it out no use bali belly in middle of nowwhere
gday chris vac seal work best in freezer or fridge with vac it takes up less room meat improves tip if you have tough steak rub kiwifruit over it for a coupla hrs enjoy
Sounds interesting - never heard about them before. What are these vacuum sealing units? Are there different types and if so what is the best? How do they work - do they come with instructions? Where do you get them from? Anything else worth knowing about them?
All these questions hmmm, obviously sparked an interest :)
Today I threw out a cryovac whole rump after getting them for years and doing my usual month fridge storage before cutting up and re-packing in freezer bags. Two 40mm patches of light brown with a green hue had developed on the fat side.
No problem seen with the seal or vacuum, but possibly a little less vacuum in original pack. Or it could have been original handling, sanitation. No unique bad smell on opening but the sulphur dioxide was slightly acrid, not foul.
Maybe I should have trimmed the fat and let it rest for a while. It was unlikely to be 'off', but I am not a butcher. Anyhow, $70 into the bin as a precautionary measure :(
I think that with the home done vacuum packs it would be wise to set fridges to 0C, but no more than 5C and store meat in the coldest section.
gday chris vac seal work best in freezer or fridge with vac it takes up less room meat improves tip if you have tough steak rub kiwifruit over it for a coupla hrs enjoy
Hey Rusty seems to me that standing at a bench rubbing steak with kiwi fruit for a cuppla hours would make for a sore arm and how many kiwi fruit would i need
First post so be kind. We have been vacuum packing foods since 1988 and we wouldn't do food we expect to keep over a week in the freezer/fridge in anything but. I have caught a lot of British Columbia salmon (Chinook and Coho) dressed, vacuumed and frozen and fooled folks over a year later thinking we had went down to the fish market and bought it that AM. We have been yachtie's (sailors) for many years and stored just about everything in them from nuts, coffee, cheese (and we freeze that sometimes), muffins, prepared meals, mince, pork, even clothes and sensitive spare parts.
We frequent COSTCO (Canberra) a lot and you can buy the food saver there along with bags. There are other shops too, we purchased ours locally before Costco showed up. After showing a few fellow fishers here at the fishing club how they worked I think we've bought at least three more for folks that are asking us now for more bags when we do our Canberra run. They seem to be pleased.
We re-use ours at least once after they have been cleaned adequately to reduce the costs so make the initial bags a bit bigger than normal.
Certainly the one key to successful storage is to process the item (meat, red or white) as soon as possible and freeze or refrigerate. We try and get fresh cuts or the longest 'use by' date as possible.
