I just got one of these units on sale at Bass Pro. This will be my first time owning one and I’m trying to get the most for my money here with bags. What size bags do you guys find most useful? There are all different sizes and I’m thinking about ordering two sizes at least. Also, do I need to order Cabela’s bags or will any bags work? More importantly, which vacuum bags should I avoid due to poor quality?

If You own this vacuum sealer, give me your feedback on how well it works

I mostly use quart and pint.

Mostly for breaking down bulk meat purchases, deer meat and veggies from the garden.



There is an eBay seller. Forget the name. BagsUSA or VacUSA , something similar.


Made in USA bags and are reasonable priced when bought in quantity.

Checked. I was close.

PackFreshUsa

Don't buy Cabela's brand bags way over priced.....look on the internet .....I get mine from the inventor of the vacuum sealer a lot cheaper and better material.....

Hope your Cabelas sealer worked better than mine did. They had their $$$$$ model on sale for $$. I jumped on the deal because it had to be better than the $75 Food Saver model. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

To work, your pieces of meat have to be absolutely dry. Any degree of moisture is kryptonite to the machine. It won’t be able to seal. Top that off with the seals popping apart in the freezer and I was just thoroughly frustrated.

I took it back, bought another Food Saver and been rolling since

You can use “any “ vacuum bag as long as it’s designed to a “FoodSaver” type sealer that sucks the air out. These bags are embossed.

Vacuum bags designed for a chamber vac are not embossed and will not work.

I use mostly Quart bags(8x12) as I make and package a lot of sausage and ground meats.

I also purchase a roll or two if I need a larger bag.(11 inch).

I get my bags from Amazon or EBay, I purchase about 600 a year.

I’ve burned up a lot of sealers over the years,

My latest sealer is a Weston Pro 2300, it has been working great for several years, although I did have to replace the heating element once, changed the gaskets at the same time, just cuz.

$29/100

https://packfreshusa.com/vacuum-sealer-quart-bags/

My last order from Amazon was $26/200


https://www.amazon.com/Premium-Stor...41345&rd=1&s=kitchen&sr=1-39

I use quart bags far more than any other size and like Steve4102 said, have a roll on hand in case you need larger.

We use the 11in rolls more than anything else.

Never tried any pre-made bags.

I like the pint bag as I like to freeze small portions of my Cabeza And Fava Bean recipe

I've seen good and bad with the Cabela's, seems to be hit or miss with those.

I just roll with the elcheapo Food Saver and replace as necessary.
As above: mostly quart bags and keep a roll handy.

Just started using bags & love them. They've cut sealing time in half.

Suppose I should keep a roll handy for something, but not sure what.

WM has 6x10 bags for 19/100. Pages of the things on EBay.

The trick to sealing anything with moisture is to put it in the freezer until the moisture solidifies then take it out and seal the bag. Works every time.

From Amazon.



But hey, “made to US standards”

What is everybody’s consensus on premade bags versus the rolls? Or I tend to seem like the roles would be more useful, but maybe I’m wrong

I only ever use rolls if it is a large item to be be sealed. Like a large roast etc that I want to keep whole.

Their are only two in our household so the qt bags do most everything we need sealed[proportionally].

The rolls you have to seal twice. The bags you seal once.

Same.

Every bag is custom depending on what is going into it.

Food saver bags @ the Chinese embassy.

A person should really have a chamber vac machine.

The money I’ve spent on food saver and a cabelas vac sealer I could have bought a chamber vacuum long ago.

Chamber vacuum is the way to go in my opinion

If you buy by the 1000 it’s about 9 cents for a 5 mil 8x12 and 6 cents for a 4 mil. Well worth it in my opinion.

I’ve often said that foodsaver is responsible for more wasted fish than the trawl fleet. Does Ok on red meat.

Chinese chamber sealer machines are ok. The Busch pump machines are the ones you want but cost 4-8k.

Why is it bad for fishies?

Few people realize that thawing fish in its packaging presents a high risk for botulism.


Clostridium botulinum is an anaerobic bacteria that forms spores that allow it to thrive in low-oxygen environments—like the ones created by vacuum-sealed packages. When the right conditions are present, the spore can produce a deadly toxin. That toxin causes botulism, a life-threatening disease that attacks the nervous system.

The warmer the temperature, the quicker the toxin forms. And when temperatures rise above 38 degrees Fahrenheit—i.e., the moment you remove it from the refrigerator—the risk for botulism increases greatly.

What's he got a botulism sniffing dog or something?


Kinda like a seizure dog?

I'm on the verge of leaping.

There are a host of bacteria present in/on fish that are killed in the cooking process, clostridium botulinum being one of them.

Takes a minimum of 212 degrees to kill the clostridium botulinum spore.

Cook your fish....enjoy.

Jeff, you cook your fish to that high a temp? Also, i dont think its the spores that are toxic. Isnt it the toxins produced after the spores become active?

Idunno, I'm not a quality control type, minimum cooking temps probably would be more correct.

I have been schooled on the machinery that cuts and vacuum packs fish at high rates if speed.

When you have to get rid of a half million pounds of fish a day and the order is 6 oz portions all vacuum sealed ya have to move really fast.

QC was all over the machinery, bacteria was not a issue with intended to be cooked products.

The more fun stuff is the living creatures present in our food.
When freezing fish, the parasites migrate up.
It's best to freeze it skin up if you want to hide the parasites from QC inspections.

I messed with this kinda stuff. Can't find a good video of the high speed vac-paks that these robotics were feeding.
I installed these and would get the call if they weren't running smooth, or if one of those little portions weighed a gram or two over 6. Oz.

Just cook your fish...the entire world eats outta vac-paks.

Just because they are sold in the US doesn't mean they are made here. I don't think any vacuum bags are made in the states.

I dunno. 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️

I just go by what they say....

Fish doesn’t keep very long when frozen. Probably 1/3 life before it starts tasting like fish. A commercial machine makes some good product.

Did you go to the site he linked?

Cookie buys rolls that are about 8 and maybe 10 inches wide. Cut to desired lengths.

I stand corrected.
Maybe they're made in the US by illegal Chinese immigrants?

This^^

Pre-freeze any kind of meat or fish for a couple of hours and it'll seal just fine. Don't pre-freeze and it'll suck moisture into the seal and the seal will eventually fail.

I like the bags instead of the rolls. For some reason the roll stuff never seems to seal well, decent bags rarely fail if you follow the pre-freeze ritual.

Instead of pre-freezing meat, I use a twist tie gallon vegetable type bag, and put the meat in it, roll it for ground meat or fold it over for steak type stuff, and do not tie the top. Place the open end toward the end of the closed seal bag and seal it. Ground meat I put into 1 1/2 pound rolls and put more than one to the bag. When using I take one out and reseal. Venison, I keep the muscles in large chunks and do the same. I like the rolls better than pre cut bags. I run into meat in the freezer that is several years old that is still fine. Those twist tie bags are cheap, and make life a lot easier. miles

Twist ties and storage bags and what? I’m not really following this.

Oh well doesnt matter. Squanto has me on ignore.

I buy rolls. 8,11,14. I use the 8s mostly. I prefreeze stews and liquids before sealing. I never prefroze meat , fish or poultry. Never have had a issue on a seal failing in my 20 years of using vac sealers but theres always this year.