Vacuum sealer tips for camping

While you may pay a little for the rolls or bags, consider the cost of the food that you may throw out from your freezer due to freezer burn. You can also use it to resell things like potato chip bags and etc. just don't vacuum as it will crush he chips.

We also have the jar attachment and my wife will make salads and out them in mason jars and seal them. Last a lot longer in the fridge that way.

Raften wrote:
Always thought I could make good use of a Food Saver but never got one. Just how much do bags cost and if you are careful opening can you reuse after washing them?

There is always a downside and you hit on it. The bags and rolls are not cheap. We buy in bulk at Costco. I still feel it is cost effective when you factor in savings achieved by buying meats in bulk and/or freezing garden veggies versus purchasing in the store.

As to re-using bags, I have tried, but have not had too much success. Once you cut it open, you will be left with a much smaller bag to work with. I do my best to right-size the bag when I make it with the roll of bag material and consider it a goner once opened.

fchammer1 wrote:
Considering the cost of those FoodSaver rolls, why not just use the much cheaper freezer bags that you seal by pressing the sides together? They're re-usable too.

For camping, I think you are absolutely right. I use my food saver for fish and game that will be in the freezer for longer periods of time. Addressing the "tips" aspect of the thread, cooling cooked foods in the refrigerator prior to sealing helps eliminate juice flow into the seal seam during the vacuum process.

I love mine. Hot dogs are great....freeze them (separately) on a cookie sheet. Seal the in a bag with extra length. Open, remove and reseal. Same with meats. Chops, hamburger, chicken, I wrap in plastic wrap first. After they are sealed and frozen, remove and reseal.

We like the rolls better than the bags. The bags are a certain size. The rolls can be cut to length. I think a roll is 11" wide and 16' long. My wife said she paid $8 for it. She also bought a box of 20 bags for about the same price. You can reuse the bags. We do it with cheese. We cut off the block what we want and then revacuum/seal it. I guess as far as washing and reusing would depend on you. Can you? Yes. Is it safe? I don't know.

Always thought I could make good use of a Food Saver but never got one. Just how much do bags cost and if you are careful opening can you reuse after washing them?

We've been using a Food Saver for years. It's just me and my wife, and we buy all of our meats in bulk. Slice everything up into meal size portions and seal-em-up. Even when we're home, it is so convenient taking out a meal-size portion from the deep freezer.

We love our Food Saver and use it all the time.

We use ours to marinate meals ahead of time. Take lamb chops, for instance. Lightly coat in olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, fresh garlic. Drop in a portion bag, seal it up and toss it in the freezer. When we go camping, we just pull a couple portions out of the freezer and your meat marinates while it thaws. Cut it open and toss it on the grill.

We also do a rosemary chicken that turns out great. Take some of your favorite Italian salad dressing, stir in some fresh rosemary, and then pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. It won't get a hard freeze, but will solidify enough to vacuum pack. Drop in your piece of chicken, two "cubes" of your marinade, seal it up and freeze. When you want to use it, as the chicken thaws, so does the marinade and you are ready to go in a couple hours.

You can also do the same with a pork roast. We buy a big one at Costco and cut it into individual chops, prepare a marinade and seal them up in individual portions before freezing.

We also have a big vegetable garden and vacuum seal portions of green beans, summer squash, zucchini, whatever we have. Give your veggies a quick blanch in boiling water, dry with a paper towel and then freeze on a tray. Once frozen hard, separate into portions and seal. We also whip up some herb infused butter, or whatever suits our fancy, and put a tablespoon into each pouch before sealing. Once sealed, toss it in the freezer. When you want to eat it, boil some water, drop the pouch in for a couple minutes, the veggies heat up, the butter melts and you have a great tasting, garden fresh veggie in herb butter ready to go in about 5 minutes.

When we go camping, we grab out of the freezer whatever we want, put it in the coach refrigerator for a slow thaw and have great meals on the go with virtually no work.

Hmmm says there is one response, but if don't see it.

Considering the cost of those FoodSaver rolls, why not just use the much cheaper freezer bags that you seal by pressing the sides together? They're re-usable too.