IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Equipment => Topic started by: mod_auger on Nov 04, 2003, 01:42 PM
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I was wondering how many people out there freeze their fillets, and use a vaccum sealer to do so. I've been looking at buying one for quite some time, and was wondering what everyone's experiences or opinions are on this topic.
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we bought one in 93. when i lived in AK we used it all the time. now we are lucky if we use it 3x a month. it will keep your fish & game about 2 - 3 x longer then just butcher paper. almost all the fish i keep now is eaten right away. we have some moose that is about 2 yrs old and it is still good.
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I bought one before deer season last year and I really like it. I vacuum packed my deer cuts from last year and those packages are still good. I buy a lot of chicken when it is on sale and always vacuum pack it. Also, did the same with sweet corn so I can have "fresh" sweet corn during the winter. Tastes as good as it did coming off the cobb. It will pay for itself in few years I think.
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Bean
We just orderd on 2 days ago waiting for it to come in.Cann't wait to try it out on the fish and deer and the homemade sausage ect.
Cold Feet
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I've been thinking about buying one but I'm wondering if they do as good a job as the commercial vacuum sealers (or at least close)? Also, how have you found the cost when you factor in the special bags they require.
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I got a vacuum sealer too and butchered my deer last night and sealed her up. Cost me a whopping $1 for the plastic. Saved $99 bucks from going to the butcher.
I got a cheap 30 dollar black and decker model but works well but think ill buy the gf a better model for xmas.
Hey cold feet or anyone else, mind sharing a few deer sausage recipes?
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They are very nice. We package about 6 deer a year and buku fish filets. The bags can get expensive but prices are comming down. Black and Decker came out with bags this year that are real reasonable. The prices on the"food saver" bags came down now too that B&D is out.
One key to useing the machine is haveing the filets as dry as possible and no blood on the meat. Moisture will cause things to not seal too well...
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Dark Cloud
Thanks for the helpful hint on the moisture thing. Didn't realise it would be that much of a factor. Did you try letting the meat suspend below the machine and not lay flat on the counter when you were sealing the meat?
Alipine High
I'll dig out some of my recipes and IM you later but heres some food for thought, Cabelas has some great sausage kits that I've used with a lot of great success. Tastes great and the cost isn't to bad either
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I got on last Xmas as a gift (Foodsaver), They are great! I have fish from last ice season (2002-2003 season) they still taste as fresh as can be. Vacuum marinating works well too, especially with chicken. They are worth the investment, food will keep alot longer!
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I have a foodsaver and have used it for the last three years. This thing is awesome and has so many uses it will blow your mind. I freeze all my game and have never had any go bad. I found that the foodsaver bag material is by far superior to other bag material. Clean sealing area is key.
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Cold Feet - with my machine the moisture gets sucked up into the "sucker" area and the area where the two sides of the bag seal together causing a mess and the bag to possibly not seal.
Never tried the suspending meat thing but I imagin liquid would still get sucked up?
Good luck
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use it to preserve old or new coins. i`m using it on the new state quarters
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2 things that will help prevent sucking fluids into the pump. First par dry the meat, and second you can take a paper towel and roll it up, put in front of the meat close to where the bag will seal, the towel will absorb any moisture/fluids, and prevent it from getting sucked into the pump.
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I've used the foodsaver for the last 2 years. It does a great job on perch fillets. Key is to make sure they're dry before you seal 'em up. Fillets 18 months old taste like you caught them yesterday!
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I put the word in with Santa
FOODSAVER!
Hope those elves are reliable!
RGFIXIT
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I have used my Tilia foodsaver for just about every species of fish and game and here's what I found. Dry the fillets off on towels until dry, or pre-freeze fillets before sealing or place a small strip of paper towel ahead of the fillets but behind the seal bar in order to soak up any stray juices. Seal meat in the center of the bag for optimal sealing. I never had any luck with species like salmon, trout, shark, lakers, yelloweye snapper or other "fatty" meat fish. It seems the fat deteriarates in the freezer, (Fat dosen't freeze) and these fish turn "fishy" after a couple months. In otherwords the table quality takes a nose dive after a couple months. Pike, perch, whitefish, and other white meat fillets are fine freezer sealed providing you remove the mudline or fat line on the skin side of the fillet. I had pretty good luck with freezing these fish with the skin on because the skin helps protect the fillet, but my wife would rather have the fillet skinned out.
With all of that said, I prefer my fillets, (not eaten within 3 months) frozen in water! They last much longer and taste fresher than the Tilia sealed fish. I had halibut, octopus, seabass in the freezer for over a year, and they still taste fresh coming out of a block of ice. Some folks may argue that fish frozen in ice gets "waterlogged". I have never noticed this problem? I'm not swaying anyone from getting a vacumn sealer, I'm just really really picky about any fish that has the slightest "fishy" or "freezer" taste to it. It's just hard to beat good old cardboard milk cartons and heavy duty ziplock bags filled with water! This system works great if you have the freezer space. The foodsaver is however excellent for preserving jerky, waterfowl, game, jerky, etc....
My Tilia unit has been back to the manufacturer twice in the past 8 years, (burned out pump and burned out sealing bar.) It costs about fourty bucks to have it replaced or fixed so beware of the repair costs!
One more note, don't go with the el cheapo food saver! I would stick with the adjustable model because of the override feature. Hope these tips help! -barleydog ;)
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FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer? Wouldn't be without it! No more freezer burn on my panfish fillets.
Used to freeze my fillets in water, cause that's what the old timers said to do. No no, I'll take the vacuum seal deal anytime.
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Food saver tip
When I freeze deer roasts I first wrap them in cling wrap than I use a large bag that will hold about three or four roast. I reaseal the bag after I use one , the cling wrap will keep the meat as red as the day you froze it Another tip is to prefreeze your fish and I even bread my fish before freezing and use a tray and put wax paper between each layer of fish when I have say 100 filets then break them lose after freezing and put in large bag. I use say 20 at each meal and reseal bag that holds say about 75 fillets.
I put the frozen fish right into the hot frying pan with no time lost thawing them. I love um this way.
And with my new electric knife I can clean a days catch of 50 panfish in short order.
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I heard the key to freezing things in water is to freeze the item without water first then reopen the bag and add the extra water and throw back in the freezer. That is suppose to minimize the water logging...haven't done it enough to draw any conclusions yet though. My problem with the water method is the time it take to defrost when you take it out. I think I'll look into getting a vacuum sealer...I've thrown out alot of moldy cheese that would have been saved with a vacuum sealer and paid for the unit all on its own.
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The idea of using water is to keep air of the meat/fish. The cause of freezer brun is from air, thats why vacuum sealing works. Another trick is to use the bottom of plastic milk jugs, as molds, fill them with water and put your fillets in and freeze. Then when the block freezes remove it and wrap in paper or saran wrap etc. The frozen water keeps air off the fish and wont freezer burn.
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you'll love it. play around with it and you'll see all the uses.
we seal a pack of TP, another of matches and striker, etc etc. things that you want to have with you and dry but likely will not use all season while out.
just for fun we see what all we can Vac. popcorna nd chips are no good, boss, they crush into dust.
but soda works. yeah soda.
on a counter top bring the VAc to the edge so the baggie of soda hangs down, if fluid is below the level of the vac it doesn't suck it out.
just dry the inside edge of the baggie well and the seal will be perfect. then VAc away, you now have a soda that can be partly frozen and still opened, and when empty the 'can' is folded and tucked inside your wallet!
my wife gets a good seal on 75% of the meat she Vacs mainly because she doesn't leave enough room at the top ( I buy the rolls of bag material that way I can make the size bag I want, it's about .13 a 10x6 bag)
the other thing she refuses to do is wipe the inside edges of the end to close so it's failry dry. it takes one fast swipe with a towel but she won't do it.
I take the Vac with me int he truck and with a AC converter I can pack things while I'm out hunting and etc, and can also re-pack things that I opened. It also works fine on the boats too.
I would use it to package more game and fish int eh field but we are required to not completely fillet fish so that species and length are undetermined, and we also have to leave a wing or head on the ducks, things like that.
I think if we had it packaged and labeled we would be fine as long as we are not crossing the border, but why push your luck.
bottom line is we love the Vac 500.
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I just bought the tilia vac 800 a few months ago and do not know how i ever went without it. the machine is great. I tried the empty can routine and man that is one powerful machine. it crushed those cans in the bag with very little effort. to anyone thinking about buying one, this machine has been goatboy approved.
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Dark Cloud;
How do the B&D bags compare to the food saver bags, besides price??
They (B&D) seem to be thinner weight.
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the food saver bags are super heavy duty. you can boil them and microwave them. the b&d bags are a lot thinner.
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my father inlaw used his foodsaver to freeze some of our fish last winter and sucked all the juices into the machine. mother inlaw said about two weeks later she smelled something dead in her cabinets. guess what he's not alllowed to use it for fish anymore :(
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Nunzio - The B&D bags seem nice. We have done three deer and some fish with them the past few weeks. They are definatly thinner than the food saver bags, but they seal just fine. Which is what matters.....
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if you take care of the food vac it will last a long time. as i said we have had ours about9 or 10 yrs. still going strong.
as for freezing fatty fish the only way i have found is to smoke them first. we tried precooking them, brine solution ect. Unless you want to can them. but that is a whole different ball game.
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just recent;y purchased the Food Saver 800 and this machine is great.
the first use of it was to vacuum seal some marinated duck breast's. just add a little of your favorite marinade and seal up. be careful not to put too much marinade in as it will get sucked into the vacuum unit. this is my second sealer that I have owned and I will never be without one.
also last Saturday I thawed some pike from March for a batch of pike chowder and it was not even the least bit freezer burnt.
well worth the investment
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I agree waterwolf. the machine is great. as far as sucking juices into the machine, fold a piece of paper towel and lay across the top of the bag just below the seal line. any juices should be stopped by this barrier.
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I dont have a food saver, but am thinking of getting one. I always used the milk cartons (almost a thing of the past) and now the zip locks filled with water. The only problem is the thaw out time. I have fish I caught through the ice last year because I dont take the time to thaw. Mostly what I do now is just keep enough that I can eat without freezing, and release the rest.
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hey kenelz. the thaw out time is not that long. just set the ice block in the kitchen sink in cold water for about an hour. that should thaw out your fillets and they will still be cold as hell. pat them dry and put on a plate in the refridgerator.