how can I avoid crushing the edges when vacuum sealing meat
Asked by Jonah on Sunday, October 17
Overall am pleased with my attempts so far at sous vide, however one difficulty is in vacuum sealing steaks for example so that they don't look like they've been vacuum sealed at the end. I'm using a food saver currently ... in a perfect world the vacuum sealer would wrap around the edges of the meat leaving it in its original shape. Currently I find that it squeezes in the edges so that there's a pinched edge running around all sides. Even after searing, this odd looking pinched edge persists. I've contemplated freezing the meat to make it more sturdy during the vacuum packing process but would rather not do that ... also wondering if a chamber sealer would give better results but would rather not shell out for that. Any recommendations for how to get steak to vacuum seal nicely so that the shape is preserved?
5 Answers to This Question
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1
One thing you can do is just to override the sealing before it becomes too tight. On my FoodSaver you can hit the "Seal" button at any time and it will stop the vacuum and seal it. A completely air-tight vacuum isn't very important for sous vide steaks and stopping it early should preserve the shape of the meat a lot better.
Answered by Jason Logsdon on Monday, October 18
1
fast freeze the steak and then vacuum seal it. The steak will retain it's shape just be sure to add 15 to 20 minutes time to the recipe.
Answered by Brian Olsen on Wednesday, November 03
1
First @ Sara:
Please do not use PVC in contact with food, especially at cooking temperatures, even sous vide. PVC's constituent compound, vinyl chloride, is a known carcinogen. For this reason, PVC plumbing is not used in potable water systems.
As for the question, one option is to use ziploc bags instead of a sealer. Just put the meat in the bag and lower it in a stock pot of warm water. This will force out the air and you can finish sealing as the last bit is forced out. I've found this amazingly effective at eliminating the air without distorting the meat. All ziploc bags I've encountered are polypropylene, which is as safe a plastic as you can find.
Answered by Ken W on Sunday, December 05
0
I said earlier that "All ziploc bags I've encountered are polypropylene, which is as safe a plastic as you can find."
I meant to say polyethylene. Other than that I still stand by my advice. Avoid PVC like the plague.
Answered by Ken W on Friday, December 17
-4
Hi : )
We are also looking to solve this problem. I have just purchased pvc plastic in a 4.5 x 2 inch and a 3.5 x 1.5 inch size to use as protectors in the sealing process. I haven't tried it yet but intend to do so tomorrow as I am processing a whole filet in the morning. I will keep you posted as to the results. The smaller one is being used for ground meat and the bigger one for the steaks.
Answered by Sara Peterson on Tuesday, October 19
You can also find a lot of sous vide information, as well as over 100 recipes, in our book
Beginning Sous Vide which you can get at Amazon.com or as a
pdf download.
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