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Topic: Vacuum Seal leave air pocket inside ?  (Read 1437 times)

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Chet

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I vacuum sealed a few salmon I caught and notice ALL bags have small air pocket inside. I double the seal,the bag seem air tight.
Vacuum sealer model FM2000.
I am think of re-doing all over again, but damn it there are a bunch of work.  :smt009

What caused this?
What tip/trick to avoid this?

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TW

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My food saver was doing something similar .
I had to get new seals for the top and bottom of the vacuum area.
Now it vacs  down better than new.
Don't know it that helps you though.  :smt003
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mine did the same, and i used a bit of veggie oil (and once manteca) spread around the foam seals, that seemed to solve it. 
I'm assuming I'll have to get new seals soon, but i'm a cheap ass bastard so i wanted to put that off as long as possible


shiner1

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Just wet foam seals with a wet paper towel


pmmpete

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The underlying source of Chet's air bubble problem is that suction vacuum sealers such as Chet's don't provide as good a vacuum as chamber vacuum sealers, particularly as they develop some mileage and start to deteriorate. 

One way you can reduce the number of bubbles of air between your fish and your vacuum sealer bags is to run water over the fish before you put it in the bag.  The water freezes in a thin layer between the fish and the bag, and tends to eliminate those little air bubbles.  When using a suction vacuum sealer, you shouldn't put the fish in the bag very wet, because a suction vacuum sealer will tend to suck any liquid out of the fish and into the vacuum sealer, and the liquid may compromise the bag's seal.  So let the fish sit for a while after you run water over it, and before you put it into the bag.  Excess water on fish isn't a problem when using a chamber style vacuum sealer, as they can seal bags containing liquid such as soup with no problem.

Another thing you can do to reduce air bubbles when using a suction vacuum sealer is to stroke the surface of the bag from the bottom of the bag towards the vacuum sealer while the sealer is sucking air out of the bag.  This helps move air out of the bag, and pushes the bag down against the surface of the fish.

Shown below is some fish which was sealed in a chamber vacuum sealer.  There aren't any air bubbles, and if you look carefully you can see some liquid frozen in wrinkles in the bags.
« Last Edit: June 28, 2018, 06:01:46 PM by pmmpete »


Chet

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This all make sense. I think my problem is the wet fish.
It stick to the bag and the machine think it’s ready to seal.

Well I’ll have to re-do it again.  :smt010
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Fishboundsa

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My friend is a chef and said never wash the ocean fish after fileting fish. His 2 cents and I follow him. I do agree with wetting the foam and I have had some tiny bubbles and it was fine unless you are planning on keeping it for a long time frozen.
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AlexB

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I’m saving my pennies for a Vacmaster VP215 chamber vac. Price seems outrageous at first, but I expect it will outlast several FoodSaver style suction machines and keep my filets from ever having those ittle splotches of freezerburn you get from air bubbles.

(I’m also noticing my FoodSaver is starting to crap out, and even when it was new it left some air bubbles in the bags...)


KPD

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The underlying source of Chet's air bubble problem is that suction vacuum sealers such as Chet's don't provide as good a vacuum as chamber vacuum sealers, particularly as they develop some mileage and start to deteriorate. 

Thanks, pmmpete. Do you have particular recommendations for chamber vacuum sealers?
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nudling

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My friend is a chef and said never wash the ocean fish after fileting fish. His 2 cents and I follow him.

Yep, the meat starts to break down once it touches water.

I have a VP215. The downside is that you need to get the mesh bags if you wanted to vac something that doesn't fit in the chamber (think whole fish). I didn't realize how big it was either before purchasing and deadlifted it into place. :shock:

If you compare the cost of the vacmaster w/all of the pre-cut bags (I use 4mil) against a foodmaster, there's not much of a difference, especially since we spend so much time and effort to catch and care for the quality of the fish. The vacmaster bags are a whole lot cheaper and you don't have to buy a new unit every few years once the foodsaver craps out (just my experience and you're lucky if yours is still going strong). Plus, you can get retort bags for canning or just seal every day items like coffee beans, bulk meat and even soups.. sous vide is also a great use for it too.
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Sounds like your seals are going out on you.
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ApneaAddict

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My friend is a chef and said never wash the ocean fish after fileting fish. His 2 cents and I follow him. I do agree with wetting the foam and I have had some tiny bubbles and it was fine unless you are planning on keeping it for a long time frozen.

Yes! Never wash your fillets with fresh water. The difference in salinity between the fresh water and the fish's cells causes osmosis which leads to the cells on the exterior of the meat exploding (thus that weird gross coarse texture you feel after rinsing).

If you have clean salt water, that's OK because it has a salinity close to that of the fish's meat. I know guys that will make up a bucket full of brine for rinsing fillets when they're processing a big batch of fish, but I don't bother. I scale my fish first, then just keep the fillets clean and dry throughout the processing.


ApneaAddict

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I vacuum sealed a few salmon I caught and notice ALL bags have small air pocket inside. I double the seal,the bag seem air tight.
Vacuum sealer model FM2000.
I am think of re-doing all over again, but damn it there are a bunch of work.  :smt009

What caused this?
What tip/trick to avoid this?

I've had this same issue. As others have suggested, massaging the fillets as the vacuum is pumping helps. The vacuum is either cutting off early due to excess moisture or losing strength due to age/wear. I've eaten 9-12 month old salmon fillets with air bubbles like this without noticing a terrible loss of quality. I don't think it's the best, but if you just put these fillets nearer to the top of the freezer, I don't think there's a need to repackage them.
« Last Edit: July 11, 2018, 06:08:16 PM by ApneaAddict »


Eddie

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Towards the end of my filleting process I toss the filets in iced fresh water with salt and pat them dry thoroughly before packing them.  I doubt the deterioration process is significant.  I just prefer the sanitation factor of the rinse.
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pmmpete

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I have a VP215. . . . I didn't realize how big it was either before purchasing and deadlifted it into place. :shock:
Nudling speaks the truth.  Chamber vacuum packers are big and very heavy.  You aren't going like lifting one in and out of a cabinet and on and off a kitchen counter.  I don't have a counter where I can leave my chamber vacuum packer full time, ready to go, so I bought a cart for it, so I can roll it into our kitchen.  I put my bag supply, a small paper cutter for the bags, and other supplies and equipment on the cart.  If you don't have space on a counter for a big vacuum packer, or space for a cart, consider sticking with a small and easily portable suction-type vacuum packer.


 

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