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Would generic vacuum sealer do the job?

HuumanCreed

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Westminster Maryland
Planning out my journey to butchering my own deer someday. Do l need a quality sealer? Or a $70 from Walmart does a good enough job for non professionals.

Grinder is where l feel you get the most for your 'buck' when it come to quality.

Am l wrong?
 
I used a $70 Walmart sealer for close to 10 years. I took it to my cabin a couple years ago and it’s still working. I have a $100 Cabelas sealer at home now. Both are still functioning fine. If your doing one or two deer a year it will work fine, until it doesn’t but that’s the chance you take with cheaper stuff.
 
I sprung for a , hopefully, better quality grinder seemingly thinking like you are.

I have a Food Saver brand sealer. I have used other brands. My feelings are that quality vacuum bags are probably more important. The cheap bags have wrinkles that don't want to come out, then they don't seal as tight or as good.

- I guess I say buy good bags and run whatever pump/sealer, FWIW
 
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I usually do 2 or 3 deer a year and usually a bear and have been using one from Walmart for 11 years now and still going fine so unless you plan on doing a whole lot of butchering the cheap ones will be sufficient!
 
I hadn’t considered the quality of the bags… but I have the el cheapo vacuum sealer and any moment I am going to crack and buy a better one. Aside from processing game, I use it often for sous vide cooking. It wimps out on me all the time and doesn’t seem to pull as much air out as it should.

trying to decide if I want to take the plunge into chamber sealers.

Grinders are totally worth it.
 
I hadn’t considered the quality of the bags… but I have the el cheapo vacuum sealer and any moment I am going to crack and buy a better one. Aside from processing game, I use it often for sous vide cooking. It wimps out on me all the time and doesn’t seem to pull as much air out as it should.

trying to decide if I want to take the plunge into chamber sealers.

Grinders are totally worth it.

The displacement method probably outperforms a vac machine that's struggling, for sous vide.
 
The displacement method probably outperforms a vac machine that's struggling, for sous vide.

you mean dunking a ziplock with food in it into the bath and letting the water pressure push the air out? I agree. I have been using this method more as I have gained more confidence in ziplocks. I use a small straw to get even more air out as I seal the bag.
 
I haven’t butchered a whole deer myself yet, but we used to do them when I worked in a butcher shop, and I have gotten deer back from at least 5 different butchers in 4 different states…
I really like the vacuum sealer for convenience but I think the cellophane/butcher’s freezer paper method is really top notch. It may leak a bit when defrosting, that’s a definite minus. That said, I have really been impressed by the look and smell of the meat after a year in the freezer then coming out of butcher paper when compared to a year later on vac-sealed meat. Not a huge difference, but particularly the color has been nice and deep red compared to a little grayer or purple coming out of vac.
I think this really comes down to keeping light and air off the meat as much as possible, which if you’re going for convenience vac-sealing can’t be beat and if that’s the method you’re sold on, you can achieve similar results with a low/mid-quality sealer and high-quality bags, as others stated, then keeping the bagged meat in brown paper bags in the freezer until you’re ready to defrost. I think this is a good idea regardless of if you use butcher paper, vac-sealer, foam trays and cellophane, or plain-old Ziploc freezer bags with a good squeeze-out.
Hope that was worth the 2¢ you didn’t have to pay for it.
 
Get a cheap foodsaver first and see if it’s something you’ll often use before dropping $$$ on a chamber sealer. Being a specialty appliance, it goes against the common “buy once, cry once” mantra.


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I used a cheap sealer for years and it did the job, the biggest issues I ever had were in the bags. The Walmart brand bags either wouldn’t seal right, wouldn’t allow enough air out, or they would get damaged in the freezer once frozen and allow air to get in.
 
This item: WishDirect Vacuum Sealer Bags Rolls Compatible with FoodSaver 4-Pack 11" x 25' Vacuum Seal Rolls Fit Inside Machine Double-Side Embossed BPA-Free Bags for Sous Vide or Food Storage (Total 100 Feet)

I started using these 3 or so years ago when the Love of my Life gifted me a Sous Vide. They work well with my old food saver. They feel a little thinner than the FS bags but I've pulled stuff from the freezer after 3 years (moved back to MO), that was just like when I first froze it. I double seal each edge
 
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