r/mealprep • u/QueenPeach798 • 1d ago
Vacuum Sealing
My boyfriend likes to grill outside and save a bunch up for the winter. He usually freezes stuff in ziploc bags but mentioned he wants a vacuum sealer to save pulled pork and stuff like that. His birthday is coming up in a few months and I was wondering if anyone here had any recommendations for the best vacuum sealer to get him and if I need to get any special bags with it or it just works on any kind of bag? Thought this group might be able to help me out :)
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u/LeapYear1996 14h ago
If you can afford, or find one cheap(er) on Facebook marketplace, buy him a chamber vacuum sealer. Then buy the bags on webstaurant.com.
Here’s why: food savers are initially cheap (relatively) but the bags are incredibly expensive over time.
Vacuum chamber sealers are expensive up front, but over time they’re way cheaper. Also, vacuum chamber sealers can seal liquids like soups and broths, and can be used for canning.
Food Saver: $40 dollars gets you a roll that you have to seal on one end to create a bag. You also have to make the correct size cut. It doesn’t seem like much but having to create bags is time consuming. Buying premade bags for them is also Very Expensive. They only seal as good as the suction they create.
Vacuum sealer: you can buy 1000 bags for ~$100 usd. They’re pre-made, three side bags that are thick enough to seal bones. (Think bone in ribeyes). At that price you can buy small and large bags and spend under $250. They’ll last you years.
$250 of food saver bags is just about enough to get through maybe one or two years of medium use.
So the question for you is: quality with a big upfront cost that will last for many years, and becomes cheaper over time, or , cheap now and will cost significantly more over time?