Cryovacing Food For Trips How To Use Vacum Sealer

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
Hi All,

Has anyone had any real experience in Cryovacing Fod for trips. My question relates to Meat - how long will meat last once cryovaced?

What meat is the best to cryocac?

I did find this when I completed a Google Search.

I have now found that cryovacing vital spare parts is a great way of keeping them in pristine condition on the boat. Six months ago, I amused my friendly butcher by asking him to cryovac my spare windlass motor, but it’s worked really well - so well, that we’ve now purchased our own cryovac machine

I was impressed with Cryovacing Spare Parts. I reakon my wife would not ne happy at all if I brought a pre greased wheel bearing into the kitchen for cryovacing:eek:
 

4X4

Moderator
I Cryovac all the meat I take on trips. As long as you keep it at +3 it will last for weeks. On a long trip planning is the key. Decide what meals you want and place in the fridge in that order. The less you handle it the better, as less chance of puncturing the bag. Be careful not to cryovac meat with sharp bones and never cryovac breadcrumbs ie snitchels. If you cryovac spaghetti sauce for example, put the bag in water and boil to heat through. Once you've eaten you have hot water to wash dishes.
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
Cryovaced all our meat fro middle earth so we will test and messure on this trip.
Thanks Remus for sending the machine and an operator over to complete the task for us ;)

We even opened the big bags of chips we are taking sucked the air our and resealed. The chips will take up alot less room now.
 

rodw

New Member
Bought a Vacuum Sealer - How do people use them?

Hi guys, seeing Myer had them on special this week we picked up one of the Sunbeam FoodSaver vacuum sealers and some bags. Had a quick play tidying up the stuff in our freezer but how do people use them when they go camping?

Particuarly interested in how you get ready for the catering before a touring trip...
 

Walkabout

Moderator
We bought one a while back and use it for the meat before freezing, it goes in the bottom of the fridge and will slowly defrost over 2-3 days.. the meat you want to use on the day gets transfered to the top to defrost quicker. The meat lasts longer defrosted too which is a plus.
We have'nt but people we camp with cook up meals and freeze them in the bag for warm up dinners.
Our freezer has a fast freeze option so we can put a marinade in with the meat and freeze it quick, the lack of air opens up the meat to take in the marinade super quick ( 15min ) so maybe dont do this if you cant freeze it fast as it will be over marinated.
 

MJB

Member
We have had one for a while now & have used for the following
Taken camping & do the fish fillets on site & into the freezer, fantastic fresh out the water & avoid freezer burn
Bulk buy meat & place in serve size packets & into the freezer
Left over or pre prepared stews & spag bog etc as above. Ideal for a quick & easy meal later for camping or at home.
If doing meats like hamburgers or sausages or anything with any amount of moisture it is best to place in the freezer for a while unless you want a squashed mess.
Marinades we have placed the marinade in with the meat & sealed the bags but need to be careful not to suck the marinade up to top of bag. Personaly I have found it best to place the meat in a container and marinade first then place in bag & seal
They say you can heat your preprepared meals by placing the sealed bag into boiling water until heated through we have tried this, 1st time worked well the sext time the bag split so have not attempted since
Hope this is of some help
cheers MB
 

rodw

New Member
Great feedback. Thanks for that guys. I just found another use, I sealed my bottle of red wine with the included stopper. My wife won't drink red, and she reckons I am too pissed after a full bottle. I must say I am enjoying the glass in front of me even if we are having a roast chicken! I am going to try and resist the urge to break the seal and pour a second glass!
 

rodw

New Member
There are a few threads on this already

http://www.4x4earth.com.au/forum/cooking/3698-cryovacing-food-trips.html

There is another one but I can't find it - I might merge these 2 threads to make it easier in the future for people.

Cheers

Yobbo thanks for that. I had a search before starting this thread and it did not find much at all so I started this one. Leave it run for a while and see how it goes.

Note that cryovacing is a different process thst the butchers use. After vacuum sealing, they then heat the plastic (Used to be in a hot water bath) and it shrinks. They initially did this so they could export fresh (not frozen) meat to Japan etc. The theory is that there are two types of bacteria: aerobic (bad) that need air to live and cause meat to rot and; anaerobic (good) that don't need air to live and break down connective tissue etc in the meat without making the meat rot! This is why they are good, they actually tenderise the meat.

So by vacuum packing and cryovacing, you prevent the bad bacteria from living andstill let the good bacteria to do their job of tenderising the meat!

When I go camping, I have previously asked my butcher (Blue Gum Meats at Coopers Plains) to cryovac everything. I think I will still do that but now I am keen to look at the vacuum packing of precooked stuff etc for a big trip. Sometimes for home use, I buy a full rib fillet and ask them to slice half and re-cryovac the remainder in one piece so I can cut it up later...
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
Yobbo thanks for that. I had a search before starting this thread and it did not find much at all so I started this one. Leave it run for a while and see how it goes.

Note that cryovacing is a different process thst the butchers use. After vacuum sealing, they then heat the plastic (Used to be in a hot water bath) and it shrinks. They initially did this so they could export fresh (not frozen) meat to Japan etc. The theory is that there are two types of bacteria: aerobic (bad) that need air to live and cause meat to rot and; anaerobic (good) that don't need air to live and break down connective tissue etc in the meat without making the meat rot! This is why they are good, they actually tenderise the meat.

So by vacuum packing and cryovacing, you prevent the bad bacteria from living andstill let the good bacteria to do their job of tenderising the meat!

When I go camping, I have previously asked my butcher (Blue Gum Meats at Coopers Plains) to cryovac everything. I think I will still do that but now I am keen to look at the vacuum packing of precooked stuff etc for a big trip. Sometimes for home use, I buy a full rib fillet and ask them to slice half and re-cryovac the remainder in one piece so I can cut it up later...

You can also suck the air out of chip packets and so on to save space. I have heard of guys sealing up there car parts also. Grease up a complete set of bearings and seal them up.
 

jagara

New Member
cryovac

I bought one of the sunbeam machines about 3 years ago. Best thing I ever did as far as camping goes. I plan the menu about a month before, buy the meat, then split into meal size. Put it through the machine then into the freezer. When you are in camp it doesn't matter if the whole lot thaws at once, provided its cold it will keep for 5 to 6 weeks. If a roast is too big for your machine, ask your butcher to do it. If he wont, change butchers.
My best effort was a round of venison: 3 years in the freezer, 3 days to thaw in the waeco and 3 hours in the weber. Best dinner on the beach I've ever had.
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
We purchased a Unika Effene Vacum packaging machine from the 4x4 show today including 12 Metres of bags. Great investment for packing food and so on for camping trips
 

Big Rig

4x4 Earth Contributer
I've been tossing one of these about for years.. I'll be interested in your comments after you have been using it a while..
 

Pure Yobbo

Moderator
I've been tossing one of these about for years.. I'll be interested in your comments after you have been using it a while..

Mate done all my meals when i went to Vic on may own last year, unreal - cooked all my meals before I left and just reheated the bags when I wanted a meal. Bugger all dirty dishes or anything.
 

remus

New Member
Yeah same our freshield one works great and have had it for two years, know this cause we brought it at the same 4x4 show two years ago.
 

MJB

Member
Yeah same our freshield one works great and have had it for two years, know this cause we brought it at the same 4x4 show two years ago.

Ours was purchased from the Caravan & camping Show Adelaide a couple of yrs ago.
 

4WDN

4x4 Earth Contributer
I breed and kill a cow every year, seal all the meat in meal sized bags, stick it in the freezer, the meat lasts untill the next cow gets the chop the next year. By the way that is how you get the best steaks....grow them yourself...mmm. (We have a Sunbeam) Its done alot of meat over the last 3 years.
We got it with points from the bank card, thats cheep.
 

Big Rig

4x4 Earth Contributer
Only problem with that is you get stuck with all the crap cuts too and generally end up as a ship load of mince :)) I'm lucky. I'm in the export beef game. Get my carton of yearling cubes and rumps all I need it. All cryovaced and aged for 3 months min.
 
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