Freezer Paper vs Vacuum Seal - What's Better?

[jwelch1103]

Vacuum sealing for me. I have a chamber vac sealer too and bought heavy duty bags from a restaurant supply website, forget exactly how thick they are but never have a puncture or tear. I have had a poor seal allow vac loss but that was because of overloading the bag.
Have had this chamber vac for probably 7 or 8 years but used a foodsaver for a long time before that. A couple months ago I defrosted one of my chest deep freezers and found two Tautog fillets dated March 2007. Still well sealed so I defrosted them. They looked and smelled like fresh fish once thawed so I cooked them up. Had one of our adult children over for dinner and asked her and my wife how they liked the fish. They both told me it was good.
Now I do not recommend keeping things that long but Tautog are not a generally easy fish to catch and I was at least going to try and eat it. Of course being in a deep freezer allowed it to keep that long.

 

[Mike Islander]

If you eat your meat fast we totally agree with you - however, if you want me to last longer we believe vacuum sealing is the way to go.

For long term storage cling wrap works just fine. I mean years. As long as you don't damage the wrap, which is why I put mine in groups in freezer bags.

 

[Wrench]

I will use ziploc freezer bags on the stuff that gets used in 90 days or less and add freezer paper beyond that. I routinely use leftovers from previous years elk for sausage and never see freezer burn.

Having a frost free freezer is the biggest problem with freezer burn.

Go traditional freezer, keep it cold and wrap it as close to air and temperature stable as possible and enjoy.

I've cut and wrapped north of 100 head of game in our freezers without issue.

 

[BSwartz]

i prefer butcher paper for meat and bags for fish

 

[tracker7]

I use a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer GM2150 GameSaver and it works great.

i should qualify I only do a couple deer a year with it. But we also use it for the Buy One Get One chicken from Publix.
it’s has worked great for us. We just tag it with the date and throw it in the freezer in the garage.

 

[Trial153]

Freezer paper for red meat for sure

 

[mdbrown]

We used to use paper and clear film.
went to cheap vacuum sealer, it was an improvement
then went to a better quality vacuum sealer, it was very good
went to chamber vac way way better ; very happy.
the bags are tighter and they stay that way. the non chamber one after about a year ish, maybe 15 percent had air leakage.

coul be operator error though

 

[kyarcher11]

Vacuum seal -- you can thaw it easily in the sink. I think both have their advantages but I like seeing thru the plastic. Vacuum sealing burger works great but you do have to deal with the liquid portion while sealing, kind of a pain. Still easy to thaw quickly later.

 

[KMSbuck]

Which way to you prefer? Here we break down the pros and cons to both.

Storing Your Wild-Game Meat: What Method is Best? - BaseMap

Storing Your Wild-Game Meat: What Method is Best? - BaseMap

www.basemap.com

For 20 years I just double wrapped all my game meat in freezer paper. That worked pretty well but I would notice some freezer burn after a year or so. Then I started wrapping the meat in Saran Wrap and then covering with freezer paper. That seemed to work a little better, less freezer burn, but it could be messy sometimes when thawing. This year I finally broke down and purchased a vacuum sealer. Just decided I wanted to see if it extended the freezer life and preserved the quality better. I love how simple and clean it is, and I like to be able to actually see the cuts of meat in the freezer.

 

[Stalker69]

We have done it both ways, vacuum sealed and freezer paper with plastic wrap. We have had it last 3 years with no freezer burn in the freezer both ways. The vacuum seal costs more, and a lot of people don’t like the extra cost. Thawing is probably the biggest thing, with wrapped just place on a pan or bowl. Our packages are well marked as to what cut, or burger, roast, stew meat or jerky slices, or what sausage is in them. Seeing the meat through the wrapper has never been an issue.