Vacuum seal - hot, cold?

[damnfingers]

Quick question - when vacuum sealing cooked meat how cool/cold should it be before trying to pull a vacuum?  Some of the info I've read is ambiguous and I trust the members here.

 

[SuperDave]

My preference is to refrigerate first if possible.  It eliminates sucking juices out of the meat and compromising the integrity of the seal.  Otherwise, one is stuffing paper towels in the bag and fussing with stuff to do it hot. 

 

[NDKoze]

I always seal mine hot and haven't had a problem with the seals.

Cooling is probably a good idea though.

 

[gregbooras]

Normally I would place covered in the refrigerator and allow to cool overnight. Things like soup and that have a lot of liquid, I place in the freezer in Quart bags and then vacuum seal the next day.

Greg

 

[Limey]

+1 on both of Greg's points although I have sealed hot with no problems. If you don't want to freeze liquids first you can hang the bag over the edge of the table that the vacuum sealer is on and use the pulse function to seal, stopping just before the liquid gets to the seal strip. You will not be able to pull such a heavy vacuum this way but it works ok.

 

[DivotMaker]

I go hot and cold!  When I seal ribs, I let them rest until dinner is done, then seal them while still pretty warm.  Not too much juice flowing, by then.  I will admit you really have to watch anything with a lot of moisture; I just hit the manual seal button when it starts to flow toward the sealer!

 

[TheLocNar]

I always chill anything that needs to be sealed. The chance of condensation remaining in the bag when warm for too long isn't worth the risk of getting you or anyone else sick.

 

[DivotMaker]

I always chill anything that needs to be sealed. The chance of condensation remaining in the bag when warm for too long isn't worth the risk of getting you or anyone else sick.

It's vacuum sealed.  No condensation in the bag because there is no air.  I have sealed a ton of ribs hot, and never an issue.  The package is hard as a rock, because there is no air left.  Plus, you seal them and get them straight into the freezer.  I'm a stickler for food safety, and temps, and I don't think there is any problem with this.

 

[NDKoze]

I always chill anything that needs to be sealed. The chance of condensation remaining in the bag when warm for too long isn't worth the risk of getting you or anyone else sick.

It's vacuum sealed.  No condensation in the bag because there is no air.  I have sealed a ton of ribs hot, and never an issue.  The package is hard as a rock, because there is no air left.  Plus, you seal them and get them straight into the freezer.  I'm a stickler for food safety, and temps, and I don't think there is any problem with this.

Agreed. Condensation is just water liquid. Air is what could be the potential problem.

But as Tony said, we always freeze or at a minimum refrigerate after sealing.

I actually prefer to seal warm. That way I know that all of the juices are going to be in there and not evaporate while waiting for the meat to cool down.

 

[Limey]

Gene, as you have probably figured out by now we all have our own opinions, and as a practical matter it probably does not matter whether you vacuum pack warm or cold. It is however very important (imo) to vacuum pack if you want to maintain food quality.

 

[NDKoze]

Gene, as you have probably figured out by now we all have our own opinions, and as a practical matter it probably does not matter whether you vacuum pack warm or cold. It is however very important (imo) to vacuum pack if you want to maintain food quality.

What he said.

 

[TheLocNar]

I always chill anything that needs to be sealed. The chance of condensation remaining in the bag when warm for too long isn't worth the risk of getting you or anyone else sick.

It's vacuum sealed.  No condensation in the bag because there is no air.  I have sealed a ton of ribs hot, and never an issue.  The package is hard as a rock, because there is no air left.  Plus, you seal them and get them straight into the freezer.  I'm a stickler for food safety, and temps, and I don't think there is any problem with this.

My bad. Was thinking more along the lines of hot liquids like soups/sauces etc where you don't suck out all the air. Those you need to cool down first.

 

[DivotMaker]

You are definitely correct, Jeff!  The only way to seal liquids hot is to use a chamber sealer.  I really want one, but my budget says I don't.

 

[DiggingDogFarm]

FWIW, sealing warm, and especially hot, liquids in a chamber sealer is extremely tricky and usually not a good idea.
The higher the temperature, the more likely the vacuum created in a chamber sealer will boil the contents leading to a host of messy problems.
I can boil room temperature water in my chamber sealer. 

 

[DivotMaker]

FWIW, sealing warm, and especially hot, liquids in a chamber sealer is extremely tricky and usually not a good idea.
The higher the temperature, the more likely the vacuum created in a chamber sealer will boil the contents leading to a host of messy problems.
I can boil room temperature water in my chamber sealer. 

Didn't know that!  Thanks Martin!

 

[TheLocNar]

Any sauces/soups etc should be chilled as quickly as possible anyways. I just fill my sink with ice water (good chance to empty ice maker in freezer) and drop the stock pot in. Once cold, portion into bags and seal.

Tony, just keep saving your change for a chamber sealer. VacMaster has a new Duo model that's both chamber and conventional suction. You could seal full slabs of ribs/brisket with that one.

 

[DivotMaker]

Still on my ultimate wish list, Jeff!

 

[damnfingers]

Thanks guys...sorry it took me so long to get back to this.  I have now grilled a bunch of steaks and chops to eat on my Atkins Diet and vacuum packed them while still warm and juicy.  When I open and reheat them they almost taste like I've just finished grilling them - delicious.

 

[Limey]

Gene, have you tried reheating the unopened vacuum package in simmering water?

 

[DivotMaker]

Gene, have you tried reheating the unopened vacuum package in simmering water?

Absolutely! Works great.  Don't let it get to a rolling boil, or you might break the bag. ???