Vacuum Sealing Fish Fillets To Freeze

[gabowman]

Talked with one friend about using a vacuum sealer for freezing fish fillets and am now interested in buying one. I'm not looking for the really expensive comercial grade of sealers but just one to use for freezing meats at home. What I would like to know is the brands and models you guys and gals have and use, along with the pros and cons of your vacuum sealers. Thx.

[fultondalecrappie]

I have one made by Rival and it works just as good as my dads food saver.You just need to get the fillets as dry as you can and then put them on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer for a few minutes so they are froze a little thgen put them in the bag and seal them.

[ky-slabseeker]

Buy a Food Saver brand... I use mine to put up everything..The only thing you need to do is pat your fillets dry before you put them in the bag. If it pulls moisture through you will not get a good seal. The only thing I have had trouble sealing was fish that you just scrape and remove the head. The fins will poke holes in the bags. Your fillets will keep for 2 years easy...

[jaxsprat]

Had a Food Saver brand worked great for two years then pump pooped out, prices had gone up quite a bit & found the Rival Seal a meal on sale at chain store for 35% off got it so far so good. What you may want to try is several friends bought at large food store, a kit of plastic bags ea. with valve & a small hand pump to suck vacuum out of bag, they say it works great. They clean fish at dock cleaning station & seal then right in these bags no electric needed. Should be in your large food chain store in with the ziploc bags etc. I believe cost of kit 15.00 to $20.00

[centerdriver]

I have used one for years (Food Saver) and would not trade it for anything. Got mine at a garage sale for 20 bucks. The shock came when I bought new bag rolls for it, but, given the money you save, it is worth it. Since they all work about the same, I would price the bags/rolls for the best deal, then check out Ebay, Craigslist and local garage sales.
Dusty

[Jeepster04]

foodsaver brand seems to be the best. i would go with a med to high grade unit if I did it over again. Got the lower grade unit for christmas a couple of years ago and really have enjoyed it though. Still working great to this day.

[BigSandyRookie]

I have a Black & Decker model. Works well unless there is any moisture. Won't seal if it's pulling moisture out. I may try the "pre-freeze" method.

[TeamCSJE]

My wife has a Food Saver but I have never used it on fillets. Questions: After you pat the fillets dry and freeze them a little, is it okay to stack them two or three high in the bag before sealing or do they need to stay single layered in the bag?

[Jeepster04]

If I stack them more than 2 high it will leave air pockets which will freeze dry.

[robbor]

My dad has one and as far as im concerned they are just like any other infomercial scam item, not up to all the claims. Probably more than half the time the bags are not completely sealed and when you go to thaw them you find that the vacume is lost espically if the bag is really full. Many of the machines break around the latch area. I saw a show on pbs espically on why fish is quick frozen to not damage all the cells. Id look into that long before i ever get a sealer and expect to save money by using it.