FoodSaver (Which one?)


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Bruce Bissonnette

Bruce Bissonnette

TVWBB Guru
Merry Christmas night everyone. I am in the unenviable position of having a birthday wihtin 10 days of Christmas. Which usually means a nice day, sans presents. This year, however, being a new WSM owner I talked to the wife about cooking pork butts and briskets and told her we should have some way to freeze product for "Q" on demand. She agreed to a Foood Saver for my birthday. Now which one do I get? I will rely on you great people for information. Don't want to spend a bundle but want something that will hold up. Local Costco had Food Saver 550 for $129????
 
The one I use (about 3-5 times a week) is from QVC.

It came with a mason jar sealer and three canisters as well, which come in very handy; I use one of the canisters for storing my BRITU rub...no clumping of the spices and brown sugar.

QVC is constantly changing their items, when I looked before posting this...they had a couple variations on the package, ranging from $86-$136

The local Walmart has started carrying the rolls and bags. I use the rolls to make any length bag needed. I had a brisket last week, once out of the smoker I cut what was needed for the meal and instantly vacuum sealed the rest and into the freezer in went, I did this half a smoked turkey this week.

BTW: The model I have is the Vac 500...it does a great job, but I would think any model would be good from this company.
 
I have the Professional II series FoodSaver and its quite nice. It's the largest of all the models and it does the larger and smaller rolls with ease. It retails for something like $319 but I got one for $219 on eBay (new, not used). They're still $219 new on eBay. So that's where I got mine. One thing I will say about Tilia (the manufacturer) is they are VERY good about sending you free replacement parts or helping you with issues. The rolls and bags aren't cheap but they're very durable and hold up well in boiling water.
 
Bruce, the only difference in the 350 and the 550 is the ability to seal the canisters. I have the 350 and it works great. Cost at wal-mart for the 350 is $99.00. the 550 is $125.00. Jerry
 
The one I have was called a Foodsaver Compact II, from QVC a couple years ago. I think I paid $124, but that deal is no longer available-- it was the best anywhere at the time as they gave you 2 universal lids, a mason jar sealer, 2 bottle stoppers, a 3 cannister set, and a roll each of bags plus a dozen loose bags. I bought a case of wide-mouth quart jars for everything from rice to beans to spices. One great thing about the one with the hose is that you can get the square marinating dish-- put in the meat, pour on the marinade, vacuum seal for about a half hour, and when you release the vacuum, the marinade is sucked back into the meat. I also used it to quick soak smoke wood in a mason jar once-- the air gets sucked out of the wood, and then the water gets sucked back in.

Oh, and ditto about Tilia customer service-- I had a problem with the cannisters holding vacuum (they had the old-style lids), and they sent me new-style replacements with no problem.
 
Hey Bruce,
I also got a Foodsaver Ultra at Costco. It really does work great. Everything I've cooked and frozen has tasted excellent on reheat -especially pulled pork. It's great when friends come over and you can send them home with samples -just spreadin' the word on good Que! The only real pain is the price of the replacement bags. It's like most things you have to buy like that though (razor blades, vacuum bags...viagra?) once they got the hook set -they got ya!
Dave
 
Bruce

I have heard great reviews about the 550. Matter of fact this weekend before I do a turkey breast I will be heading to Best Buy to buy a 550. The reason I'am going to Best Buy is a friend gave me a $100 gift card and they sell the 550 for $129. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
I hope it's not too late for a reply, but I have the Kenmore foodsaver knockoff from Sears. It works like a champ and is cheaper than the Foodsaver brand. Also, the bags are cheaper and can be used with the Foodsaver also.
 
I just got the 550 for christmas, and can't decide if I should keep it or go ahead and toss in a few extra bucks to get some of the extras with the 1050.
I like the idea of the variable seal time that comes with that model. Anyone know how big of a difference that makes?
 
Coincidentally, my birthday was yesterday, and my wife got me the 1050 model (based on my guidance). I think it cost $159 at Academy. I decided having the manual seal functionality was worth the small incremental price difference. There is a great comparispm chart at the Tilia web site.
 
To Chris:

Does Amazon have a Food Saver model we could buy through the site here? That way we could support the website, and have a convenient place to get one instead of shopping all over.

Just a thought.......
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pat Trammell:
[qb]Does Amazon have a Food Saver model we could buy through the site here?[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Yes, they usual have several models & accessories to choose from. Visit the Shopping page and you'll find a Foodsaver link to Amazon.com.

Thanks for asking,
Chris
 
Chris --

What a shameless, shameless plug!!

We all know /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif that this is all code talk for your side business.... /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

How long did you think it would take us to figure out that Pat Trammel is code talk for Llemmart Tap?

Shameless, I say. Shameless!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Jist funnin', Pat! No cards and letters, now! Just too much time on my hands! /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Slow day!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top