Well, now that I have my WSM and see the benefits of cooking large quantities of meats, proper storage is the next task to conquer. What Foodsaver or other vacuum sealing device do you all recommend?
Tons of answers conveniently organized. Most will tell you to stick with the Tilia brand-- I have the Foodsaver Compact II, which is these days known as the model 550. It has the jar sealer port. Some newer Foodsaver models allow you to manually override the sealing function, which can be useful in some instances.
Tilia Foodsaver bags, and the Sears Kenmore unit bags, are offered in 8" and 11" widths, and have one side which is textured to facilitate air removal. Other bags, expecially those for commercial sealers do not, and may not work as desired.
I have the Kenmore Ultra sealer, which (from I've read) is very possibly made by Tilia for Sears. I've had no problems with it a'tall, and it occasionally runs for a great price at Sears.
Anyone purchased the 1085 at Costco? Comes with 3 canisters, 2 rolls of bags, and 15 precut bags for $129.99. Looks like that is a pretty good deal for the number of items included in it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hurry, this Christmas money is burning a hole in my pocket!
I'd go for it. For about the same price, my lesser model, purchased a few years back, also came with 2 universal lids, 2 bottle stoppers, and the wide-mouth jar sealer attachment. It appears here that what they give you is the hose, which seals the included cannisters, but the other accessories must be purchased separately. I've found I can live without the stoppers and universal lids, but the wide-mouth jar attachment is a must.