I’ve never had or used a vacuum sealer before, so I don’t know the benefits to having one or what to do with it if I did have one. My wife doesn’t particularly like smoked food (or meat, really), so I have to eat everything right away before it goes bad. Needless to say, smoking a brisket is only for large gatherings. I’m wondering if a vacuum sealer would be a good investment for me.
Having to eat everything before it goes bad seems like it would take some of the enjoyment out of eating. However, if you were to cook something like a brisket that your wife doesn't enjoy, that would mean you and your wife would be eating two separate meals, or eating by yourself, which doesn't sound enjoyable, either. It's hard to imagine a vacuum sealer improving this situation.
So how and why do you use your sealer? Do you use it mostly for freezing food that you just got from the store, or is it mostly used for storing leftovers? Dividing into portions?
Yes, mostly for freezing foods that comes in large packages and making smaller portions so as not to have to defrost more than can be eaten in one sitting. Not so much leftovers, although we do vac seal sauces, gravies, soups and stews from time to time. Neither one of us are huge fans of leftovers on most things so we try not to prepare too much food.
Do you always use it when freezing food? What are its limitations? Right now, my attempts to freezing foods amount to just putting it a zip-lock bag and squeezing as much air out as I can. I like to shred chicken, but it dries out before we can finish it.
Yes, we always use it, with the exception of items that come individually sealed in portions, like Cornish Game Hens, for example. Limitations with vac sealers are large items like turkeys or half- or whole hams. although there are pleated bag rolls available for those items if your sealer can seal them adequately. Liquids or wet foods need to be frozen first or put into containers, or the vac cycle cut short to avoid sucking the liquid into the vac pump. Most sealers have an area that can handle minor liquid intake, and most have a "wet" or moist cycle that applies extra heat or extra time to improve the bag sealing with moisture that might get sucked up into the sealing area. I try to avoid drawing liquids into the sealer by wrapping things like meats in saran wrap or chilling/freezing those liquid items before sealing. There are several methods of dealing with this.
The primary goal in vac sealing is to remove as much oxygen from the item being frozen as possible. Oxidation causes foods to degrade and deteriorate so its removal is important. With a zip lock, of course you can't remove all of the oxygen, but beyond that you can never be sure the bag is sealed completely, and most of the time it is not perfectly sealed. With a vac sealed bag, it's fairly obvious when a bag loses its integrity and needs resealing. Your shredded chicken becoming dried out is evidence that your bag is not sealed properly, and some of the nutrient value could also be lost. With a zip lock I would not shred the chicken prior to freezing to minimize the surface area exposed to the air, and by not shredding it gives you more options when you thaw it out. If you are not freezing shredded chicken but you have leftovers, airtight container storage in a refrigerator will extend the freshness.
Lastly, do you consider this to be an essential piece of equipment in your kitchen? Or is it just a nice luxury?
I think everyone here will agree, it is an essential. If you freeze food for any length of time, you absolutely need one of these to preserve the flavor, texture, and nutrient value. I think if you were to try an inexpensive but well-rated model of sealer and did your own comparison, it will make you a believer...but it really depends on if you use your freezer for anything other than short-term storage. It will improve the shelf life of anything you use it with, but it may not make sense for you if you only store things for a month or less.
