Foodsaver Packaging Workflow

[Chris Hennes]

My workflow while packaging up a batch of homemade bacon yesterday morning consisted of:

1) Seal one end of Foodsaver bag

2) Slice 12oz of bacon on the slicer

3) Wash hands

4) Tear off one sheet of parchment

5) Shift bacon from slicer to parchment

6) Wash hands

7) Cut out parchment to conform to bacon

8) Gently move bacon into bag (careful not to get bacon on the seal area)

9) Wash hands (always ended up with some bacon on me)

9) Seal bacon

10) Put in fridge

11) Repeat until out of bacon

I wanted to see if there were better/more efficient techniques out there: in particular, that would reduce the number of times I had to wash my hands. I am putting the bacon on parchment to make shifting it into the bag easier, and to help prevent getting bacon grease on the seal area of the bag. Anyone have any other handy techniques I should know about?

[Anna N]

Here's mine (assuming we are talking of raw bacon):

Arrange bacon on clean cutting board. Have a clean sheet pan nearby. Put one slice of bacon on top of another and roll up jelly roll fashion and place on sheet pan. Repeat until you have rolled all of the bacon. Stick sheet pan in the freezer for half an hour or so.

Wash hands.

When ready, seal bag at one end, grab clean tongs, open bag on clean surface so you are just lifting the top edge and use tongs to place semi-frozen jelly rolls inside bag. Seal bag.

This way the rolls stay separate and I can grab one or more as needed and re-seal the bag.

[Chris Amirault]

Oh man, this is my bete noir. I am very eager to learn more tips regarding bulk foodsaving.

Here's my usual routine -- plus adding Chris's parchment idea, which I've used sporadically but think I'll use more often:

1) Set everything up

2) Wash hands

3) Cut bacon into approximate 12-16 oz pieces and place on a cookie sheet in the fridge

4) Slice up each piece on slicer, stacking the finished sets of slices on the sheet

5) Wash hands

6) Create as many bags as there are pieces

7) Cut as many pieces of parchment as needed

8) For each package, keeping bacon and clean hand separate: place sliced bacon portions onto parchment; cover portions with paper towel; put portion into bag; remove towel; seal package

9) Wash hands

10) Weigh and label packages

8 takes practice; you're essentially doing most things one-handed, but they're pretty easy to do. The towel is to prevent the bacon grease from getting on the bag seal area.

This clearly could be done more efficiently....

ETA: Anna, I was entering my list here while you were creating yours. The jellyroll idea is an interesting one. Do you do it for space? Ease? Avoiding the bacon grease smudges? And do you add all of them to the same bag? I'm having a hard time picturing this, clearly -- sorry!

Edited September 14, 2008 by chrisamirault (log)

[Anna N]

. . .

ETA: Anna, I was entering my list here while you were creating yours. The jellyroll idea is an interesting one. Do you do it for space? Ease? Avoiding the bacon grease smudges? And do you add all of them to the same bag? I'm having a hard time picturing this, clearly -- sorry!

←

Not just for space but because little jelly rolls of bacon are much easier to handle cleanly than long slices and because if you roll and then partially freeze you can stick them in fewer bags and still get out just as many as you need then re-seal the bag. I try to keep them in a single layer in the bag. Naturally I make larger bags so there is lots of room to re-seal. Hope this helps explain it better.

[Jon Savage]

Our workflow is 4 handed.

-cut/seal one end of bags

-The one with clean hands puts the meat in the bag held by the other who then seals it.

I find food savers to be a hassle if working alone

The bacon jelly roll idea is genius!

[isomer]

I do each part of the operation before moving to the next: I portion the food, separating each portion with sheets of parchment. Then I make one-ended bags, then i fill them all, then I seal them all.

The only trick I have is to roll down the tops of the bags before filling them - this keeps the food from touching the area that's going to be sealed. Makes the operation pretty painless.

[slkinsey]

I don't understand why you're making this so complicated. Just wash your hands once; slice all the bacon, put the bacon slices onto roughly square sheets of wax paper, stacking one sheet on top of another until you have the amount of bacon you want to seal in one package; continue this until you have stacked up all the bacon in wax paper-separated bundles; then fold a bundle in half, slide it into a pre-made FoodSaver bag and seal; repeat until all bacon is sealed. If your hands are incredibly greasy after the bacon stacks are completed, then wash then. Otherwise, a swipe with a clean kitchen towel should suffice. You're not doing open heart surgery, for Pete's sake. Your hands don't need to be sterile. If you cut the bag long enough, you shouldn't have any problems with bacon fat fouling the seal.

[Chris Amirault]

Surely you aren't suggesting that this is less important than open-heart surgery!

Seriously, though, your ideas reveal my vanity. I want people to be able to see that bacon, not wax paper. So that's part of the dilemma.

[Chris Hennes]

I don't understand why you're making this so complicated.

←

I'm an engineer, that's what I do!!

That said, I slice the bacon in batches because I have never come up with a good way of stacking it up so I don't make a big mess. I mean, slicing a full belly results in a LOT of slices, so I just start laying them out in "package formation" and then I figured as long as I was doing that, lay them out on the scale while I am at it, and when I reach my 12 oz package size, pack it up.

[Chris Amirault]

I also give away a lot in individual packages, so one big bag doesn't work for me.

[slkinsey]

That said, I slice the bacon in batches because I have never come up with a good way of stacking it up so I don't make a big mess. I mean, slicing a full belly results in a LOT of slices, so I just start laying them out in "package formation" and then I figured as long as I was doing that, lay them out on the scale while I am at it, and when I reach my 12 oz package size, pack it up.

So, do it like they do it at the deli: Put a square of wax paper on your scale; start cutting slices of bacon; lay them out on the wax paper side-by-side; when you cover one sheet, put another sheet on top and continue; when you reach twelve ounces, set that stack aside and put a new sheet on the scale; continue until you have used up all the bacon.

Mainly, though, I think you'd save yourself a lot of time by cutting out all the extra hand-washing. Start with clean hands and have a fresh, clean kitchen towel handy to wipe grease off your fingers. After all, this stuff has been preserved with salt and smoke, and you're going to be cooking it through anyway.

[Chris Hennes]

Mainly, though, I think you'd save yourself a lot of time by cutting out all the extra hand-washing.  Start with clean hands and have a fresh, clean kitchen towel handy to wipe grease off your fingers.  After all, this stuff has been preserved with salt and smoke, and you're going to be cooking it through anyway.

←

My concern is not food safety, but rather a fouled seal: I'm new at this whole FoodSaver thing (I bought mine this weekend) and don't know how careful I need to be.

[slkinsey]

Don't worry too much. If you get grease on the inside of the bag near where you want to seal it, just wipe it off with a paper towel.

[rooftop1000]

The "set it aside step" could also be in the freezer so you are less likely to slop on the edge of the bag...just stick a cookie sheet or plate in there. I freeze my extra meatballs on a plate before bagging so I dont squish 'em

tracey