Chamber vacuum usage

[JBailey]

Last night, I was opening one of the organic ground beef three packs I bought at Costco. In the process of opening one, I managed to knick a corner of a second one. I put the meat still in the original package but with the opened corner into one of my own vacuum bags and then sealed it.

Now I am thinking I perhaps should have removed the ground beef and resealed it without the packaging which has been exposed to air, handling and the like. Are there best practice procedures someone might recommend for this situation and also for when I am re-packaging other items bought in bulk but where not everything is prepared immediately? Is it advisable to wash meats and dry them before resealing? How long are resealed items refrigerator safe in your opinion? When I seal meats I generally use 99% and then 2.5 seconds of vacuuming, but I am intersted in what others think.

[Robert Jueneman]

I agree, it would probably be best to ditch the original packaging in that case.

I don't see any need to wash meats before sealing them. If you are concerned about food safety, you could consider blanching the meat briefly after sealing it, then throw it in an ice bath before refrigerating it, if you aren't going to cook it right away.

The question of what percentage vacuum to use for what kinds of meat is vigorously disputed. Dave Arnold reports that too high a vacuum (e.g., 99%) causes excessive "boiling " of the meat, and subsequent fluid loss. Peter Black (blackp) and I tried to confirm that with chicken, to no avail, but I haven't tried it with beef. I also tend to use 99% with my MVS-31X, and 95% sometimes causes the bags to float. Whether 97% would be better, I don't yet know.