I don't have a vacuum sealer, but I do have a vacu-vin instant marinator.

The point of using the vacuum for marinating is that the vacuum pulls the meat fibers apart, and forces the marinade into the meat. With the VacuVin, you just give a couple of pumps, and your meat is marinated--just seconds, to get the same or better results as you would with hours of regular soaking. Basically, once the vacuum is achieved, the meat is marinated--no real time involved.

Of course, you could do a taste test. Cut some cubes of steak or chicken, put in for varying lengths of time (or vacuum strengths--I don't know how your machine works exactly), cook each up, and taste to find out what you like best.

I have to say that I bought a marinating tray, thinking it would be the one thing that made my meat recipes great! I can't see that it makes any difference at all, but maybe it's something else that I'm doing wrong. You can use your marinate/sealer for almost anything else, but I just haven't found much benefit in using it for speeding up or improving a marinade.
For tenderizing meat, I use one of those torture-like devices that punch a gazillion holes into the meat. That seems to work better than the vacuum sealer marinade. Sometimes I combine the two, but without overwhelming success.

I just bought my first vacuum sealer yesterday and it came with a marinator. The lady that was demonstrating it for the store said ten minutes and your good to go. You could also leave it longer if you wanted to for even stronger flavor.

bobby, it's funny you should post this. Guess what Elery got for Valentine's Day? Yup, it's a vacumn/marinator. Eric Villegas had one on one of his shows, and it's made in Flushing, Michigan. We did chicken in buttermilk on Saturday and after 20 minutes of marinating it was very similar to chicken that I marinate overnight. It works surprisingly well, I was surprised.

You just put the marinade and the meat in the container, hook up the vacumn hose, put on the lid. When the vacumn timer tells you, you just unhook the vacumn hose, lock the lid and put it onto the machine where it tumbles for however long you want. 5 pounds of chicken breast takes 20 minutes.

Yup, he likes gadgets, LOL, but they have to be machanical gadgets.....

Annie

The 5 lb chicken tumbled in it's marinade? That sounds like a magical new gadget, for sure! Never seen one of those out here!

Yes, The Other Annie, it's a magical new gadget, LOL. I'd never heard of one, neither did Elery. The website says that the vacumn opens the fibers in the meat so that the marinade can be absorbed and the fins inside the canister works about like pounding meat with a mallet, breaking down tough fibers, but without flattening it like a mallet does.

As soon as Elery saw it on Fork in The Road, he just had to have one and I found that I could get it here in Michigan for $50 less than it was sold for on Amazon.

Annie

Annie, I hope you have a counter for that to live on! I think you're gonna' love it. Since my vacuum sealer is my most used appliance (not counting the fridge), I guess I'm a fan.

I was going to say 20 minutes equals overnight, but Annie beat me to it. I've always just used a wide mouth canning jar (quart or half gallon depending on how much) for marinading meat, so I don't have to store something extra. (I'm all about dual-purpose, you know.) That 20 minutes really does help push the boundaries, especially if you need to ''get it going''! I think the extra tray is a good idea though if it's something you know you're going to use. It looks a little easier than my jars...

Annie I thought you were talking to yourself there for a second then I noticed the different numbers after your names! hahahaha!!! Made me laugh. I thought, well now she's answering herself!!!

I do my marinades in Ziplock bags, and I never saw the need for a vacuum sealer. It's very easy to get all the air out of the bag - I just prop it up in a bowl, sort of on one corner, and then as I'm sealing it, I force the air out of the top corner. I do the same thing when I am putting stock in a plastic bag for the freezer. Since I mostly only marinate fish, I wouldn't want a vacuum pump pulling the fibers apart - there might be nothing left to hold it together! I don't usually marinate chicken, since I tend to poach it for use in other dishes. I have a hand held vacuum sealer, but I'm thinking about getting a countertop one, especially one that will work with jars.

Lars

Lars:
I use the hand held sealers, as well. They are great for often re-used things stored in the refrigerator and they keep things well in the freezer. But I really like my vacuum sealer with the jar attachment. I freeze all sorts of things in the jars and store things in the refrig for longer periods. The jars are great for sauces, soups -- well, anything that will fit into a canning jar. I use the wide mouth attachment on half pints, pints and quarts.
P.S. The hand held sealers are great for storing your silverware and jewelery.
Won't tarnish.
The Other Annie

I almost thought you were Annie1992 - I have trouble with a few names here, including the ones that end in "girl" or start with "gold". And the two Annies are both Geminis! Annie1992 is almost my brother's twin - she's less than two days younger than he is. He and Annie both have daughters named Amanda, but my niece is much older than Annie's daughter.

Thanks for the tip about storing silverware. I'm not worried about my jewelry tarnishing, as I wear it often enough, but I don't use my silverware as often.

I understand that you have to get special lids for the vacuum sealer, in order for it to work with regular jars, but I'm not sure exactly what kind.

Lars

Lars,
I use regular canning jar lids. They are actually reusable as well, because they remove easily without being destroyed. You will have to have an attachment to your vacuum sealer that fits the jar size you've chosen to use. I only have the wide mouth attachment, but they are available in the regular size as well. It fits over your jar lid and sucks the air out and seals the lid in place. As long as you allow enough space for expansion during freezing, the lid should stay in place with a tight seal.

OT about marinating but thanks for the tip on storing silverware. Seems like a simple solution.

I have been going crazy the last two weeks transferring and vacuum sealing stuff into pint, quart, and 1/2 gallon canning jars. From chicken feet broth to flour; freeze to pantry.

I have been using both sizes of the jar sealer attachment, two sizes of the FoodSaver universal lid, a hand held FoodSaver, and a P-Touch labeler.

Thanks for the responses. I left the steak under vacuum for 30 minutes and then cooked it. I couldn't tell much difference between doing it this way and the old fashioned way in a ziplock bag.

Woah, Annie(1992). That's quite a contraption you have there! I didn't even know they made such a thing. I bet it's a lot of fun.

Hi - I'm - new to this board - I didn't even know it was here. Someone over on the kitchens board referenced it. I have questions regarding the vacuum sealer. I have a Food Vac sealer I bought at Costco a few years back. I am having trouble getting it to suck all the air out of a bag. Any tips on what I may be doing wrong? Does it matter which side of the bag is placed face down?

Also, does anyone have a picture of the jar attachment? That is a new idea to me. Thanks for your help! Kris

Here you go Kris. I bought both sizes, for regular and wide-mouth jars, and am still using them all the time (I've had a Foodsaver for years). It comes with a long tube that attaches to the lid/vacuum sealer. The only thing you have to buy (occasionally) are new jar lids, which are under $2 for a dozen at my local grocery. That said, you can reuse those lids many many times, before you need to swap it out for a new one. I think the jar lid sealer is one of their best accessories.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jar lid accessory

Fascinating! Wonder where I've been. Great idea. I can see the advantages, I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around the process with the jar lids. I think I'm slow...you put the regular canning lid and ring on the jar, or just the lid? The foodsaver 'lid' remains on there?

Kris, I confess to having the jar sealers for several years and never used them. Now I'm going crazy with the canning jars because I have a collection of cracked FoodSaver canisters.
soften the lids in hot water - I microwave a little water to boiling then drop in the lid
dry lid
clean jar rim
put lid on jar
place FoodSaver Jar Sealer over jar
remove air with hand held until light turns green OR with FoodSaver unit using hose attachment
when fully vacuumed, take the jar sealer off the canning jar
put the ring on if you choose to - it's optional

Just put the lid on the jar. The attachment helps stick the lid onto the jar, then you pull it off. The lid remains on the jar, without need for a ring.

I use the jars for things like soup, nuts, chips, crackers, cookies and marinades.

Here's a picture of my storage drawer; you can see the jar attachment just right of the box of lids.

Thank you so much for that clear explanation! I love this idea. I will probably be storing everything that way now!

claire de luna: Thanks for the info. Now I'm concerned - I didn't ask my cabinet maker to make a special spot for my food saver stuff, which I know I will use much more often. Thank you for your replies. Kris

I've never softened my jar lids (they are regular Kerr or Ball lids). I would not put the rings on. You need to know if your lid comes loose or gets knocked loose and the ring would be a disadvantage.
Please be aware, this is not a canning alternative. It's a way to store food for longer periods in the freezer, refrigerator or pantry.

Annie1971, I was repeating information I gleaned from the FoodSaver Yahoo group. I do know not to use this method as a canning alternative. I am using them for opened flours, bread crumbs, cheese, and to freeze leftovers.

Thanks for the correction about softened lids and rings.

Mustangs:
I actually had a brick of cheese for two years in my refrigerator! It was like new when I finally used it. Don't you love saving food this way!?
I guessed you knew about not using it as a canning alternative, I just wanted to be clear to new users.
Annie

I guess we have hijacked Bobby's thread!

Annie, That validation about the cheese is good to hear. Yes, I am loving it! I keep testing the vacuum on the jars, I haven't had a failure yet.

I'm also having success with the universal lids which I have had for years but never used them. I only have a few things that I need this option for.

Yes I knew not to can with FoodSaver but you can't take anything for granted with me!