Re:VacMouseketeers POST HERE!!!!

[Ron Pratt]

Allen,

Just a few pointers or suggestions might help you in the future. Permit me to go backwards before I go forward -OK?

Very few of us have access to freshly processed beef sub-primals so we have to settle for ones which have been sealed in cryovac packaging and most likely have even been flash frozen! The juices in there are natural and actually start a wet aging process. It’s pretty safe to assume that meat was packaged under acceptable USDA food safety conditions.

Now – let’s move forward – I actually wash the cryovac with not hot, but really warm water and dry it off before ever slitting open the bag. Reason? I wonder how many people sorted through, handled or whatever that meat before I brought it home! Anyway I then slit the bag open and let it drain into the sink for about 20 to 30 minutes. I’m really reluctant to try to dry off the meat as there MIGHT be bacteria in the paper towel material, nor do I rinse the meat under the facet for the same reason! By that time I will have rolled back my bag top like a sock. I then grab the meat and pull it tight into the bottom of the bag and then roll up the bag assuring a clean, dry surface. If you slant your meat slightly then if there is actually any heavy liquid it will run to the bottom of the bag completely opposite from your sealer. Insert the vac mouse and seal away. Even if you get some liquid like you did in the first seal it really should have been hot enough to have sealed anyway, but with your 2nd safety seal you should be fine.

I hope I haven’t bored you nor scared you – trust me, I’m not a germaphobe! LOL – in fact when I think back I took very few precautions with my first sub-primals, used cloth towels to dry and bare hands to hold the meat – but you know what? We never had a problem so take what I have said tonight however you want to, but I hope I may have helped a little!

Ron