2nd attempt is a strip loin

[Al Gulutzan]

So I have my 2nd sub primal in the fridge. I’m doing a strip loin this time.

I did have some issues but felt a lot less panic this time around.

I found I was having a tough time getting good channels for the vacuum. The strip loin from Costco had a lot of blood in the bag. I drained as much as I could but noticed more blood than my last rib eye project. The vacumouse was very bloody but what I did was remove from the bag and put it in between 2 sheets of paper towel. This wicked away the blood and looked very clean. I needed to do this 3 times. I did a lot more massaging this time around and did not panic. I did not seal until I was happy. I feel that I have much better contact this time around. The fat cap contact is relatively smooth. I’m hoping is good underneath.

It is is tricky getting a good meld on the bag while sealing. The lesson I learned from last time was to do a seal multiple times in the same spot. The first 2 seals worked great (3 seals each) But I was my worst enemy as I wanted to do one more closer to the meat. i ended up burning trough on the outside edge of the bag. Feeling like a veteran I just resealed at 45 degrees. the vacuum in the bag still seems good so I think I was able save a bag.

I’ll be serving this over the Easter holiday in 4 weeks.

Ron, let me know if you see anything wrong. I appreciate your advice.

[Ron Pratt]

Al, looks good from here and I just have one suggestion…since the fat cap is very clearly against the bag I always place my meat fat cap down on the wire rack since It is highly unlikely that side will delaminate.

BTW you are already thinking and talking like an old hand at this! Take it easy, think ahead and do not commit to the sealing until satisfied. Even at that as long as you don’t trim the bag you can always cut off any offending part and seal again like you did! I always say so what if there is a flap of excess bag on the end?

How long are you planning for this strip? My preference is 28 days since the strip is thinner than say a rib eye.

[Al Gulutzan]

Ron, I’ll be aging for 28 days.

I placed fat cap up as per the pamphlet instructions that were included from UMAi.
When I emailed a pic of my last dry age to Maureen, she noticed that I had the fat cap down and made a comment about it.
Have you always done fat cap down?

Al

[Ron Pratt]

I should have clearer that is a point where Maureen and I happen to differ in opinion. Guess I need to change my name to ” put the fat side down and DON’T turn the meat again” guy! :laugh:

[Al Gulutzan]

That’s funny.

Ron, have you ever used a section of a foodsaver bag as a replacement to the vacumouse?

[Ron Pratt]

quote Bigal99″ post=3611:

Ron, have you ever used a section of a foodsaver bag as a replacement to the vacumouse?

Sure have – here’s the You Tube video I made before the Vacmouse was invented.

[Al Gulutzan]

Ron, which do you prefer, your food saver invention or the vacumouse?

[Ron Pratt]

Al, I’m a multi-sealer guy. I have the Sinbo that I bought originally and learned how to seal with it using my raft solution which is a series of 4 rigid tubes which I bonded together flat using super glue. My raft still works and it kept the Sinbo from sealing prematurely. I also like and often still use the bent paper clip trick with the Sinbo which early poster C~W dreamed up. I then figured out the FS sleeve trick and shared that here. Then Thea invented the VacMouse and the earlier tricks lost their need. IMO the VacMouse is the most foolproof way especially for the newbie using the most popular common sealers on the market which are made by Food Saver vs. the lesser known Sinbo.
Ron

[Al Gulutzan]

Thanks Ron.

One thing I noticed is that once I had a good vacuum, I did not really see a rush of air when I pulled the vacumouse out to wick away the blood. This also allowed me to wipe down the interior of the bag as it was very wet. I think it was the excess moisture that seemed to make it difficult to get a good vacum as the bag kind of sealed onto itself preventing the air from being evacuated from the far end of the bag. It did take me a while but it did take several tries. I’m glad my food saver has a pulse button.

I wonder if I used your method initially to draw out a majority of the air and then replace the food saver segment with the vacumouse and then seal it? Thoughts?

[Ron Pratt]

Al, what I would suggest instead is to slit the cryovac corner and position the meat over the edge of the kitchen sink and let gravity be your friend for say 30 minutes. You might even have to move it a time or two if the packer included excessive moisture…nothing like selling you water at the price of fine beef!!!

Otherwise I would then just use the VacMouse and double and even triple seal if need be.
Ron

[Al Gulutzan]

Thanks. Will give that a try.

[Al Gulutzan]

Well the wait is almost over. I’ll be carving up this strip loin on Saturday night. It will be day 28.
The bond and seal was exceptional for my second try. I’m really pleased and I can hardly wait to give it a taste.

[Al Gulutzan]

Well, my wife evicted my strip loin as she needed fridge space. So since it was homeless I carved it up 3 days earlier than I wanted to. Not a big deal. This project turned out perfect. The bag was completely bonded to the meat. Prying the bag off the meat was like ripping off a bandaid. I added a few picks.

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