Mess netting

[Rob Babcock]

Another thread here mentioned using mesh netting to keep the bag tight against the meat. So I’m curious, to anyone that’s done this- what size of netting do you use? I’m a chef but I don’t do much charcuterie that needs netting. What size would be best for a whole ribeye?

Thanks to anyone that can clue me in on the right sizes, and a link to a good place to pick ‘me up would be appreciated, too.

[Ron Pratt]

Rob, it’s available in bulk here at Amazon though there are other sources as well.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=pd_sl_5z2cw3530k_b?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ameat+netting&keywords=meat+netting&ie=UTF8&psrk=butchers+netting

When I suggest someone using it I really mean just ask your friendly butcher shop for a length or two.
Ron

[Rob Babcock]

Amazon was the first place I looked! They have lots of netting but it appears to be tubes of material, like a sausage wrapper. I’m not sure what sizes would work for what cuts of meat. I could probably bum a bit from a butcher but I’m looking for something I can get in bulk and sort of standardize my method. Bear in mind that I’m a chef, and if I get this spec’d out right I will eventually start doing it in a restaurant setting.

[Thea]

Rob,
We would first recommend finding a satisfactory way to apply UMAi DrybagSteak before exploring netting. We have had some commercial meat suppliers use netting when they had little control over the handling of the meat prior to bond, but it has several downsides:
1) No netting size or style will adequately press against all surfaces of a strip loin or boneless rib eye.
2) Netting can cause either indentations that result in greater trim loss after aging OR can be so fine that it can compromise air flow around the meat.
Bottom line: netting is only a solution for the direst of handling situations.
Ultimately, you want to find the best way to apply UMAi Dry to a good, moist, well protein-coated surface with the cleanest transfer past the opening of the bag. Then you want a vacuum sealer (either a chamber vacuum sealer, well-operating retractable snorkel sealer or a channel sealer adapted with VacMouse) to pull the UMAI Dry material into the best possible contact with the full surface of the meat and seal through thoroughly. Once sealed, gentle handing into the fridge onto an open wire rack meat side down for the first 5 to 7 days will ensure an adequate bond can form. Form there, getting good, consistent, satisfying results is only a matter of time and patience.
We hope this explanation helps.

[Rob Babcock]

Thanks. Unfortunately I’ve had no luck getting them to seal. I’ve tried with my chamber vacuum sealer at home and the one at work (both of them commercial grade VacMaster chamber machines). I’ve tried varying the sealing time and voltage, no joy. I’ve tried cooling times on the seal bar from 0.5 seconds up 5.0 seconds in 1/10 second increments. I’ve tried over a dozen bags including a couple that I cut into small pieces to test seal. Over that time I’ve kept a log of all the settings. To date not one single bag has held a seal. To be clear I’ve tried bags from different orders, and I presume there were different batches. The size doesn’t seem to matter, either.

I plan to keep trying, although I don’t expect any miracles. The results I’m getting with the somewhat sealed bags is terrific, so I’m trying to work with what I’ve got.

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