Vacuum Seal

[David]

I have a Foodsaver 2000, brand new which I bought with the intention of dry aging with Umai bags.
I am on the third of the four Umai bags that I recently bought. After two unsuccessful attempts It seemed as if I had a majority of the air out of the bag and a good seal.
After about twelve hours it seems as if there is still to much air in the bag. I’m not getting the 75-80% coverage that the instructions describe.
My Foodsaver doesn’t seem to be getting all the air out. I have watched videos on youtube and it looks straight forward. I only get one chance with my Foodsaver options and it seals the bag weather or not all the air is out or not.
I sealed the corners first then added the strip. One thing I did not do was to pat dry the meat. I did notice some moisture on the first unsuccessful attempt.
Also, what is the strip for that is used in the seal process?

If anyone can help before my 7lb slab of NY Strip goes bad I would be very appreciative.

[Sherri]

I don’t know much, but I will share what little I seem to understand.

First, the Umai material does seem to be more difficult to seal than standard vacuum seal bags. I think I attribute this to the two surfaces being smooth and makes the vacuum sealer have a hard time pulling the air out. I have seen that Umai does two things to assist with this.

One, if you watch any of the charcuterie/salumi videos, you will see that before trying to vacuum seal you gather the material at the open end and grab it closed with one hand, kind of like you might hold closed a paper bag. This puts some creases of channels in the material and gives the sealer an area to suck out the air.

Second is the mouse vac, those little strips you saw. If I recall, those also create some channel for the air to be sucked out. I think they are placed in line with the sealing strip, but I advise you check on that.

Hope my thoughts are of help to you. Good luck

PS also, in the charcuterie videos, you will see the massaging of the bag while the air is being drawn out. This is to just help get access to air pockets that the vacuum sealer might miss.

[David]

I appreciate the reply. I did everything but grasp the top of the bag and crinkle it. I saw that in one video on youtube.

I wish Umai had customer support. I’m not sure if I can try a forth time. The strip has been in the bag now since Sunday evening.

[Sherri]

Both my husband and I have called them directly and had very helpful conversations.

Not sure how we have the number, but if you do an internet search on UMAI/DrybagSteak, LLC in Minneapolis, MN, you will find a non-800 number listing.

[Author]

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