Vacuum sealer not sealing with elk

[newdrenalin]

So i vacuum sealed a bunch of elk back straps yesterday and put them in the freezer. I checked them today and it seems to be some ice crystals on the meat. Has anyone experienced this and know what to do ? i don't want to waste all that delicious meat. Thanks for any help

[Johnny G1]

Just make sure the seal area is clean, just canned fish yesterday the was vacuum sealed 2 yrs ago and the fish was still perfect with no ice crystals. found that juice in the seal area will buggar it up, Just my thought's, Costco Sealer that is 4 yrs old.

[curtz]

I know with mine it will suck blood or liquid and it sometimes doesn't seal good, wrap in plastic wrap then seal. If you put your elk that's seal already in some heavy duty zip locks it should be fine.

[omega50]

Pic of the product would give a clearer sense of what is going on?

[newdrenalin]

Thanks so much for the replies. From what everyone has said so far it looks like it is a moisture issue. should a guy wipe the meat dry with paper towel before sealing ?

Also should i just reseal the ones I've done already done ?

Thanks for all the help

[The Elkster]

I've found its better to slightly pre-freeze meat or anything that tends to have surface moisture prior to vac sealing. We do this with fish all the time. Hour in the freezer on a baking sheet then vac seal. Doesn't have to be solid just enough to lock up surface moisture. I would reseal the one's you have for sure. Now that they're frozen should be easy and quick. Should be able to clean/dry and reuse the bags if you cut them big enough. Good luck

[waterninja]

One trick I have learned when vacuum sealing meat or just wrapping it. et it at dry as you can before sealing, and wrap it with some paper towell before sealing. Stays fressher much longer, and when thawing the towell helps absorb inevitable moisture.

[Dean2]

It is definitely moisture causing the sealing issue. Fish will do this too. Air dry the meat before you package it and have a paper towel to dry any moisture that pulls up towards the seal. If the meat is properly air dried it should seal fine. If you want to wrap it a little moister, if I wrapped the meat at all before sealing it would be in Saran wrap. You don't want paper towel pulling more moisture out of the meat than the meat voluntarily gives up.

[1899b]

Originally Posted by Dean2

It is definitely moisture causing the sealing issue. Fish will do this too. Air dry the meat before you package it and have a paper towel to dry any moisture that pulls up towards the seal. If the meat is properly air dried it should seal fine. If you want to wrap it a little moister, if I wrapped the meat at all before sealing it would be in Saran wrap. You don't want paper towel pulling more moisture out of the meat than the meat voluntarily gives up.

Yup always air dry for a bit before you fire up the sealer

[newdrenalin]

I un-sealed the bags, dried the meat a bit, wrapped the meat in saran wrap and re-sealed the bags. It seams to have worked. Thanks for all the tips !

[Little red riding hood]

Yep, gotta be careful about moisture on the sealing surface, and I agree, you don't want paper towels in there taking moisture out of the meat, the more moisture the meat loses the faster it will freezer burn.