Sealer question

[mbroos]

Fairly basic question. What is you all’s process for vacuum sealing brats? I made a small batch of brats the other day, put in the freezer for about an hour and then vacuum sealed. Noticed a few days later there was some ice crystals on the meat. Looked like a good vacuum seal. How do I avoid this? Did I not freeze long enough or need sit the brats in the fridge to air-dry before freezing / sealing? Thanks for any thoughts.

[Jonathon]

mbroos Freeze them before vac sealing them. Dont leave them in there too long (we have all done it) or they will get some frost damage but if you try to vac seal a fresh, uncooked brat it is going to flatten out at best, and get squeezed out the ends if you are unlucky. I have seen some places put the brats on a foam tray and vac seal around that, but that probably isn’t something most home people can do.

For the ice crystals you might have had too much moisture on the skin of the brat. You want it to be really dry, why a freezer is a good idea and go right from the freezer to vac packing, don’t let them warm up too much.

[smokinbubba]

I get ice crystals sometimes if i dont get the perfect seal. I just eat that package first!