How to make home made "boil in the bag"/vacuum packed meals?

Ice_Queen_112

Hello there

Hope this is the right forum to post in.

I've recently joined the "Go Lower" diet plan and they provide some very tasty (if expensive) "boil in the bag" type meals (think stews, casseroles etc) sealed in handy microwaveable pouches. They are sold as being cooked via the "French pressure cooking method". They have a fairly long shelf life and do not need to be refrigerated.

Longer term, I think this could be a great way of batch cooking and storing diet meals. I have a pressure cooker and am looking into getting a vacuum sealer. Has anyone had experience of making their own long shelf-life prepacked meals in this way or come across any recipes for pressure cooking in vacuum bags? I've spent a couple of hours trawling Google with no luck for both methods and recipes.

Many thanks
IQ

Parva

Unfortunately I cannot give a definitive answer here, only a 'sort' of answer. I'm a homebrewer (yes, beer) but I make beer the proper way with grain and hops, not from a tin! The hops are best kept vacuum packed to retain their freshness and rapidly lose thier qualities if not stored in this way. Me being gadget man just had to have the toys so I bought a Rival Sealameal thingy off of Ebay.

It works great for my hops but going back on topic I decided to vacuum seal a block of cheese I bought from Morrisons, all in the name of science. Well, two whole months after its advertised sell by date there was no sign of any deterioration whatsoever! I confess to having stored it in the fridge and despite my flagrant disregard of sell by dates in general I decided not to test the cheese on my toast and binned it but I suspect that it had much more longevity left in it.

I've seen mould appearing on or very soon after the sell by date of cheese from Morrisons on many occasions (other supermarket retailers cheese is no doubt similar!) but vacuum packing it made an astounding difference!

As you pointed out they can be used for boil in the bag and stuff and I shall experiment with this one day. In short, buy one if you can get one for ~£30 or so and have that cash to spare.

Pitlanepiglet

I'm always tempted by vacuum sealers, not necessarily because I think that the food will last longer just because it is vacuum sealed but because it produces nice small packages that would fit in the freezer nicely.

There are a huge range of vacuum sealers and lots get really poor reviews. I note that Lakeland have one now and if I were looking I'd probably buy from them as they have a moneyback guarantee if you decide that things are carp.

charliee_3

i think they are prob made in those things like heston blumethal does 'sous vide'
http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/10/understanding-sous-vide-cooking-heston-blumenthal.html

Sunnyday

Not exactly what you are looking for but a while ago i was looking for a way to make cooking sauces ie spag bol sauce etc keep without freezing.

I was going to pour it into sterilised jars and seal them in the pressure cooker and then they could be stored on a shelf in the cupboard without taking up valuable freezer space.

I never ended up trying it but if we have a bumper crop from the garden this year will probably give it a go, i found a bit of info about it by googling but all the comments about botulism put me off a bit

SD

Ice_Queen_112

Thanks all for the comments & suggestions. I've read a bit of stuff on Sous Vide and initially thought that might be what they were referring to, but due to the low temperatures used I get the impression that restaurants use it as a cooking and short term storage method rather than for long term storage which is what I am after.

I've done enough canning to know a little bit about the dangers of botulism and hot water vs pressure canning & processing times for acid/non acid foods to not want to proceed without a firm recipe and processing timescale. I guess these types of recipes are heavily guarded commercial secrets!

Seakay

You can get bags from Lakeland which you can use to put food in for cooking in the microwave without water. They are sold as one use, but if you only cook veg in them then they can be rinsed and used again. If you cook meat or fish in them then they are definitely one use only. You can freeze food in them and then microwave from frozen.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/zip-'n'-steam-cooking-bags/F/C/cooking-baking/C/cooking-baking-microwaving/product/10776_10777

I have also seen these bags slightly cheaper in Home Bargains.


I see that Lakeland also sell a boil in the bag item now:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/boil-a-bags/F/C/cooking-baking/C/cooking-baking-cooking-bags/product/1405

jonni3000

I cure my own bacon, sausages, smoked salmon, salami, cheese, chorizo and use a vac sealer I got off eBay for £40-ish to do this. The seller was "bagsoffreshness". My vac-sealer the same rolls that JML sell (JML do a deal on the sealer rolls if you buy in multiple quantities which work out a bargain if you do the calculations as price per metre of sealer roll)

As well as using it to vacpack and freeze the above, I also use it to to vac pack and freeze spag-bol sauce, cassoulet, curries and that type of stuff. The sauces I freeze just then get reheated by putting the bag in boiling water.

I am unable to say if the food lasts any longer as mine just goes in the freezer, but it certainly prevents freezer burn and makes for easier storage.

You can call me parsimonious if you want, but I cut the bag open by slicing just under the top seal line, then I wash the bags out and re-use again. :eek:

Ice_Queen_112

jonni3000 wrote: »

You can call me parsimonious if you want, but I cut the bag open by slicing just under the top seal line, then I wash the bags out and re-use again. :eek:

Parsimony is a definite virtue in my book