Flannery Vacuum Seal

Have you folks had the same experience as I have with Flannery steaks that you freeze having leaking vacuum packs when you thaw them? I had a problem in the past with ground beef but now it’s showing up with steaks as well. Sous vide a couple steaks last week and one of them was filling with water so I had to put it in a ziplock instead. Pulled a Picanha today in a water bath and when it it thawed the package was full of watery blood and the meat was was gray on the surface from being in contact with water. I’m getting scared of freezing now for fear of freezer burn.

I’ve had that happen twice, once with a porterhouse :frowning: where the bone went through and also a skirt steak. I would never trust sous vide to maintain the integrity of their vac packs, fine with freezing though.

Would guess it’s happening from excess moisture due to quickly paced vac sealing.

Hamburger yes, steak no. Pulled a hanger last night for today and it’s tight, just like all the others. These are not from a recent order so may not be indicative of now if something had changed recently.

I suggest never using the packaging something came in if you are going to sous vide. Not Flannery specifically, but all meats. I always reseal before putting in the water bath. If you like putting things in frozen, it’s a little more hassle to thaw first, I know. It’s still the best practice.

I’ve sous vide (in my steam oven) 2 Flannery steaks so far (and seasons right before searing) and didn’t have any problems.

I haven’t had problems with the packaging, but finally decided I’d rather reseal, it gives an option to add salt, pepper, herbs, whatever.

I often come home and put a couple frozen steaks or a lb of burger blend in the sink and cover them with water and allow them to thaw before grilling for dinner. When the package fills with water it definitely sours the excitement of the meal. Especially when it’s burger blend and now it’s soggy and won’t bind.

That happens with almost all meat I buy pre vacuum sealed. It leaks or loses it’s seal and gets watery when I thaw. Now I always remove from the original package and re-vacuum before freezing.

Agree
I’ve never had a problem but I always season and reseal before sous vide.

have also noticed air leakage

I sous-vided some hangar steaks in the original packaging today and there was no leakage; they turned out fantastic.

I did last weekend as well. No issue.

I’ve always opened and resealed but a question occurred to me while reading this. Is there any reason other than seasoning not to just put the existing package in a second vacuum pack?

I can’t see any reason this wouldn’t work fine, assuming both seals were pretty tight. Maybe just a bit of extra time to reach temp, but that’s a negligible issue.

Thinking about it did remind me of the “two condom” puzzle.