To preserve, retain colour, taste and prevent freezer burn, there is no better way of storing your meat than vacuum packing. Vacuum packing your produces also improves presentation and adds a more professional look to your product.

Due to the exclusion of oxygen, meat will stay fresher and retain its flavour and properties for longer. The exclusion of oxygen dramatically reduces the growth of certain bacteria and also slows down the brake down of enzymes present in meat itself.

Freezer burn a common problem that occurs if meat is stored in a freezer for a long period, will be totally eliminated along with surface crystallization.

Meat can be vacuum packed in many cuts which all benefit from the vacuum packing process.

Preparing the meat to be vacuum packed
Before butchering the meat for vacuum packing it is advisable to chill the meat down to about 4 degrees. This will make the meat easier to cut and the meat will also retain it shape better when being vacuum packed.

When vacuum packing larger joints it is very important to note and eliminate any sharp protruding bones which will puncture the bag when the vacuum packing process begins. This can occur with other cuts like chops or ribs. A few tips I have picked up over the years I have listed below.

Haunches
For haunches it is advisable to pop both the knee and hip joint. This will leave you with no protruding sharp bones only smooth ball joints which will not puncture the bag when vacuum packing.

For whole rear legs, pop the hip joint , saw off the shin at an appropriate point then cover the sawn off bone end with a piece of protective material or you can buy a special plastic see through cup which you insert over the cut bone end for protection. This you can buy from a good catering supplier. For example www.scobiesdirect.co.uk

Chops & Ribs
For chops and ribs which ultimately have many sharp edges it is advisable to pre wrap them in a good thick plastic food grate bag prior to placing them inside the vacuum packing bag. This should prevent any puncturing. If puncturing still occurs try reducing the vacuum pressure to half power.

Steaks
To pack steaks, I place them on a small polystyrene tray then insert them into a vacuum packing bag. When vacuum packing, take note at what pressure the steaks begin to crush and set vacuum pressure accordingly.

Cubed or Minced Meat
This can be vacuum packed with ease. The only point to look out for is to pack the meat a soon as you have cubed or minced it. If you leave cubed or minced meat for a long period in a container prior to vacuum packing you will find that the blood will leach from the meat and you are left with a messy slime. So vacuum pack it straight away.

Whole Saddles
These can be quite tricky to pack however if you place the saddle on a food grade board usual covered in silver or gold foil, this will prevent the cut-off rib ends from piercing the vacuum bag. The boards are usually used for smoked salmon and again can be purchased from a good catering supplier.

Loins
Whole loins are a treat to vacuum pack, and I use a long thin bag usually used for vacuum packing fish.

An important point to note when vacuum packing any product is to chose the right bag size for the application. There is no point choosing a bag three times to big for the item to be vacuum packed as this only takes longer expelling the air and also is a waste of bag. You can purchase continuous roll bags which you can cut to any length to suit your application. As a rule of thumb, the bag should be around 5cm or 2 inches longer than the object to be vacuum packed.