This is the second of a multi-part report about the many uses of the FoodSaver vacuum seal machine. We backtrack a bit and then continue.

The FoodSaver machine used was an old one, 15 or 20 years old, with some parts having been replaced occasionally. This machine, which was considered an old friend, completely died, as the deer-packaging process began this year. I almost cried, plus there was a pile of mule-deer meat on the counter.

The Death Ram was pointed toward town, where a FoodSaver GameSaver Wingman was purchased. The new machine is much lighter than the other and works faster.

My practice is to package the meat, fish or vegetables and freeze them. Then check the packages a week later to make sure the seals have held. The FoodSaver seals just fine, but sometimes a user tries to place too much meat into a bag and forces the seal, which might not hold. This is the user’s fault, not the machine.

Also, a sharp bone may poke a hole in the bag. Most of my fish is filleted and the flesh is checked to make sure it is free of bones. Sometimes, however, a stray bone will remain and this may cause a hole in the bag. Simply reseal the bag if this happens.

The bags come premade or on rolls. The rolls, which are used at my house, are of two sizes, 11- or 8-inches wide. They come sealed on the left and right, so they can be considered a long tube.

My backstraps are cut into steaks. There may be 10 steaks from the left backstrap and the same from the right. There is a need for 10 bags to hold two steaks each.

The first bag is measured and two steaks are sealed inside. Then nine bags are measured, cut and one end sealed. Remember, this is from a roll, which is a tube, so one end must be sealed to make it a bag.

As one person measures, cuts and seals each bag, another could be placing the steaks inside. When the machine operator is finished with making the bags, most of the bags will be full of meat, so the remainder of the operation, sucking the air out and sealing the bag, can be completed by the machine operator. This makes the procedure an assembly line of sorts.

A user can be quite creative with the bags, making them smaller, if needed. Example: Cut an 8-inch wide bag to make it 4-inches long. Cut it again to make two 4-inch-wide bags. In this case, the tube will need to be sealed on three sides to make it a bag.

These bags are perfect for placing tinder and waterproof matches in each for emergency/survival purposes.