This Weston vacuum sealer will be a welcome addition to your kitchen
I use it for everything from barbecue, meal prep, and sealing leftovers.
Editor’s Note: This review, like all reviews on Texas BBQ, is based on my personal experience with the product and is in no way influenced by the company. I personally purchase each product I review, unless otherwise noted, and provide my honest opinion on topics such as usage, functionality, and overall quality.
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The product: The Weston Pro-1100 Stainless Steel Vacuum Sealer
Overall rating: 7.8/10
Simply put: This sealer is great for moderate home use and is solid at providing an air-tight seal that can preserve your food for up to a year.
Usage
Everything from sealing barbecue to locking in that fresh-off-the-pit flavor, leftover dinners, to stocks and soups. On the occasional Sunday when I get a big cooking itch, I’ll make multiple dinners for the week and vac-seal them to reheat later, which is an incredibly easy process. More on that below.
Functionality
I use this obsessively when it comes to barbecue. I’ve found that vacuum-sealed, frozen meats lose little quality when compared to meat that’s fresh off the pit. Trust me, I know it sounds crazy — I didn’t believe it myself until I tried it. But I’m gonna let you in a secret: rest your meat, place it in a bag, add some of its juices in the bag, seal it, and freeze it.
When you reheat — use Bourbon Brother BBQ’s reheating instructions — the meat will warm in its juices, maintaining its delicious barbecue flavor while remaining tender. It’s truly like a real-life cheat code.
How it works
The sealer comes with two settings: an automatic mode that seals based on a timer and a manual mode that allows you to control the seal.
For meats, vegetables, and solid foods, I often use the automatic mode. I use the manual setting mostly for liquids that only require a tight seal without removing all the air. I should note that if you have a lot of liquids in your bag, those tend to seep out when using the automatic setting, which can affect the overall seal.
You can buy pre-sealed bags of various sizes — pints, quarts, etc. — but I prefer to cut my own bags. The sealer comes with a roll cutter that allows you to cut your bags to a specific size. I like this because I vac-seal everything from whole briskets to small bags of stock.
The Weston sealer isn’t the best for quickly sealing, though. It recommends you wait 20 seconds in between seals to allow the heating bar to cool. This can be a pain when you’re having to seal both ends of 20-something bags and having to wait for the cooldown for each one.
Additional features
When you order, you’ll receive extra gaskets and strips for the heating element. Eventually, you’re going to have to replace both — often at what seems like the most inopportune time — so it’s nice to have an extra set already on hand.
What’s not to like
Replacement rolls are expensive, and depending on your usage, you can burn through bags quickly. I’ve found you get the best seal with Weston bags — duh! — but Wevac bags work well. FoodSaver bags did not work well with this machine, which I wish I knew before I bought a large box at Costco.
I would like it to have an extra sealing bar. There are times when it doesn’t provide a super air-tight seal, leaving behind the slightest pocket that allows air to slowly creep inside. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s annoying when it does.
Also, in the early days of owning this, I tried to seal a bag with a lot of liquid using the automatic setting and ruined the machine. So, y’know, don’t do that. Luckily, Costco has a generous return policy and sent a brand new one, no questions asked. What a relief.
Final thoughts
As someone who cooks a lot, I’ve found the Weston Pro-1100 Stainless Steel Vacuum Sealer is a must-have in my kitchen. Cook too much dinner and don’t want that many leftovers? No problem. Have 40 pounds of pulled pork you don’t know what to do with? Take an hour and vac seal. Is there a great deal on briskets at the local grocery store you just can’t miss? Buy and smoke those bad boys and seal them up for a later date.
No doubt, it’ll become a welcome addition to your kitchen.
Price: $369.99 Weston Store | $369.99 Amazon | $289.99 Costco (members only)
What They’re Saying Online
Cheers: “I bought this machine in 2014 and since then have used it to vacuum seal several thousand pounds of fish, shrimp, beef, chicken, etc. I use it for food storage, and the meats that I seal with it easily last for 2+ years in the deep freeze.” — @lakemirror, Amazon
Jeers: “The heating element is a very poor design. Weston advertises this unit to be good for continuous use. It’s not. Far from it. If you’re looking to seal more than 5 bags in a short amount of time this is not the unit for you.” — Hank, Amazon
Other Texas BBQ reviews: Thermapen ONE • MEAT! 1 HP Grinder • ThermoPop 2 • ThermoPro TP19
