A butcher's counter uses more sizes of vacuum pouch than almost any other business, and most of the questions we take from butchers are about which box to open for which cut. This guide goes cut by cut. Everything here is 65 micron clear unless it says otherwise, because that's the gauge that handles boneless meat at the lowest cost per bag.
Before the cuts: the one thing to check
Our pouches are smooth film for chamber machines. If you're running a Henkelman, Boss, Orved or any other machine with a lid, you're fine. If it's an edge sealer that grips the bag opening, they won't seal. The compatibility guide has the full list.
Steaks, chops and single portions
Sirloin, rump, ribeye, pork chops, chicken breasts, single burgers. The pouch wants to hug the meat with 40mm to spare above it for the seal.
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160×250mm, 1.8p: single steak or breast, a pair of chops
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180×300mm, 2.4p: two steaks stacked, a large T-bone
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150×265mm, 1.8p: bacon rashers, thin-cut steaks laid flat
Mince, diced and sausages
Loose product is easier than it looks. Flatten it into a rough rectangle before it goes in the chamber so the film draws down evenly and the pack stacks.
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200×250mm, 2.2p: 500g mince, 500g diced
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200×300mm, 2.7p: 1kg mince, six sausages, four burgers
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150×300mm, 2.0p: a long pack of link sausages
Boneless joints
Topside, silverside, rolled brisket, boned and rolled shoulder, gammon. Measure the joint, add its thickness to its width, add 10mm, and that's your minimum pouch width. Round up on width.
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250×350mm, 3.9p: joints to 1.5kg
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270×330mm, 4.0p: 2kg topside
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300×400mm, 5.4p: 2.5kg to 3kg joints, whole boned shoulders
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320×520mm, 7.5p: ribeye and striploin primals for ageing in the bag
Bone-in
Rib of beef, racks, shanks, whole chickens with the legs trussed. A bone tip will go through 65 micron film and you'll find the pack loose in the morning. Two answers, in the order to try them: wrap the bone end in a strip of butcher's paper or a bone guard and use the standard pouch, or move to 130 micron, which is twice the thickness and stops most bone tips. The bone-in guide covers the technique.
Display packs for the counter and the shop shelf
For bacon, sliced cured meats and anything hung on a hook, the 80 micron gold pouches have a gold back, a clear front and a euro hole. The 200×275mm is the size most farm shops use for 250g of bacon. For a rustic look on sausages and pies, the parchment pouches do the same job in white. The retail pouch guide shows both.
Colour coding in the back
Some shops run blue pouches for raw poultry or for stock that's been frozen, so a glance at the fridge tells you what's what. They're the same 65 micron film in 300×400mm and larger.
The four boxes most counters run on
If you're setting up from scratch, this is the shelf that covers 80% of what goes over a butcher's counter, and the four boxes come to £138 ex VAT, which clears the free delivery threshold.
Shelf life in the bag
Vacuum packing extends chilled life because it takes the oxygen away from the bacteria that spoil meat. It doesn't stop the ones that cause illness, which is why the FSA's rules for vacuum-packed chilled food matter. The short version: 10 days at 3 to 8°C, longer only if you hold below 3°C or the product has another control like salt or curing. The shelf life guide has the numbers by species.
Not sure which sizes suit your counter? Tell us your machine and what you sell most and we'll put a free sample pack together in the four sizes we think you'll use.
