Glade you are enjoying the foodsaver, Defrosting I usally take the small package(1 portion quart bags-steak size,1 pound of hamburger flattened or pork chops and chicken portions) out of the freezer and run some hot water in a salad bowl and plunk it in the water for 1/2 hr and I have defrosted meat or left overs that are ready for cooking or reheating in the microwave. For marinating I use a mason jar with my jar sealer and have tried different meats and have really not noticed a lot of difference under vacuum. The mason jar is a make shift container but effective. The son in law bought me a bunch of Foodsaver vacumm containers for produce and I guess I could use them for larger portions of meats under vacuum .The jar sealer (wide mouth)is a must for a food saver IMO and is used for sealing dry things like bulk coffee or nuts , rice .....mainly but you can use it for other things if it is short term periods like I some times do.
