Cook and chill casing

Abstract

A cook and chill casing includes a substantially rectangular bag formed from a plastic, tubular material. The bag has a food-receiving interior open at a first end and sealed at a second end. The sealed end has a tapered seal that separates two corners of the tubular material from the interior. The two corners separated by the tapered seal provide handles for lifting the bag. The bag is formed from nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and/or various combinations of these materials. In one embodiment, the bag is formed from a multilayer, co-extruded plastic film having a thickness in the range of about two mils to about five mils, and the seal is a heat seal. A clip is used to seal the open end of the bag once it has been filled.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A cook and chill casing comprising a substantially rectangular bag formed from a plastic, tubular material, said bag having a food-receiving interior open at a first end and sealed at a second end, wherein said sealed end has a tapered seal that separates two corners of said tubular material from said interior.  
     
     
         2 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 1 , wherein said two corners separated by said tapered seal provide handles for lifting said bag.  
     
     
         3 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 1 , wherein said tubular material comprises: 
 a three layer co-extruded plastic film having one layer of nylon, one layer of polyethylene and a tie material to join the layers of nylon and polyethylene.    
     
     
         4 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 3 , wherein said tubular material has a thickness of about four mils.  
     
     
         5 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 1 , wherein said tubular material comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester.  
     
     
         6 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 5 , wherein said plastic film has a thickness of about four mils.  
     
     
         7 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 1 , wherein said tubular material comprises a multilayer, co-extruded plastic film having a thickness in the range of about two mils to about five mils.  
     
     
         8 . The cook and chill casing of  claim 1 , wherein said sealed end comprises a heat seal joining opposing sides of said bag.