Save Money on Meat Marinades

Every day this month I’ll be sharing a strategy, recipe or idea to crush your food costs.

Hi doll,

Today’s tip is an easy one. Stop buying the single serving envelopes of meat marinades.

Did you take home economics in high school? I did for one semester but I don’t remember much about it. I did sew a pair of incredibly uncomfortable knee-length Hawaiian shorts. The following tip about avoiding $1 spice or marinade envelopes strikes me as something I might have learned in home-ec, had I retained anything. Are they still teaching home economics?

For years, I bought those convenient envelope packets of spices to mix with oil and water for a meat marinade. Since the envelopes often go on sale for $1 each, they provide the illusion of thrift. But buying 3-ounce bottles of the same marinade is considerably cheaper. You’ll save at least $7 a pound.

The envelopes are $22.50 a pound or with a recent sale price, $15 a pound. That’s substantially more than if you buy the same spice in the bottle.

Spend a little more out of pocket for bottles of marinade, $2.99 a bottle or $1.49 during that particular sale and you’ll spend considerably less per pound: $14.08 or $7 a pound with the sale price.

Plus, having extra marinade on hand might help you avoid last minute trips to the grocery store

You could save even more by putting your own marinade together. But, sometimes the only thing standing between me and ordering takeout is the ability to quickly pour a couple tablespoons of something in a bag with a piece of meat and let it marinate while I settle in with a glass of wine. [bctt tweet=”The meat stews in its own juices while I stew in mine.”]

If you want to go homemade, this is one of my favorite marinade recipes.

How do you save money on marinade? What’s your favorite food to grill?