Use Less Marinade with a Plastic Bag

Ready-bought liquid marinades can be very expensive, and sometimes the ingredients for marinade recipes to make at home can be costly as well. So why waste it? I never use as much marinade as suggested in a recipe, because I place the meat and the smaller-than-suggested amount of marinade in a gallon size zip-top bag.

I squeeze out all the air before sealing, and this leaves the meat surrounded by marinade. I lay this in a pan (in case of spillage) and I still give it a flip while it's in the fridge. I especially do this when marinating beef or deer strips for making jerky, and very little of the marinade is wasted.

A very good marinade is manufactured right here in our semi-small town of Paris, Tennessee. It is called "Allegro" and comes in several flavors at a reasonable cost. Even though it is affordable, I still loathe to waste a drop and I can spread one bottle out over several meals by using the zip-top bag method. I use their Original marinade for making jerky, in addition to soy sauce, brown sugar and just a touch of liquid smoke. Good stuff!