Simple homemade marinade recipes are know as "dump" recipes in freezer lingo.
There's no need to buy expensive marinades that are full of preservatives or pre-seasoned meats that cost twice as much as the plain variety.
Making your own simple sauces and homemade marinades is easy.
What are "Dump" Recipes? The name comes from the technique of dumping meat and marinade into a freezer bag to be used later. You freeze the mixture and let it thaw in the fridge at least overnight.
While the meat is thawing it is also marinating so you get two jobs done in half the time. It's one of the simplest freezer cooking methods out there.
What Variations Are There? As many as you can think of. The combination of freezable sauces and different types and cuts of meat are endless. Let your imagination go wild.
Tips and Techniques Some ingredients float. Instead of adding these to the liquid ingredients when making a large batch just divide them evenly into the freezer bags and pour the liquid on top.
Make sure you cover the whole surface of the meat so that the flavor is evenly distributed.
Get as much air as possible out of the freezer bag, this saves space and prevents freezer burn.
Freeze the bags on a cookie sheet so they can be as flat as possible. Freezing things flat makes them easier to stack and helps you save space.
Cut meat into strips before freezing in marinade. The strips cook faster and are perfect for stir fries, fajitas, quesadillas and similar dishes.
Cubed meat is great for kabobs and summer grilling.
Leftover marinade can be boiled for one minute and then it is safe is eat. Serve it as a sauce over your cooked marinated meat.
