Ready-marinated grill meat in Switzerland costs roughly CHF 4 to 8 more per kilo than the same plain cut. A marinade mixed at home from oil, an acid and a few spices adds barely CHF 1 to 2 per kilo. Buy the plain cut, marinate it yourself, and you keep the flavour while pocketing most of that premium.
On a family barbecue for six — say three kilos of pork neck and chicken thighs — that gap is real money. At a saving of about CHF 5 per kilo, marinating at home instead of grabbing the ready-marinated tray keeps roughly CHF 15 in your pocket for a single evening, and the meat tastes of exactly what you chose to put on it.
Why does ready-marinated meat cost more?
Walk into any Coop, Migros or Denner in June and the grill counter is stacked with ready-marinated trays: paprika pork, herb chicken, spicy spare ribs. They are convenient, and convenience is exactly what you pay for. The same cut sold plain, a metre away in the fresh-meat aisle, is regularly CHF 4 to 8 per kilo cheaper.
That premium has almost nothing to do with the marinade itself. A few decilitres of oil and a spoon of spices cost the shop next to nothing. You are paying for the labour of mixing and coating, extra packaging, a shorter shelf life, and the simple fact that a marinated tray reads as a finished product you can throw straight on the grill. Retailers know grill meat is an impulse buy on the first warm weekend, and marinated trays carry some of the fattest margins in the chiller.
There is a second catch. Because the marinade masks the cut, ready-marinated trays are often built from cheaper, less uniform meat, and heavy spicing makes freshness harder to judge by eye. Buy the plain cut and you see exactly what you are getting — and you can wait for it to land on Aktion. For what each cut should cost plain, our Swiss grill meat price comparison breaks it down chain by chain.
What does a homemade marinade actually cost?
A marinade is three things: fat, acid and flavour. Oil carries the spices and stops sticking, an acid such as lemon, vinegar or yoghurt seasons and slightly tenderises, and garlic, herbs and dried spices do the rest. None of it is expensive.
Costed out for one kilo of meat: roughly four tablespoons of rapeseed or olive oil (CHF 0.20–0.40), two cloves of garlic (CHF 0.15), a spoon of mustard or soy sauce (CHF 0.20), a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar (CHF 0.15), and a teaspoon or two of paprika, pepper and dried herbs (CHF 0.30). That lands between about CHF 1.00 and CHF 1.80 per kilo, and it drops further with a well-stocked spice drawer. Buying spices as bulk or refill packs instead of tiny branded jars is the single biggest lever — our guide to building a spice rack cheaply shows how.
Rule of thumb: a homemade marinade costs about a quarter of the shop's convenience premium. If a marinated tray is CHF 6 per kilo dearer than the plain cut, your own version replaces it for around CHF 1.50 — and you choose exactly what goes in.
Plain vs marinated vs DIY: a Swiss price check
Here is how the numbers stack up for the grill cuts Swiss households buy most, using typical shelf prices at Coop, Migros and Denner. The final column is what you keep per kilo by buying the cut plain and marinating it yourself.
| Cut | Plain (CHF/kg) | Ready-marinated (CHF/kg) | DIY marinade adds | You keep /kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pork neck steak (Schweinshals) | 15.50 | 21.00 | ~1.50 | ~4.00 |
| Pork spare ribs | 13.00 | 18.50 | ~1.50 | ~4.00 |
| Chicken thighs (Pouletschenkel) | 9.50 | 15.00 | ~1.50 | ~4.00 |
| Chicken breast | 21.00 | 27.50 | ~1.50 | ~5.00 |
| Beef steak / entrecôte | 44.00 | 50.00 | ~2.00 | ~4.00 |
Across every row the pattern holds: the ready-marinated tray costs more than the plain cut plus your own marinade, usually by CHF 4 to 5 per kilo. The Swiss consumer magazine K-Tipp routinely price-tests convenience foods against their plain equivalents, and marinated meat is a textbook case of paying a lot for a few minutes of mixing. Buy the plain cut at a discounter and the gap widens further: in K-Tipp's recurring basket tests, Lidl and Aldi come out cheapest of the big chains.
Which cuts are cheapest to marinate yourself?
The cuts that reward DIY marinating most are the cheaper, firmer ones that also grill well and hold up to a longer soak:
- Pork neck steaks (Schweinshalssteak): the Swiss grill default — cheap, forgiving, and a marinade soaks in beautifully.
- Pork spare ribs: they need flavour and time, and a wet marinade or dry rub transforms them for pennies.
- Chicken thighs and legs (Pouletschenkel): far cheaper than breast, juicier on the grill, and the skin holds spice.
- Plain chicken breast: cheap per kilo and takes on marinade in under an hour, though it dries out fast if overcooked.
Save the expensive stuff — entrecôte, lamb chops — for salt, pepper and fire. A good steak does not need a marinade, and drowning it in one wastes both. The plain versions of the cheaper cuts go on Aktion constantly through summer, which is exactly when to buy and freeze.
Three quick marinades from pantry staples
Each of these makes enough for about one kilo of meat. Mix it in a bowl, or straight in the freezer bag you will store the meat in.
- Garlic-herb (pork, chicken): 4 tbsp oil, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp mustard, the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon each of dried thyme and paprika, salt and pepper. The everyday all-rounder.
- Soy-honey-ginger (chicken, pork): 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp oil, grated garlic and a thumb of ginger. Sweet, sticky, and it caramelises on the grill.
- Yoghurt-paprika (chicken): 3 tbsp nature yoghurt, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 crushed garlic clove, a pinch of cumin, lemon and salt. The yoghurt tenderises and keeps chicken juicy.
None costs more than about CHF 1.50 to mix, and all three are built from things a Swiss kitchen usually already has on the shelf.
How long should meat marinate?
Longer is not always better. A marinade seasons the surface and, when it contains acid, slowly breaks down the outside of the meat. Leave it too long in something acidic and the texture turns mealy instead of tender.
- Poultry: 30 minutes to about 4 hours.
- Pork: 2 hours to overnight.
- Beef: 1 to 8 hours.
- Fish and seafood: 15 to 30 minutes only.
Two rules keep you right: the tougher the cut, the longer it benefits; the more acid in the marinade, the shorter it should sit. Always marinate in the fridge, never on the counter, and pat the meat dry before it hits the grill so it sears instead of steams.
How do you make DIY marinating actually save money?
The saving only lands if the habit fits your week. Five steps turn it into a routine:
- Buy the plain cut on Aktion. Grill meat rotates on promotion at 30 to 50 percent off all summer; buy the plain version at its low, not the marinated tray at full price.
- Marinate in the bag you store it in. Mix straight in a freezer bag or a lidded box for an even coating and nothing to wash up.
- Marinate, then freeze. Portion plain meat with its marinade into freezer bags; it keeps for weeks and finishes marinating as it thaws in the fridge.
- Keep the spice drawer stocked. Bulk and refill spices push the per-kilo marinade cost close to zero over a season.
- Batch it for a crowd. One bowl of marinade coats several kilos, so a big barbecue costs barely more to season than a single tray — the maths behind a whole summer BBQ budget.
This is where Eini earns its place. Its algorithm watches plain grill-meat prices across Coop, Migros, Lidl, Aldi, Denner and Aligro, flags the week a cut drops on Aktion, and slots it into your meal plan and grocery list. You supply the jar of oil and spices; the app makes sure you never pay the convenience premium by accident.
Frequently asked questions
Is pre-marinated meat worth the extra cost?
Rarely, on pure economics. The convenience premium runs CHF 4 to 8 per kilo, while a marinade from pantry staples adds barely CHF 1 to 2 per kilo — you are mostly paying someone else to mix oil and spices. Pre-marinated only wins when you value the few minutes saved more than roughly CHF 5 per kilo, or when a marinated cut is itself on a deep Aktion.
How much does a homemade marinade cost per kilo?
About CHF 1 to 2 per kilo of meat. A typical batch is oil, an acid such as lemon or vinegar, garlic and a few dried spices — pantry items that cost cents per portion. Buying spices in bulk or as refill packs pushes the cost toward the lower end.
Which cuts are cheapest to marinate yourself?
Pork neck steaks, pork spare ribs and chicken thighs give the most flavour for the lowest price per kilo, and their firmer texture holds up to a longer soak. Plain chicken breast is cheap too and takes on marinade fast. Buy the plain version on Aktion and add your own marinade.
How long should meat marinate?
Poultry needs 30 minutes to about 4 hours, pork and beef are happy from 2 hours up to overnight, and fish only wants 15 to 30 minutes. The more acid a marinade contains, the shorter the time — too long in lemon or vinegar and the surface turns mushy rather than tender.
Can Eini tell me when grill meat is on Aktion?
Yes. Eini's algorithm tracks grill-meat promotions across Coop, Migros, Lidl, Aldi, Denner and Aligro and flags when a plain cut drops on Aktion, so you can buy it cheap and marinate it yourself. It then fits the buy into your meal plan and grocery list automatically.
Plan smarter, spend less with Eini.
Real prices from Coop, Migros, Lidl, Aldi, Denner & Aligro. Smart meal plans. Automatic grocery lists.
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