BBQ Basics

Dust off the BBQ people. Come rain or shine, Brits grill and dine.

The moment a pale beam of light breaks through the clouds, shirts are shed (prematurely), coals are lit (optimistically), and an otherwise sensible adult male transforms into a self-appointed grill-master of near-mythical confidence.

Tell me it’s not true…

The barbecue must go on. For British men, it is less a cooking method and more a seasonal rite of passage – part culinary performance, part endurance sport.

It’s that time again. The house and garden are open to visitors, friends and family. Thrill them with your BBQ skills.There’s nothing at all wrong with Hot Dogs and Burgers. As you will see over the coming weeks, you can tempt and thrill those taste buds with something really quite exciting.

Preparation begins with ceremony. There is the careful inspection of equipment: tongs are tested with a few authoritative clicks, charcoal is arranged with architectural pride, and last year’s apron is shaken and tied (displaying last year’s stains).

Take your BBQ further from time to time – make a delicious meal of it.

The MarinadeThe meat undergoes its own transformation – marinated, massaged, and loved with bold promises of flavour that may or may not survive the flames.

Stokes has an extensive range of sauces that are ideal for using as or in marinades. Have a  browse – HERE.

A good marinade typically consists of three key elements: a fat (like oil) to carry flavours, an acid (like vinegar or citrus) to tenderize and balance the flavours, and seasonings (herbs, spices, etc.) to add flavour.Your meat: chops, ribs, steak, kebabs etc, Marinates in the Marinade, literally soaking up all the goodness you’ve lavished upon it.

While the meat is marinating, create an amazing salad.A favourite in America, (and becoming equally so with BBQs this side of ‘the Pond’), is Mac ‘n’ Cheese. They just love this filling, cheesy side with their smoky grilled meat and salads.Try these – potato shells filled with mac ‘n’ cheese and crisped up under the grill or in the Air Fryer.

And, prepare some vegetables, skewered and drizzled with oil ready to grill, unstring and serve.And … to top it all – The BBQ Essentials Collection:All this real taste and flavour – just £16 (plus P&P} HERE.

Our family of BBQ sauces offers fine specimens of yumminess, just waiting to greet your family & friends.

Each offers something a little different from the normal shop-bought offerings.Original BBQ Sauce is thick and smoky with natural blossom honey and a molasses-style sweetness that can be used as an accompaniment, a marinade or a dipping sauce.Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce is just that. To balance the heat of the chillis, it has even more molasses and honey to sweeten the initial smoky BBQ flavours. This cleverly lets the spicy heat develop as an after flavour.Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce is another flavoursome variation, this is deeply sweet with a sensational, warming kick of British horseradish and bitter sauce to balance the sticky maple syrup.Korean BBQ Sauce is a sweet and fruity barbecue sauce with rich dark brown sugar, soya sauce, and sweet Mirin wine. The perfect sauce for marinating meat & vegetables, adding to a quick and healthy stir fry or to enjoy as a dipping sauce.

And there’s more.Our BBQ Essentials Collection offers a superb range of natural flavours to enhance any BBQ – all this for just £16 (+p&p) HERE.

Indoors or Out – the Dogs are getting hotter, and hungry for flavour.

It’s a well known fact that Hot Dogs taste best with a good dollop of ketchup. And there’s nobody better qualified to talk about Dogs ‘n’ Chup than us – Stokes.

Make your dogs sit up and beg for the best!What makes Award-Winning Ketchup as thick and tasty as this?

With 200g of sweet Mediterranean tomatoes reduced into every 100g of thick tasty ketchup, uncompromisingly fine ingredients and fewer additives, Stokes REAL Tomato Ketchup wins awards – naturally.Rick (Stokes’ founder, MD and self-declared chupaholic) has quite a thing about the quality of the tomatoes we put in our Award-Winning Tomato Ketchup.

“My name is Rick and I’m a ‘chupaholic. That said, not any old Tomato Ketchup – it has to be the finest. Our Tomato Ketchup was the second product we produced after the Real Mayonnaise.

And, it came just at the right time to encourage my daughter to eat more greens.”

It is thanks to Rick’s passion for perfection that we get to enjoy this delightfully thick, intensely tomatoey Tomato Ketchup and its brothers and sisters in Stokes’ joyous Ketchup Range.Meet the Family:

Savour the rich tomato taste then feel the heat of the spices kicking in from our Chilli Ketchup. For smoky background notes and another warming finish, our Chipotle Ketchup uses Chipotle Chillies, which are Jalapenos left to ripen on the plant to a deep red, before being smoked, giving them their distinctive flavour.Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup is pure beauty in a bottle, adding a shot of vodka and a unique blend of Bloody Mary spices, perfect for that ‘morning after’ bacon sandwich.[Credit Eric Lyons for the image.]