Barbecue Side Dishes

Sides & Salads

It's the tasty array of salads and side dishes that turn a BBQ into a feast for your family and friends.

As we enter the BBQ season, we will visit, interpret and share a number of tasty, colourful and simple dishes to dress your dining tables - indoors and out.

Simple can be tasty too, like this tomato, rocket and mozzarella salad.

To really get the best from the tomatoes, slice then soak them for an hour in olive oil and Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing (4 tbsp of each) with torn basil leaves and a sprinkling of good sea salt flakes.

The tomatoes absorb the flavours and the salt releases the tomato juices. Use a slotted spoon to lift the tomatoes onto the salad and the remaining juices to dress it.

Grilled Halloumi & Asparagus

Here's how:

As with so many BBQ recipes, it's the marinade that adds so much to this flavoursome side.

Mix 4 tbsp of olive oil, 4 tbsp of Stokes Mango & Orange Dressing, lemon juice and a good shake of Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce in a bowl.

Add the halloumi strips, covering them well in the fruity, peppery marinade, with its chilli zing, and let it rest for an hour or so.

Carefully skewer the squeaky cheese and verdant green asparagus, brush with a little marinade and grill them for 5 or 6  minutes on each side, brushing again on the turn.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and enjoy it with a burger, chop or spare rib.

Balsamic Asparagus

As the all-too-short British Asparagus season has just begun, it's a shame not to eat lots of it while we can.

Here's how:

First, steam or poach your asparagus.

[TIP: Stand the asparagus upright, stem down in a couple of inches of boiling water, tips up. This way, with the lid on, the tougher stems gets the harsher poaching whilst the more fragile tips gently steam.]

Time it so the tips are still nicely crisp and the stems tender, then stop them cooking by running them in cold water or plunging them into a bowl of iced water.

Now, dress them with olives, Parmesan shavings and a drizzle of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing.

American Mac 'n' Cheese

No self-respecting BBQ in the States will be served without Mac 'n' Cheese. It's fun and catching on on this side of the pond too.

Here's how:

Cook 350 g of macaroni in boiling water to the pack's instructions. Melt 25 g of butter, adding 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard, 1 tbsp of Stokes Original BBQ Sauce and 3 tbsp of flour to make a roux.

Gradually add 500 ml of milk, whisking until it thickens. Grate 250 g of Cheddar and 25 g of Parmesan cheese to the sauce. When the cheese has melted into the milk, combine the sauce and cooked macaroni in an oven dish.

Grate more cheese onto the top and bake in a medium high oven for 20 minutes. The cheesy macaroni, with gentle heat from the mustard and sweet smokiness from the BBQ sauce, is wonderful with a couple of barbecued sausages.

With dressings like this...

...and BBQ Sauces like this...

...your BBQ season is sorted.  
You can stock up now - here

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Simple Starters - 
enjoy some of our simple, tasty first course favourites - here.









Marinade, Marinade, Marinade - 
tenderise and 'flavourise' with our delicious marinades - here.








Caught on Camera - 
this has to be the greatest 'brunch in a bun'. Watch and share - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

BBQ Grilling - outdoors & in

Marinade, Marinade, Marinade

It is particularly important to marinate your meat for a barbecue:

Acids in a marinade help to tenderise meat, breaking down the sinews as they soak in, which is why we often add citrus fruit juices to the ingredients.

Oil protects the flesh from what's often a harsh direct heat, delivered with limited controls.

Herbs, spices, chilli, honey, ginger and other such powerful natural flavours impart their aromatics and tasty variations to the marinated meat.

[TIP: Dicing and skewering meat, particularly lamb and pork, helps it cook more quickly and evenly, leaving it less charred on the outside and juicy in the middle.]

The Stokes BBQ Collection

...the perfect combination for marinades, toppings and sides.

Just £25, saving 10% off individual product prices,

PLUS FREE delivery

Order your exclusive collection - here

Now - 
use the collection in these BBQ recipes...


BBQ Ribs

To get the best from your spare ribs, it is strongly recommended to prepare and pre-cook them in the oven, finishing them on the BBQ.

Here's how:

Put the ribs in a roasting tin, cover them (just) with water and put them in the oven at 190°C/gas mark 5 for an hour.

Meanwhile mix 200 ml of orange juice, 3 tbsp of Stokes Tomato Ketchup, 3 tbsp of Stokes Original BBQ Sauce and 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic Mustard.

Drain and dry the ribs then put them back in the roasting tray where you cover them well in the marinade. Cover the tray with foil and put it back in the oven for another hour.

Let them cool and keep any reserve juices and marinade. Your ribs are ready to finish on the BBQ, brushed with the reserved marinade which will char and caramelise deliciously in a few short minutes.

Balsamic Chicken Kebabs

Using cubes of chicken breast meat on skewers ensures they
are evenly cooked and cooked right through.

Here's how:

Firstly make the marinade by mixing 4 tbsp of Stokes Olive & Balsamic Dressing with 4 tbsp of olive oil and 100 ml of orange juice. Add grated ginger and season.

Immerse the chicken cubes and let them soak up the flavour - the longer the better and preferably overnight. Load your skewers, including sweet cherry tomatoes and feathers of onion with the chicken pieces.

To counter the slightly sharper marinade, brush alternate pieces of chicken with a little of our Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce.

The combined flavours are wonderful.

Mayo Marinated Wings

There's a growing school of thought suggesting we use mayonnaise as part of a marinade. The emulsion allows the oils in the mayonnaise, and any aromatics we add to it, to stick to the food. Try it with these chicken wings.

Here's how:

Mix equal quantities of Stokes Real Mayonnaise with our Original BBQ Sauce (4 tbsp of each). Add 1 or 2 tbsp of Stokes Red Onion Marmalade and the juice of half a lemon.

Coat the chicken wings thoroughly in the marinade and leave, covered, as long as you can.

Remove the wings from the bowl and pop them on the BBQ or under the grill.

Turn them over frequently whilst cooking for 20 to 25 minutes until the juices run clear.

Your Stokes BBQ Collection

...the perfect combination for marinades, toppings and sides.

Just £25, saving 10% off individual product prices,

PLUS FREE delivery

Order your exclusive collection - here

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Simple Starters - 
enjoy some of our simple, tasty first course favourites - here.









BBQ Sides & Salads - 
turn your barbecue into a family feast with these stunning sides - here.









Caught on Camera - 
this has to be the greatest 'brunch in a bun'. Watch and share - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Brunch caught on camera and other tasty sharing

Don't miss the fun
on Facebook & Twitter

Magical midweek meals. Family favourites. Kitchen gems across the generations - just like granny used to make. Please share them all on Facebook and Twitter.

This has to be the ultimate 'brunch in a bun', caught on camera as it evolves in the kitchen. Smashed avocado, fried halloumi and an oozingly brilliant fried egg with Stokes Chilli Jam to fortify the flavours - lush.

Watch the video here:

Tweeting of breakfasts, this looks like the perfect start to Pete's weekend as captured on camera and tweeted to @StokesSauces. Yes, it's all there including the perfect breakfast combo - Stokes Tomato Ketchup and Stokes Brown Sauce. Same again this weekend Pete?

After a Stokes breakfast? Well, a Stokes-flavoured lunch of course, as enjoyed by Phillip and his team at PD Foodservice one of the large team of flavour fans responsible for encouraging independent pubs and restaurants to grace their good food with great sauce.

And for supper? How about choosing something from our recent newsletter article on spaghetti, which we linked to the great BBC Panorama April Fool's Day broadcast about the bumper spaghetti harvest in Switzerland. Read more and enjoy - here.

More foodie thoughts for the week:




Simple Starters - 
enjoy some of our simple, tasty first course favourites - here.











BBQ Sides & Salads - 
turn your barbecue into a family feast with these stunning sides - here.



 





Marinade, Marinade, Marinade - 
tenderise and 'flavourise' with our delicious marinades - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Sensational Salmon

Salmon - so simple, so tasty

A fresh salmon steak from the fishmonger or supermarket equivalent makes a wonderful, healthy, simple, quick supper.

You can dress it up, give it an oriental twist, serve it as a curry, barbecue it, roast it and poach it.

Shallow poaching is one of the easiest and most risk-free ways to cook fish. Any extra ingredients you add to the poaching liquor will add flavoursome twists to the salmon.

Dill & Mustard Sauce

This roast salmon is served with a simple sauce. Simmer 2 diced shallots, 1 finely chopped stick of celery and and half a diced fennel bulb in half and half white wine and water (100 to 125 ml of each) with Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce - 2 tsp should be fine, you can always add more to taste.

Blitz with a hand blender, pass through a fine sieve, taste and serve. The gentle aromatics work so well with salmon.

Salmon with Minted Peas

Here's how:

Before roasting the salmon, brush it with or soak it in a mixture of the juice of 2 limes, a big squeeze of honey and 1 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard. Grill or bake the salmon.

For the minted peas: Soften 2 diced shallots in butter then add frozen petits pois, half a glass of white wine and 2 tsp of Stokes Mint Sauce. Blitz, season and serve with your salmon.

The flavour combinations are subtle - warming mustard and sweet honey in the glaze with sweet mint and piquant vinegar in the juicy peas ... so tasty.

BBQ Salmon Kebabs

Here's how:

Salmon is firm enough to cube and skewer. With these kebabs, we add manges touts for a little crunch, cherry tomatoes for sweetness and red and yellow peppers to finish the colourful ensemble.

[TIP: Often peppers are too crunchy on a skewer, particularly when the meat, such as salmon, needs only a short cooking time. Try roasting, softening and skinning the peppers first. You still have the colour and sweet flavour supporting the other elements, rather than fighting with them.]

Assemble the skewers and brush with a mixture of lemon or lime juice, olive oil and Stokes Original BBQ Sauce.

This won't overpower the salmon but adds the light tang of smoky BBQ whether you grill them inside or out.

Crusted Salmon Bake

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6.

There are two elements to the crust. First, mix about 125 g of creamed cheese with the zest of half a lemon and 1 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard and spread it on the salmon.

Now mix equal parts of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese (about 25 g of each) and chopped parsley. Coat the mustard-cheese spread with the dry mixture and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

This is perfect with a fresh salad and perhaps a simple salsa.

Spring into 'delicious' with Stokes

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Beautiful Barbecues - 
whether grilled inside or out, these recipes are simple, tasty, fun - here.









Make it with Mayo - 
adding the velvety qualities of amazing mayonnaise - here.


 








Video Magic - 
watch this tasty mini movie and other foodie sharing - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Beautiful Barbecues

When it comes to BBQs, 
        Stokes brings the taste

Stokes sauces, pickles, relish and mustards were made for BBQs - or were BBQs made for Stokes sauces?

Whichever came first, chicken or egg, Stokes and BBQs were made for each other.

Stokes 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.

Stokes 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, letting the spicy heat develop as an after flavour.

Stokes Sweet & Sticky BBQ Sauce is another flavoursome variation, deeply sweet with a sensational kick of British horseradish and Worcestershire sauce to balance the sticky maple syrup.

Stokes Burger Relish is a red pepper, onion and tomato relish with subtle notes of chilli, made up in the style of a salsa. It promises to transform burgers into something really special.

Stokes Sticky Pickle is scrumptiously sticky with our own unique blend of vegetables in a sweet and spicy sauce made with molasses and black treacle.

Stokes Classic English Mustard is perfect with a beef burger, a strong yet smooth take on the classic mustard without the 'burn'. If you like mustard we think you'll love this!

BBQ Chicken - Portuguese Style

Portuguese Barbecue Chicken is one of the most traditional and popular dishes in Portuguese cuisine. As with most BBQ recipes, it's all about the marinade.

Here's how:

To replicate the Portuguese spicy kick combine 4 tbsp of Stokes Hot & Spicy BBQ Sauce with the same of olive oil, the juice of 1 lime, 2 grated garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika.

Put this into a sealable food bag with the chicken joints, coat well and leave to marinate for and hour or so - the longer the better as always.

Grill, indoors or out, brushing with the excess marinade. It's served here with potato salad made with Stokes Real Mayonnaise with chopped parsley and red onion - delicious.

 Other Summer Essentials

Stokes Tomato Ketchup

and our tasty family of ketchups

 

Read the tasting notes 

and order your fabulous Ketchup here

More foodie thoughts for the week:



Sensational Salmon - 
enjoy these useful tips and delicious Salmon Steak recipes - here.










Make it with Mayo - 
adding the velvety qualities of amazing mayonnaise - here.


 







Video Magic - 
watch this tasty mini movie and other foodie sharing - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Make it with Mayo

Add the velvet cloak of Mayo

Now available in 345g and 210g jars.

Sometimes you hear or read a recipe and shudder at the thought of this or that ingredient - surely that won't work.

Like Letitia Cropley from the Vicar of Dibley who Geraldine Grainger dubbed the 'Queen of Cordon Bleugh'.

Letitia gave the village such delights as Marmite cakes, lemon curd with ham and cheese, and a bewildering concoction of chocolate with cod's roe - shocking !

The big difference with the following recipes is that they don't just work, they're amazing. And they all use Stokes Real Mayonnaise or Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise.


Stokes Real Mayonnaise

There's nothing quite as delicious as Stokes Real Mayonnaise. Made with eggs from British free range hens, British rapeseed oil and additional extra virgin olive oil from the Koroneiki olive groves of Crete giving it its exceptional velvety depth.

Scrambled eggs & smoked salmon

There are plenty of tips for making great scrambled eggs: Melted butter; fresh and free-range eggs; a drop of milk per egg and one for luck; reduced heat; constant movement and no doubt many more.

Try this - for amazingly creamy scrambled eggs, beat 2 teaspoons (for a 4 x egg scramble) of Stokes Real Mayonnaise into the eggs before pouring them into the pan to cook. 

You won't actually taste the mayonnaise, but benefit from the velvety finish that our adding extra virgin olive oil gives to Stokes Mayonnaise.

Homemade chicken nuggets

It's frustrating when the breadcrumbs don't stick to the chicken or the whole thing goes soggy, but, thanks again to mayonnaise, this is a thing of the past.  Use mayonnaise as the 'glue' to attach the breadcrumbs and they'll stick and taste great too. 

You'll need:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise 
• 200 g of panko breadcrumbs

Here's how:

In a large bowl, mix the mustard and the mayonnaise. Place the breadcrumbs in a second bowl. Cut the chicken into 2cm thick strips and coat them all well in the mustard mayo mixture with a pinch of salt and twist of pepper.

In small batches, roll the strips in the breadcrumbs until they are all well coated. Place the strips on a greased baking sheet - avoid them touching each other - and bake at a medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

For a scrummy sauce mix equal amounts of Stokes Dijon Mustard, Stokes Real Mayonnaise and runny honey - it's amazing !

They are naturally delicious dipped in any of Stokes Ketchups, Dips, Sauces and Mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise glazed chicken

It was Louise (one of our Facebook followers, left) who first raised my eyebrows to this. Since then I've seen more references and tried it - wow ... thank you Louise.

By massaging Stokes Real Mayonnaise over a whole chicken before roasting it, it comes out with a beautiful, glistening, crisp skin. We're pretty sure it's the mayonnaise rather than the massage that helps. 

Variations on the theme add tasty highlights which work wonderfully - to the mayonnaise add spices or herbs, lime zest, cheese etc before massaging the bird. 

Or switch our Real Mayonnaise for Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise. It works for weekday suppers of chicken breast or leg joints too.

Try this version yourself...

Here's how:

Mix 2 or 3 tbsp of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise with some dried thyme and a generous grating of Parmesan cheese and spread (or massage) it over the chicken joints - this adds sheen and flavour to the bird.

Scatter a few capers onto the meat and roast on a bed of lemons in a medium high heat for 35 to 40 minutes until the chicken juice runs clear.

Deglaze the roasting tray with white wine. Add sufficient cream to combine the lemon and chicken juices into a delicious pouring sauce.

So simple, so good.

Stokes Real Mayonnaise

and our delicious Mayonnaise range

They all sit well with any salad or give a velvet smooth luster to a fresh, crispy slaw.

• Try the creamy aioli of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise; 
• the jalapeno hit of our ChilliMayonnaise; 
• the vibrant zing of our Lemon Mayonnaise; 
• the ‘must-have-more’ magic of our Mustard & Honey Mayonnaise;

...order yours here.

You can order your delicious Mayonnaise - here

More foodie thoughts for the week:



Sensational Salmon - 
enjoy these useful tips and delicious Salmon Steak recipes - here.










Beautiful Barbecues - 
whether grilled inside or out, these recipes are simple, tasty, fun - here.



 





Video Magic - 
watch this tasty mini movie and other foodie sharing - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Video magic and other foodie shares

Don't miss the fun
on Facebook & Twitter

Magical midweek meals. Family favourites. Kitchen gems across the generations - just like granny used to make. Please share them all on Facebook and Twitter.

We call this Video Magic because it demonstrates just how easy it is to turn ordinary cheese on toast into extraordinary grilled cheese on toast, just by adding Stokes.

Watch the video here:

Great British Beef Week is still running until 7th April, to champion quality home-produced beef as part of a balanced, healthy global diet. But there's no need to stop enjoying British Beef after that of course.

We joined the celebrations with recipes for three global classics, using British Beef, in last week's newsletter. You can see and try these tasty recipes here.

Isn't great taste a wonderful thing.

We love making it. We love using it. And we absolutely love the fact that you love it too.

More foodie thoughts for the week:




Sensational Salmon - 
enjoy these useful tips and delicious Salmon Steak recipes - here.











Beautiful Barbecues - 
whether grilled inside or out, these recipes are simple, tasty, fun - here.



 





Make it with Mayo - 
adding the velvety qualities of amazing mayonnaise - here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150