Welcome to the hints and tips page. As with the rest of our Q School, this page will grow over time so be sure to check back regularly. For now check out our basic tips to get you started.
A rub makes a fantastic barbecue, a winning barbecue!
All rubs are seasonings, a dry mixture of sugar, salt, herbs and spices rubbed into the flesh. Salt and sugar are carriers as well as flavour enhancers. By carriers I mean they carry the seasoning you want. If you rubbed garlic powder on it's own on a chicken, the chances are that it would be seasoned too heavily for anyone to enjoy. However, if you mixed the garlic powder with a carrier of salt and sugar you will get a nice garlic flavour rather than a harsh one.
Start with 100g white cane sugar. Brown sugar can clump and is more difficult to sprinkle over the meat with ease. Then add 100g salt. Yes it might seem a lot, but good barbecuing is about intense flavours and intense seasoning. Pick a couple of the following: seasoned, onion, garlic or celery salt. They are all flavour prints of barbecues. I want the salt to carry a flavour and do not recommend iodized, plain or rock salt. The next ingredient is for colour. Add 50g Paprika. Hungarian paprika is the best for flavour and colour. The final two ingredients are another balance between chilli powder and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of each. Now you want to put your signature on the rub. Pick your three favourite spices adding half a teaspoon at a time. Remember you don't want any one spice to overpower the others. If you want some heat add a teaspoon of cayenne, jalapeno or other hot powder. Combine all the ingredients and blend well. Store in a cool dark place. To use the rub sprinkle the rub on like you would a heavy salt and pepper and work into the flesh with your hands. You are on you way to becoming a Barbecue King and you will certainly amaze and impress your friends at your next barbecue!
You could make a world championship bbq sauce!
Far fetched? I don't think so. Many of today's barbecue sauces started out in someone's kitchen. Barbecue sauce is tomato based and most are a combination of sweet and sour with seasonings and spices. The first time you make a good barbecue sauce, I suggest you start with ketchup. Ketchup is a proven flavour enhancer and then add more sweet (if you want it sweeter), sour, spices and some other liquids to come up with your own sauce.
Start with 100mls of your favourite ketchup. For a sweet sauce add 50g brown sugar. If you like a less sweet sauce cut the sugar in half. For a sour sauce add 30mls white wine vinegar. My basic barbecue flavour points start with onion, garlic and celery. Other spices or seasonings to include are chilli powder, salt, pepper, allspice, coriander, nutmeg, mace, clove, cumin, oregano, mustard and ginger. Pick three or four that you like and add them sparingly. Start with a teaspoon and build up from there. I use dry spices for consistency. You could also add Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. One of my secret ingredients is liquid smoke. This is wood smoke diffused in water and should be used sparingly.
Put your seasonings in a saucepan with the sugar and add the liquid ingredients, to dissolve them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Enjoy!
| US Ingredients | UK Ingredients |
| Arugula | Rocket |
| 13" x 9" pan | Roasting tin |
| All purpose flour | Plain flour |
| Apple-pie spice | Mixed spice |
| Baking pan | Baking tin |
| Baking soda | Bicarbonate of soda |
| Basic pie crust | Shortcrust pastry |
| Basket for 10 oz. Fruit | Punnet |
| Beets | Beetroot |
| Bell peppers | Red/green peppers |
| Besan flour | Gram flour |
| Biscuits | Scones |
| Bread flour | Strong plain flour |
| Bread flour | Strong white flour |
| Broil | Grill |
| Broiler | Grill (noun) |
| Brown gravy mix | Bisto |
| Cake pan | Cake tin |
| Cake/pastry flour | Soft flour |
| Candied cherries | Glacé Cherries |
| Candied fruit | Crystallised fruit |
| Candied ginger | Crystallised ginger |
| Candied peel | Mixed chopped peel |
| Catsup | Tomato ketchup / sauce |
| Celery root | Celeriac |
| Chips | Crisps |
| Chopped | Shredded |
| Chuck steak | Braising steak |
| Cilantro | Coriander Leaf |
| Collard greens | Spring greens |
| Confectioners sugar | Icing sugar |
| Conserve | Jam |
| Cookie sheet | Baking sheet |
| Cookies | Biscuits |
| Corn | Sweetcorn |
| Corn starch | Corn flour |
| Corn syrup | Golden syrup |
| Cornichons | Gherkin |
| Cornmeal | Polenta |
| Cornstarch | Cornflour |
| Cracked wheat | Bulghar wheat |
| Crackers | Jacobs |
| Cupcake papers | Cake cases |
| Custard cup | Ramekin dish |
| Dairy sour cream | Soured cream |
| Dark raw sugar | Muscovado Sugar |
| Dill weed | Dill |
| Dutch oven | Casserole dish |
| Eggplant | Aubergine |
| Endive | Chickory |
| Extract | Essence |
| Fava or Lima Beans | Broad Beans |
| Filberts | Hazelnuts |
| Filo (or phyllo) dough | Filo pastry |
| Fries | Chips |
| Frosting | Icing |
| Fruit cake mix | Mixed dried fruit |
| Garbanzos | Chickpeas |
| Golden raisins | Sultanas |
| Graham crackers | Digestive biscuits |
| Green beans | French beans |
| Grinder | Mincer |
| Ground | Minced |
| Ground Beef | Mince |
| Hard cooked | Hard boiled |
| Heavy Cream | Double Cream |
| Jello | Jelly |
| Jelly or Preserves | Jam |
| Jelly roll | Swiss roll |
| Jelly roll pan | Swiss roll tin |
| Jumbo shrimp | Tiger prawns |
| Ladies fingers | Okra |
| Lady fingers | Sponge fingers |
| Light corn syrup | Golden syrup |
| Light Cream | Single Cream |
| Lima beans | Butter beans |
| Loaf pan | Loaf tin |
| Molasses | Dark treacle |
| Navy beans | Haricot beans |
| Non-fat dried milk | Dried milk powder |
| Paper towels | Kitchen towel |
| Parchment (baking) paper | Baking Paper |
| Paste | Pastry |
| Pastry Bag | Piping bag |
| Patty pan | Tartlet tin |
| Pea pods or snow peas | Mange tout |
| Pie pan | Flan dish |
| Pie shell | Pastry case |
| Pits | Stones |
| Pitted | Stoned |
| Plain vanilla cookies | Rich tea biscuits |
| Plastic wrap | Cling film |
| Pudding rice | Round grain rice |
| Punch down | Knock back |
| Red beets | Beetroot |
| Roasting pan | Roasting tin |
| Romaine lettuce | Cos lettuce |
| Rutabaga | Swede |
| Sandwich pan | Sandwich tin |
| Saute | Fry |
| Sauteed | Fried |
| Scallion | Spring onion |
| Self-rising flour | Self-raising flour |
| Semi-sweet chocolate | Plain chocolate |
| Shortening | Lard |
| Shredded coconut | Desiccated coconut |
| Shrimp | Prawn or shrimp |
| Sieved tomatoes | Passata |
| Skillet | Frying pan |
| Slices | Rashers |
| Slivered almonds | Flaked almonds |
| Snow peas | Mangetout |
| Sprinkles | Hundreds and thousands |
| Squid or calamari | Squid |
| Stem lettuce | Celtuce AKA celery lettuce, asparagus lettuce, Chinese lettuce |
| Strainer | Sieve |
| Sugar | Granulated sugar |
| Super fine sugar | Caster sugar |
| Sweet butter | Unsalted butter |
| Sweetened chocolate powder | Drinking chocolate powder |
| Swiss cheese | Emmental cheese |
| Swiss cheese | Gruyere cheese |
| Tart apple | Cooking apple |
| Tomato paste | Tomato puree |
| Toothpick | Cocktail stick |
| Unsweetened chocolate powder | Cocoa powder |
| Waxed paper | Greaseproof paper |
| White or golden raisins | Sultanas |
| Zucchini | Courgette |
| Fahrenheit Degrees | Centigrade Degrees | Australian | Gas |
| 240 | 110 | very slow | 1/4 |
| 290 | 140 | slow | 1 |
| 310 | 150 | 2 | |
| 335 | 170 | 3 | |
| 355 | 180 | moderate | 4 |
| 380 | 190 | 5 | |
| 400 | 200 | moderately hot | 6 |
| 428 | 220 | hot | 7 |
| 445 | 230 | 8 | |
| 470 | 245 | very hot | 9 |
| Cups | Fluid Ounces | Ml |
| 2.5 | 20 | 625 |
| 2 | 16 (US pint) | 500 |
| 1 | 8 | 250 |
| 3/4 | 6 | 187 |
| 1/2 | 4 | 125 |
| 1/3 | 2.7 | 83 |
| 1/4 | 2 | 62.5 |
| Grams | Oz | |
| 1000 | 35 | |
| 500 | 17.5 * | |
| 454 | 16 (1 pound) | |
| 250 | 9 | |
| 125 | 4.5 | |
| 85 | 3 | |
| 75 | 2.5 | |
| 50 | 1.75 | |
| 30 (28.3) | 1 | |
| 10 | 1/3 | |
| * 1 livre (pound) in France | ||
Chicken - Click Images To Enlarge
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Brisket - Click Images To Enlarge
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Pork - Click Images To Enlarge
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Ribs - Click Images To Enlarge
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