Thames enjoys grilling and gathering

Grilling ribs, chicken wings, and pork chops is Sam Thames’ favorite type of cooking.

The atmosphere of people enjoying his food at family gatherings is satisfying. 

“I enjoy feeding people and the camaraderie of cooking with people and being around folks who enjoy what you’re making,” Thames said. “It’s what I grew up doing, and my brothers and I kept that going following my parents and grandparents.” 

Thames grew up in Newton and recently moved to Philadelphia in May with his wife Shelby and daughter Carty. Alongside spending time with his family and cooking, Thames also works as a product support manager for Trax Plus, LLC.   

Thames said he was first introduced to cooking when he was 11 years old through his father and grandmother, who both loved to cook, along with his brothers.

“My brothers and I all loved cooking for the family,” he said. “I first started making things on the grill, like steaks, pork chops, hamburgers, and other simple things." 

He said as he got older he began experimenting with other foods like chicken wings, pork tenderloin, Boston butts, ribs, and a lot more. 

“It’s hard to name everything since I make so much,” Thames said. “I also like preparing sides on the stove like black-eyed peas, squash and zucchini, cornbread, and more. I don’t really make any desserts, that’s more of my wife’s area of expertise.” 

He added that cooking with love always produces better results and higher-quality dishes. 

“My grandmother taught me to always cook with love like she did,” Thames said. “I make sure to always do that, and I’ve won two cooking competitions at my workplace.” 

THAMES’ PORK LOIN 

Pork tenderloin 

Lemon pepper 

Garlic powder 

Black pepper 

Tony’s Seasoning 

Montreal Steak Seasoning 

Season to your liking. 

For the marinade: 

Zesty Italian dressing 

Low Sodium Dale’s 

Cook the tenderloin on the grill and prepare as desired. Apply leftover marinade as you turn the meat over on the grill. 

THAMES’ RIBS 

Rack of ribs 

Seasonings of choice 

Edly’s BBQ Rib Rub and BBQ sauce 

Cook your rack of ribs on the grill for around 3 hours. 45 minutes before the ribs are done, remove from the grill and apply Edly’s BBQ Sauce and wrap in foil. 

When done cooking, let ribs rest for 15 minutes, still wrapped in foil. Serve. 

THAMES’ STEAKS

Steaks of choice 

Salt and cracked black pepper 

1 stick of butter 

⅓ cup soy sauce 

⅓ cup lemon juice 

⅓ cup Worcestershire Sauce 

Season all sides of your steaks with salt and cracked black pepper. Sear steak on both sides in a cast iron skillet for around three and a half minutes on each side with a stick of butter melted down. 

Move steaks to the grill and mix soy sauce, lemon juice, and Worcestershire Sauce in a squeeze bottle. Apply to steaks as you flip them on the grill, and cook them to your liking.