Home Improvement Station

Summers are made for getting outdoors, setting up the grill and inviting family and friends around for a meal. Can’t you just smell the beef coking and imagine the joy to be had. Its easy to see why most people in outdoor cooking surveys say that they love grilling the most.

But lets take a step back for a moment. Yes the grill is important but if you really want to successfully cook outdoors its equally important to build yourself a well conceived outdoor kitchen.

The scale of your outdoor kitchen will be down to available funds but ideally you should aim to have the big seven in your outdoor kitchen: a grill and a stove; a cabinet for storage; a work top, a sink; a refrigerator and a well positioned seating with table area.

You’ll enjoy so many benefits if you invest wisely in an outdoor kitchen. No more going in and out of the house to fetch & carry things; you’ll enjoy spending more time with your guests; you’ll be much more relaxed; your guests will be impressed; and you’ll be able to cook with everything to hand that you need. but only if you’ve planned it well from the outset

Choosing your grill and your stove is a real big question and one you must get right. My advice is, don’t go ‘cheap’; it will neither pay off in the short or the long term! Getting this right can make or break your outdoor cooking experience!

So, to help you sort out some of the basics here are some guidelines:

1. Before doing anything, first ask yourself some really basic questions. Where will it be best to site our outdoor kitchen? How is the outdoor kitchen going to work in terms of the family, the house and the garden in the wider context? What about our privacy when we’re eating? What permissions are going to be needed? Where is the sun in the afternoon and evening? What protection from the sun, wind and rain are we in need of? And, if you’re going to use your decking, will it take the weight?

2. What will I be cooking? Do I need a stove or a grill or both? Usually people say that they regretted not thinking this one through first off; most families need both.

3. Assuming we get a stove and a grill, should I go for a single stove with enough power for cooking things in stockpots or do I need a double or triple burner; or should I go for a ceramic grill with their extraordinary cooking qualities that seal in flavor and moisture and use so little charcoal? The choice is wide; I suggest that you take a look online there are some great offers that you just won’t find locally.

4. What sort of cooking will I be doing? How big a grill or stove, how many and what sort of stockpots, Dutch ovens or Jambalaya pots etc. do I need? How many people are we regularly going to be cooking for? Should I go for Aluminum or stainless steel?

5. Do I want to grill with gas or charcoal? Here you need to ask yourself, does the family prefer the flavors produced by the charcoal smoke as well as the fun of cooking with charcoal or do I prefer the ease and cleanliness of gas, be it natural or LP? Do I want to really get sophisticated and go for a wood smoker, or maybe the ceramic grill will cover this option for me?

6. Are we going to go for stainless steel throughout making everything a long term, easy to clean, great looking investment?

Take simple precautions and plan your way forward and the you’ll find the design and purchase of an outdoor kitchen is quite straight forward; here are some important guidelines to bear in mind:

1. Should the outdoor kitchen go on the patio or on your decking; each may be the natural choice but both may not be the right decision for you? Think broadly and in the long term and if you’re in any doubt don’t start until you are sure;

2. Ensure you have some cover over the cooking area given the likely prospect of a shower or two;

3. If you’re thinking of having a stove and deep frying avoid placing this on a wooden floor or decking in case the oil spills and you have a fire!

4. Invest in outdoor lighting. It creates ambiance and a sense of well being; it also allows you to go on well into the evening.

6. If you’re going to have a refrigerator make sure you buy one that is dedicated for use outdoors and it has a lock;

7. If you want a fully functioning outdoor kitchen then a sink is a must but must be planned for from the outset as you need a water supply and a waste outlet Sinks are so useful for washing, food preparation, supplying water for drinks and for washing up saving you having to run in and out of the house, time & time and again;

7. Make sure everything in your outdoor kitchen is waterproof and weather tight; particularly your storage areas; it makes sense to invest in dedicated outdoor kit; and

8. Make sure there are no combustible materials close to the grill

All the best for a great outdoor kitchen this summer

Stephen Kember

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 2:51 pm and is filed under gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.