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Cooking and Your Outdoor Kitchen

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An outdoor kitchen can run the gamut from small hibachi grill to a full-blown outdoor kitchen with refrigerators, grills and ovens.  There are a couple things to think about though regarding cooking and your outdoor kitchen.  The main items to consider are cleanliness, company, and coziness.

Cleanliness: An outdoor kitchen has a few unique considerations compared to the regular one inside your house.  The biggest things you have to worry about are food born illnesses and cross contamination. If your outdoor kitchen doesn’t have a built in refrigerator then don’t bring the food outside until you’re ready to cook it. Instead keep it in the fridge.  Cross contamination is a bit more of a concern outdoors as well. In your regular kitchen you are using different pots and pans for every dish. Outside you’re probably using the same spatula to flip burgers, steaks and grilled veggies.  Use different utensils and pans or clean between different types of food to keep everything sterile. You don’t want to be picking a cooked piece of chicken off the grill with the same pair of tongs you used to put it there in the first place.

Company: now that we’ve gotten through the stuffy part lets look at enjoying the outdoor kitchen. How do you enjoy it? With friends of course!  Just use a bit of common sense a 2-person grill is going to leave a 30-person party waiting around for food.

Coziness: If you’re cooking outside you might as well eat outside. A few pieces of outdoor furniture can make a nice outdoor living room. There’s no reason to run back and forth from inside to out. Instead family and friends can sit outside and enjoy a nice warm summer evening.

Coziness, company and cleanliness are just a few items to consider when thinking about cooking and your outdoor kitchen. Whether you’re cooking for two or two hundred an outdoor kitchen is a great entertainment option for your home.

Things to Consider when Buying an Outdoor Kitchen

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Outdoor kitchens are becoming more popular these days, as more and more home owners realize the benefits to putting their outdoor living areas to greater use.

Not only is entertaining outdoors more fun and more simple than holding yet another party in a boring living room, but an outdoor kitchen also adds a significant amount to the value of the home. Outdoor kitchens require an investment of both time and money, however.

Here are some things to consider when buying an outdoor kitchen that could save you considerable expense in the long run.

How to Use Your Space

Before you start shopping, take a good look at the space you have available and determine how much of that space you want to use for your kitchen. Remember to block out room for gardens, play sets, and any other important features of your back yard.

How Will Your Kitchen be Oriented?

Before getting your heart set on a specific outdoor kitchen, think about how you will protect your guests from cool breezes, whether you’ll be staring into the setting sun as you cook, and how to keep your outdoor kitchen as close to your indoor kitchen as possible.

Check on Required Building Permits

Adding an outdoor kitchen is a much more serious undertaking than simply installing a grill. You may need building permits before you get underway. It’s a good idea to check on your local requirements before going ahead with your project.

How Will You Run Your Gas/Electric Lines?

If you’re going to have an outdoor kitchen, you’re going to need an easy way to manage the heat and electricity you’ll need. You should determine whether it’s possible to install the electrical or gas lines that you’ll need before getting started.

How Will the Plumbing Work?

Most outdoor kitchens include a working sink, which greatly eases everything from food preparation and hygiene to making drinks for guests. To accomplish a running sink, however, you’re going to need both water to the outdoor kitchen and a drain to the sewage system. This is worth considering before getting underway.

How Much Storage Do You Need?

At this point, you’ll probably want to consider what you’ll want to store outside, and where storage space will be located. Keeping plates, utensils, spices, and cutlery in your outdoor kitchen can save you a lot of work carrying stuff back and forth, if your storage is designed to keep your items clean and organized. Fit In Counter Space Counter space is an important aspect of cooking that is often overlooked when designing outdoor kitchens. Food preparation will be difficult if you don’t have the room to clean and slice your ingredients.

Choose Your Flooring Carefully

Cooking outdoors puts some special requirements on the flooring of your kitchen. The chances are even higher that you’ll be walking on the floor while it’s wet, so you should find a non-slip, non-porous surface. You’ll also want something with low glare, to prevent reflections in the sun.

By following these tips, you can have a good idea of what you’ll need from your outdoor kitchen before you go shopping, and before you make a potentially costly mistake.