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 wait, yes the grill is very important but if you’re serious about entertaining outdoors then its really important to set your grill within a well planned outdoor kitchen.

How big or small this will be will be down to you and the available funds. My advice, if the budget will take it, is to go for a simple but comprehensive set up including: a grill and a stove; a cabinet for storage; a work top, a sink; a refrigerator and a well positioned seating area.

Your outdoor kitchen will bring in its wake many benefits. you’ll be free of walking in and out of the house so many times you’re going dizzy, you’ll have everything to hand when you need it; your family will be seriously impressed and enjoy your entertaining and you’ll be far more relaxed…. that is of course, assuming you’ve planned it all well in advance of starting the project.

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 making any detailed decisions ask yourself: What is the best location for our outdoor kitchen? How will the kitchen work in terms of the house and the garden and the family? How important is our privacy when eating? What permissions will we need? Where is the sun going to be when we’re dining? What protection from the elements are we going to need? And, if we’re going to use it, will the decking take the weight of the kitchen?

2. A stove or a grill, that is the big question. Most families find over time they need both if they are going to be cooking a mix of recipes outdoors on a regular basis; invest in both from the outset if you can, then set up the kitchen accordingly.

3. If we buy a stove and a grill what sort of stove should I buy? A one, two or three burner? Or should I go for a ceramic grill. They have such excellent reviews due to the way they cook that seals in both moisture and flavor so the food is tasty and juicy. My advice is go online and do a search; there are some superb offers available at the moment.

4. What cooking will I be doing? What size of grill or stove will suit us best? How many and what type of stockpots, Dutch ovens and Jambalaya pots will we need? How many will we be cooking for? And which do i like best aluminum, stainless steel or cast iron?

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. Do we select stainless steel when buying our stoves, refrigerator, work top, stockpots and all else given its longevity, ease of cleaning and the fact that over the long term its a great 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. Establishing an outdoor kitchen on your decking or on the patio is perhaps the natural choice but is it right? Before deciding consider matters in the longer term and in view of points already considered in this article;

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 some outdoor lighting. With tasteful lighting the whole ambiance is so much nicer and your outdoor soire can continue into the small hours on those beautiful balmy evenings;

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. Its important that your outdoor kitchen is waterproof and all-round weather tight; particularly storage areas; always invest in dedicated outdoor kit; and

8. Avoid all combustible materials anywhere near the grill

Good luck in all your outdoor cooking adventures

S. R. Kember

Tags: c, ceramic grill, cooking, cooking outdoors, f, food;drink, gardening, h, home & family, home-and-garden, home-improvement, o, outdoor, outdoor cooking equipment, outdoor grill, outdoor grills, outdoor life, outdoor stoves, s, stockpots, u

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 1:52 pm and is filed under gardening, outdoor cooking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.