The most important part of your Orlando Outdoor Kitchen is the appliances. The appliances define how you use your outdoor kitchen. They add shape, functionality, and design. Plus, it just wouldn’t be an outdoor kitchen without a grill or an outdoor fridge. What are the best appliances for your outdoor kitchen? What are your options? In this post, we’re going to take a look at some of the most popular outdoor appliances, and how you can use them in your outdoor kitchen. Let’s start with the most important part of every outdoor kitchen, the grill.
Grills
At Outdoor Kitchen Guy, we highly recommend choosing a luxury grill. Luxury grills are made with high quality materials, like 304 stainless steel. Stainless steel is the most durable option for a grill, because it won’t corrode over time, and it’s nonstick. Luxury grills are also known for their power. In fact, some luxury grills can heat up to well over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. With backyard barbeque grills, you can find charcoal grills, pellet grills, and gas grills. We recommend gas grills, just because they are convenient and they offer precise temperature control.
What Brand of Grill Should I Buy?
One of our favorite grill brands is Alfresco. Alfresco grills also include a rotisserie, a stainless steel grate, and a beautiful honeycomb style sear burner. We also recommend Blaze grills. Although they aren’t as luxurious as Alfresco, they work really well and they are dependable. The grill is the centerpiece of your Orlando Outdoor Kitchen. It’s a great spot to grill chicken, burgers, kebabs, and veggies. But what about the side dishes? Do you have to run back inside every time you want to use a stove burner? The next appliance you can add to your outdoor kitchen is the side burner.
Side Burners
The side burner is ideal for chefs who like to multi-task. Simply put, side burners are just like an indoor stove burner, but they’re safe to use outside. You can buy one or two side burners, and have them installed in the countertop near the grill. We highly recommend working with a professional to make sure your side burners are installed correctly. Once you have your side burner installed, you can use it to cook anything that you would normally cook indoors. Some of our favorite dishes to cook with a side burner include pasta and homemade sauce. You can cook one or two dishes on the side burners, while keeping an eye on the grill.
How to Find a Good Side Burner
When you’re looking for a side burner, try to stick with high quality brands, like Alfresco or Blaze. It’s better to buy a high quality brand right off the bat, than to settle for something cheap. Cheap brands will need to be replaced much more often. You also want to find a side burner that’s made with 304 stainless steel. Side burners are very similar to the next item on our list, the power burner.
Power Burners
Instead of cooking like a normal stove top, a power burner uses a lot more heat. And just like their name suggests, they are extremely powerful. Power burners can have up to 60,000 BTU, which is the same BTU as a small grill. They’re powerful enough to bring a large pot of water to a boil in just a couple of minutes. If you’re looking for a burner that can reach very high temperatures, a power burner is the perfect choice. Of course, there are some times when you might not need all that power. So we recommend getting a side burner and a power burner. That way, you can have the best of both worlds!
Pizza Ovens
One of the most popular Orlando Outdoor Kitchen appliances right now is the pizza oven. There are a few different styles of pizza oven that you can add to your outdoor kitchen. The first (and cheapest) option is the portable pizza oven. These pizza ovens are a perfect choice if you’re on a budget. You can also take a portable pizza oven on your next camping trip. Use it to fire up some pizza at the tailgate party, or take it on your next vacation. Portable pizza ovens usually cost less than $1,000, depending on the brand and size. Some brands can cook with a variety of fuel, including charcoal, wood, and pellets.
Another style of pizza oven is the woodfired outdoor pizza oven. We highly recommend woodfired pizza ovens, because they offer the rich, smoky taste to your pizza crust that you and your guests will love. One more benefit that we love about woodfired pizza ovens is their power. Orlando Outdoor Kitchen woodfired pizza ovens can easily reach temperatures over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. That helps give your pizza crust a nice, crisp edge.
And last but not least, the third style of pizza oven is the built in style. If you’re looking for a permanent addition to your outdoor kitchen, a built-in pizza oven is the best option.
Note:
When you’re designing your dream outdoor kitchen, it’s a good idea to work with professional designers who work with outdoor kitchens. professional designer will make sure that all of the parts of your Orlando Outdoor Kitchen fit together. If you want to add a large appliance, like a built-in pizza oven, that requires a lot more planning. You need the counters and cabinets to fit around the appliance.
Outdoor Kitchen Guy specializes in custom-built outdoor kitchens. We’re based in Orlando, Florida, so if you’re nearby, give us a call or stop by our storeroom. We’d be honored to help you get started on your dream outdoor kitchen!
Now back to the appliances.
One of the most popular options with our customers is the Big Green Egg. And yes, that is the real brand name.
Big Green Egg
If you’re new to the outdoor kitchen scene, you might be asking yourself, “what is a Big Green Egg, and why would I want one in my outdoor kitchen?”
According to their website, the Big Green Egg is a versatile all-around cooking system. It can…
- Grill perfectly seared steak
- Smoke some ribs
- Bake bread, pizza, and desserts
- Roast the Thanksgiving turkey.
The Big Green Egg is powered by charcoal, which is easy to light. It has very precise temperature control up to 750 degrees, allowing you to cook, grill, or smoke your food to perfection. When you’re done grilling, the Egg is easy to clean. You can wipe down the exterior, and on the inside, the heat burns off any grease that’s left behind. You can choose between several different size options, including mini, mini max, small, and all the way up to 2XL.
* If you’re looking for a larger option like the 2XL, it’s a good idea to talk with a professional who can build it into your kitchen space.
You might not need a Big Green Egg and a grill in the same Orlando Outdoor Kitchen. Big Green Eggs can work like a grill, so if you get a 2XL Egg, you won’t need to buy a grill. Unless you want some extra grilling space, of course.
Smokers
Smokers give your foods an extra level of flavor that you can’t get anywhere else. If you’re looking to slow BBQ a rack of ribs, with meat so tender it practically falls off the bone, you’ll want to add a smoker to your outdoor kitchen. Technically, you could try smoking a rack of ribs on the grill, but it won’t be nearly as delicious and tender as ribs from the smoker. There’s a big difference between smoking and grilling. Grills are used for high temperature cooking, where a smoker uses low temperatures for several hours at a time, sometimes even overnight.
When it comes to smokers, we have a few options that we like. However, it all depends on your budget, what size smoker you want, and how it will fit in your outdoor kitchen.
Outdoor Ventilation
Another important outdoor appliance is a ventilation hood. Why do you need ventilation for your outdoor kitchen? You don’t want your outdoor kitchen to get too smoky. And without ventilation, the grease from the grill can damage the walls, roof, and countertops. There are a lot of ways to keep your outdoor kitchen well ventilated, including grill hoods, ceiling fans, and an open layout. Of course, the best way to eliminate smoke and grease stains is to install a grill hood.
Types of Ventilation Hoods
The four main types of ventilation hoods are:
- Island Vent
- Wall-Mounted Vent
- Under Cabinet Vent
- Downdraft Ventilation
Under cabinet vents usually don’t work well outdoors. They aren’t strong enough to last outdoors, and most outdoor kitchens don’t have cabinets above the grill anyway. We also don’t recommend using downdraft ventilation outside. This type of vent tries to pull the air in horizontally, instead of from the top like other vents. Plus, with a downdraft vent, the grill hood will get in the way. So our team does not recommend using a downdraft vent for your Orlando Outdoor Kitchen.
That leaves two vent styles: island and wall-mounted. The biggest difference here is the shape of the hood, and how it attaches to the wall. If your grill is on an island, underneath a roof, you’ll want to use an Island vent. This grill hood attaches to the ceiling above your grill, and hangs down, so it can catch all the smoke and grease. If your grill is against a wall, we recommend using a wall-mounted grill hood. This means it is attached to the wall, above the grill. This keeps smoke and grease from damaging the wall behind the grill.
* When you install a ventilation hood, make sure to install a duct for it. A duct funnels the smoke out to another spot. If you don’t install a duct, the vent will filter the smoke and then just release it back into the air. This can damage your outdoor kitchen over time. To summarize, ventilation is a necessary part of your outdoor kitchen. Island vents go above a kitchen island. Wall-mounted vents are for grills that sit against a wall. If you don’t have any ceiling over your outdoor kitchen, be sure to use a couple of fans to keep the air circulating.
Ice Machines
Here in Orlando, it gets hot and humid in the summer. Ice is one of the most important parts of an outdoor party in the summer. And the last thing you want to do is run out of ice. That’s why we offer top of the line ice machines as an option for our customers. There are several different factors to consider when you’re thinking about buying an ice machine:
- Size
- Drainage
- Type of ice
A standard rule of thumb for an ice machine is 5 pounds of ice for every 10 drinks. Using that, you can figure out what size you should buy.
If you plan to host 20 people, you’ll need an ice maker that can hold 10 pounds of ice. For a group of 50 people, look for an ice machine that holds 35 pounds of ice.
Drainage is another important thing to consider when you’re looking at ice machines. We highly recommend working with a professional to install plumbing and drainage for your ice machine. But for starters, try to put your ice machine near the “cold zone” or “wet zone” in your outdoor kitchen. (This includes the fridge, sink, or beverage cooler.) Then you can use a gravity drain to connect the ice maker and the outdoor fridge, so they both use the same drain. And the third thing to consider with ice machines is the type of ice.
Types of Ice Machines
Lots of people focus on, “What brand of ice machine should I buy?” But one question people forget to ask is, “What shape of ice do I want?”
There are a few different shapes to choose from:
- Cube (cubes, no indentations)
- Crescent (curved on one side, flat on the other)
- Nugget (small crushed bits)
- Top hat (large cylinder chunks that melt very slowly)
If you’re looking for lots of ice that can be made very quickly, Nugget ice machines are your best option. However, Cube ice and Top Hat ice are both very hard, clear, and dense. Your ice machine won’t be as fast, but the ice itself will last much longer in your drink.
Are You Thinking to Build an Outdoor Kitchen?
Our team at Outdoor Kitchen Guy specializes in building luxury outdoor kitchens in the Orlando, Florida area. Are you looking to build your dream Orlando Outdoor Kitchen? We want to hear about your project! Give us a call today at (407) 330-6850, or visit this link (https://outdoorkitchenguy.com/request-a-consultation/) to request a consultation with us.