While grills are still the dominant outdoor cooking species, there are other appliances to help you achieve outdoor kitchen nirvana. Outdoor kitchens can be as big or as small as you prefer. If you are planning a permanent outdoor kitchen — one with an island where a grill, warming drawer or oven can be built in — you'll want to take into consideration the sizes of the appliances before you begin building.
Baking outdoors? With today's outdoor wall ovens, as well as stone hearth and artisan ovens, you can bake fresh bread right next to your grilled salmon. A built-in outdoor convection oven will typically be around 18 inches wide by 18 inches deep; expect to pay about $2,000. Designer Ann Porter, of Kitchen Studio of Naples in Naples, Fla., points to pizza ovens as a "must-have" item for the outdoor kitchen owner who has it all: "These ovens are great for entertaining small crowds or large parties."
If baking and pizza aren't your style, consider adding an electric, wood or charcoal smoker for flavorful turkey or cheese. Viking's electric smoker runs around 23 inches wide by nearly 15 inches deep, while Cookshack's model runs 16.5 x 19 x 40 inches high. Electric smokers can run from $100 to $4,000, with size and construction material playing a big factor in price. Like grills, smokers constructed of stainless steel will typically cost more.
Kids' hot dogs getting cold while you finish grilling your steak? Adding a warming drawer to your set up will maintain consistent heat without charring meat to a crisp. Warming drawers run from 27 to 36 inches wide with a depth of nearly 23 inches; expect to pay $1,000 to $1,800.
"Warming drawers are very important; we do those in most of our outdoor kitchens," says designer Dawn Whyte, of Designs by Dawn in Petoskey, Mich. "You're trying to prepare more food than what the grilling surface will allow, or different types of food. A lot of the countertops are granite or concrete, which tend to be cold, and outdoor air is cooler, so food cools off faster. A lot of meat you're cooking, once you pull it off the grill, needs to sit for a few minutes before serving it to get full flavor."
Finally, if you can't decide between grills and ovens or are enamored of your kitchen range, consider Viking's outdoor range. The 53-inch Viking grill rests atop a 2.5-cubic-foot oven-essentially a range on wheels.
Outdoor Approved
Outdoor appliances such as warming drawers and undercounter refrigerators look and function just like indoor appliances. But that doesn't mean indoor appliances can survive outside. Appliances made specifically for the outdoors use higher-grade parts that can withstand the elements. That's why so many outdoor appliances are made from stainless steel, and also why these products typically cost more than their indoor counterparts. Many outdoor appliances are tested by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a nonprofit group that tests product safety. If an outdoor appliance is UL approved, that means that it has passed Underwriter Laboratories rigorous tests. Besides looking for UL certification, always check with the manufacturer to make sure the appliance you are buying is actually meant for outdoor use.
