And So It Begins

Well by now hopefully you've read the previous posts so you'll have the advantage of knowing the things that I had to figure out. Don't get me wrong there are lots of websites and videos out there but, they all seemed to miss bits of information and for what ever reason no one seems to build more than an oven or a counter to put in a barbecue insert. A big part of my reasons for writing this blog was to fill in some of the gaps in the available information as well as to add to the available information with my ideas and experiences that will hopefully along the way help someone else.

So hopefully by now you are planning your outdoor kitchen. The easiest way to do this is to start with a simple sketch or line drawing. If you have drawing software you can use that. The idea here is to get your ideas on paper. This will help you organize your thoughts into a cohesive plan that will work for you, your style of cooking and your particular location. Below is my current plan that I am working from. I say current because I've changed and adjusted the plan about a dozen times. This current plan revision has been measured out and adjusted to fit the space accordingly.

I marked the ovens on the plan with 1 and 2. The 1 notates the large oven. This is the first oven that we built and the starting point for this blog. The 2 is a planned second oven but, this one is to be smaller so when we are not cooking the big meals an oven is still available without having to fire off the large oven each time. The Barbecue grill is going to be mounted as an insert into the counter. I already own a large charcoal/wood barbecue that I plan to modify and put in as the insert. The wood stove burners I plan on building are of a very fuel efficient design. The open barbecue grill will be for those large pieces of meat or roasted vegetables. The fireplace will do several things in this design. First it will provide a place to build a fire to warm the dinning area. Secondly the fireplace will act as a privacy wall making this area more of a room than an open area. Lastly the fireplace will act as a wind block for the cooking area. The kitchen counters are for preparing and serving food. The center counter will be designed with a high and low side to the counter to accommodate bar dining. I plan on running conduit and plumbing as I'm building so that I can have electricity and water in the cooking area.

Now let me throw in another twist to my design. I am planning on adding copper piping on both ovens, the barbecue grill and around the stove burners. OK why would I want to do this? Well I figure that if I have to burn wood why not pass the water through pipes to heat it for hot water in the sinks. Why use a tank and electricity when the fire is already burning?

So as you can see there are many things to consider before you ever start building anything. Take the time and plan your kitchen area well so you'll be happy how things turn out and you'll use it happily for years.