SPECIAL SECTION: Spring Home Renovation Guide
More homeowners are also expanding their cooking capabilities with specialized products offering different types of heat. Smokers, pizza ovens and charcoal or wood-fired grills are options to keep in mind as they can enhance the outdoor cooking experience.
Assess the space— Think about how you envision the relationship between your indoor and outdoor kitchens. If they are relatively close together, an outdoor kitchen can utilize the indoor kitchen’ s capabilities, such as prep space and storage. Conversely, a fully independent outdoor kitchen with refrigeration, warming cabinets and cabinetry is more self-reliant, but will require more space and connections for gas, water and electricity.
In the zone— You’ ll get the most out of your outdoor kitchen when you have different functional zones designated. Plot out where you will position four key zones, wet, cold, hot and dry, to make prepping, cooking, serving and cleaning much easier.
The cold zone should be next to the wet zone. This will simplify moving food from the refrigerator( cold zone) to the sink( wet zone) to wash and get ready for grilling in the hot zone.
Also plan for uninterrupted counter space or landing areas for placing platters and utensils while cooking. Grills should have at least 24 inches to one side and 12 inches to the other. Sinks should have 18 inches on both sides for room to wash food or place dirty dishes.
Be sure to dedicate enough space for each zone and think about the relationships among them for cooking and serving activities.
Left outside— Being outdoors means your refrigeration and cabinetry will need to be equipped to handle the elements.
When considering refrigeration for an outdoor kitchen, Faulk stresses food-safe rated options. With these products, meats won’ t go
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