Outdoor Kitchen Must Haves?

This may be getting a bit too fancy, but anybody have any experience with motorized retractable patio screens? I think they would be awesome for bugs, and cooler months. But I'm thinking they wouldn't work well in an outdoor kitchen setting due to lack of ventilation. They block a lot of wind i believe?

Pulmah Finger said:

I am a bit of a snob so i would say ditch the weber and get a good natural gas 36in 5 burner and repurpose the flattop off of the Blackstone. Keep the GBE and Yoder, but that depends on real estate and how much room you have. That Memphis Elite is $$$, dont know anything about them but seems like a lot of gadgets in one machine.

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Is Blaze considered pretty good stuff?

I can get a pretty great deal on those Memphis cookers but I still wonder if I would be happy with them used in place of a gas grill like you're talking.

Smokie185 said:

When I ordered mine, shipping was 99.00 but you could really load up the order for that same shipping price. I believe they may have changed their shipping prices lately. Everything is packaged so that it can all be shipped via UPS and delivered to your door.

If you order from them I recommend you call them to be sure you get what you will need and not order some things you don't need.

There are quite a few videos available on their site and on Youtube to see how it all goes together.

Here are a couple of pics of the section my Weekender will sit in. The drop down module where the box is sitting will hold the smoker.

Back splash framing.

One of the Drawers mounted.

I am putting 2 drawers and 2 doors in this section and I am thinking of a tile countertop.

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How was their customer service to deal with?
I read some reviews on Facebook and they are downright scary.

Whisky said:

Is Blaze considered pretty good stuff?

I can get a pretty great deal on those Memphis cookers but I still wonder if I would be happy with them used in place of a gas grill like you're talking.

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If money isn't an issue, The Memphis Elite, is a no brainer, over any gas grill.

To tell the truth, I never contacted customer support.

I love my Memphis, but if I had the yard and room to do a full on kitchen, I’d have something like Sam the cooking guy’s setup (YouTube). I love the EVO flat top and that gas grill he has is alright...then add a built in YS1500.....unless you want to shoot the moon and get a Kalamazoo setup




Memphis Elite





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If you doubt it will be convenient, you can use furniture rental services to understand whether you want to buy it all.

Coincidental timing that somebody bumped this thread. Just this morning i was talking to a guy about pouring the concrete pad next spring. The covered portion and kitchen would be a few years down the road, but I do need to take into consideration sink drain, water/gas line/ electrical before pouring the slab. Is there anything else to consider prior to pouring?

If you doubt it will be convenient, you can use furniture rental services to understand whether you want to buy it all. I did exactly that when I decided to install an outdoor kitchen. I contacted https://onstage-online.com, and I picked up the furniture and everything necessary, after which I tested this kitchen option for a month and realized that it was extremely convenient since I like to be in the yard and cook. Try, and you do something similar.

You need an old license plate mounted somewhere.

Griddle, refridge, tabletop fryer, nice big prep area and cabinets upper and lower and drawers for utensils, whatever cookers you want.

My concern with built-in cookers is that they limit future replacement/upgrade options - you either have to find something with the same dimensions as the original or you have to rework the kitchen. With that in mind, I'd limit built-in stuff to storage, work surfaces, refrigeration, and a sink with running water. I'd definitely want a roof to block both rain and sun.

I have a large Santa Maria/Argentinian grill; it's my favorite way to cook but it is overkill for small or quick cooks (and the clean-up is a bit time-consuming), so I supplement with a Weber kettle for small/quick cooks. My oldest grill it's a big Weber summit gasser but it's use it's now limited to quick cooks when I don't want to get my clothes smokey.

So my ideal outdoor kitchen at my current house would consist of a wall of cabinets with plenty of open counter top working area, refrigeration, a sink with running water, and then my Santa Maria, insulated gravity smoker, pizza oven near the wall of cabinets, all either under my tall roofed deck or adjacent to the deck (the kettle, gasser, and kamodo are upstairs on the uncovered section of the deck near the kitchen). I could actually do this now if I'd get rid of the usually broken hot tub (it's not heating now - getting rid of it is almost a no-brainer but every time i consider it, my back and legs start hurting) and do the plumbing for the sink and drain. I could use some additional lighting out there too.

If I were doing new construction, I'd have only one floor in the house and would have a covered area outside near the kitchen with all of the above plus the kettle, gasser, and kamodo. Being near the kitchen would lessen the amount of refrigeration needed outside but I'd still want a sink with running water. Of course, there would need to be space for other future obsessions like fryers and/or flattops. I have griddles for both the Santa Maria and the gasser that I rarely use so a fryer would be more likely. I'd also want plenty of lighting with each area on a separate switch - some sort of track lighting with adjustable aiming would be nice for the cookers too.

PnkPanther said:

That's my biggest issue holding me back from a santa maria. how often am I going to put in the work to get wood burning to fire up burgers for me and the wife


If I dump charcoal in it, it's just an expensive grill with an adjustable rack


/back on topic

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I think that, like many, I started with a gas grill, then went to briquettes, then lump, then back and forth. I've played with stick burners for smoking, then threw in the towel and went pellet. This is over a 20 year period.

The turning point for me was getting a very large pizza oven. I'm now obsessed with wood fire. I'm also building out an outdoor kitchen that includes 570' of concrete and 225' of brick. Much of that's going to be a pavillion anchored around my pizza oven.

When I moved last year, I got rid of everything, except my pizza oven. My new setup is a Yoder 1500 for lazy long cooks, a Millscale 94 for proper BBQ, a Hooray Ranch 48 Santa Maria, a Blaze 30" griddle and a large wood burning firepit. This doesn't include my Forno Piombo Tuscan Oven, which is the greatest thing that ever happened to me outside of my family.

I don't find wood to be any more of a hassle than waiting for a gas grill to warm up. I'll actually throw a few splits into the oven and sit outside with my wife with a bottle of wine and use it as a bit of a fireplace. Maybe throw in some devils on horseback or pull a doughball out of the fridge and make a quick flatbread.

With a Santa Maria, you can go with coals or splits. I start with a chimney full of lump and throw some splits on top.

I don't think I'll ever prefer anything but wood again.

Drunk Monkey said:

You need an old license plate mounted somewhere.

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Only if you're a Texan.

Depending on where you live…both a heat source, like infrared from the ceiling and water misters for cooling.

" some devils on horseback "????
Ed