A live in chef & pit master

Well, not so much the pizza oven, though great for cooking pizzas: It would definitely be the wood fired beehive oven!!

oh , and a bartender

Oooh! Yesh, antss, and a pit!! Who needs a smoker if you have a proper pit? I have the banana tree leaves.... I bet I could dig a pit.... Where do I get the live in pit boss?

Craigslist?

Monster.com?

The job board at Wharton and Stanford B-Schools?

Thanks for making me laugh. But seriously, which appliances brand or otherwise would you want for your outdoor kitchen?

Personally I like the Dacor built in grills. Last wood pizza oven we did was some sort of kit put together by a brick mason. I can't remember the name now. No idea on the smoker, and for the turkey fryer I'd get the cheapest kit you can find at Wal-Mart. They are fun, dangerous, turkey taste great and a PIA to clean. By your friend the t-fryer for xmas.

I like the Marvel fridge drawers (I got them for my new kitchen which isn't done yet). I've been tempted by those smokers with the pods that double as ovens but I get the feeling they're gizmos and the pit would be a lot better if I had a place to house one of antss's b-school losers :) But I'm probably never going to dig that pit (we have natural adobe and it's not exactly good to dig in) so I do dream of it, even if it is a gizmo.

Re the turkey, I second the motion to just get a cheap turkey fryer if you must fry a turkey.

As to the rest, a lot depends on your outdoor lifestyle. Do you just want to be outside? And want a kitchen to rival your indoor kitchen? Or do you want to do things outside that you can't do inside?

It's really bad ecologically, but I always feel like cooking outdoors is for cooking with solid fuel (wood, charcoal, etc.) rather than gas. So, as I said, my dream is the big fireplace with parabolic oven. Imagine the breads and pizzas, and roasts you could make with that!!

how many are you talking about entertaining at one time? And will you have a budget or are we just dreaming here? For example, there are some good grills that can double as a pizza oven (good,even heat distribution).

And do you live in a climate where you can use this for much of the year?

Turkey fryer belongs on the lawn or eslewhere where you don't care about fires or grease spills.

If you have any interest in a komodo grill, komodo.com is currently showing spring sale prices WAY below their regular prices. Not only do people rave about their functionality, but they're gorgeous, too.

I would get one of those super powerful wok burners, the kind that are at least 50 k btu. Then you can make those hay noodles in the wok and not have any worries about ventilation.

My outdoor kitchen will have:
big gas grill
wok burner
a couple of side burners
warming drawer
sink
good-sized prep area
pizza/bread oven of some sort

We're a ways away from pulling this all together as other projects take priority, but we live in California (east bay) and spend a lot of time outside.

A large gas grill connected to a Natural gas line I hate dealing with propane bottles.

A wood fired pizza oven.

A large charcoal/wood grill.

A wok or a mongolian grill.

An electric smoker and a charcoal/wood smoker computer controlled. Need a network drop so I can monitor it from my computer.

Outlets for rotisserries by all the grills also lights I like to cook at night.

Possible a vent hood above the grills.

A sink with hot and cold water.

A place to bury a pig to cook.

A fire sprinkler system in case something goes wrong.

I love BBQ and you can never have enough grills :)

I have a small Alfresco Grill which is the best cooking grill I have ever cooked on. Had a Viking and have cooked on a Dacor Grill. None had the as even of heat or the ability to get to the temperatures I wanted to do good searing. They also have some great outdoor fridges and unique accessories. I am looking at getting their new power burner which, based on the features, does alot more than most of the others. From less than 500btu's all the way to 65,000. Small pots to 80qt boiling pots

We had an outdoor kitchen plan and due to two contractors starting and then canceling - we gave up on it - but we do have plans for a new outdoor kitchen in a new home we are just starting to work out the details of:

1. Mugniani Pizza Oven - Medio 100
2. Vidalia Grill - Works as a smoker, grill, steamer, plus you can use gas and/or charcoal - currently we use one and they are great. Would consider converting it to NG from Propane in new installation...
3. Sink - Don't think I will need Hot water, but might anyway...
4. One Large External Burner
5. IR Heater(s) - even though we are in Santa Cruz California the nights get cool here all year round
6. Built in bench seating
7. Granite Counter tops
8. Good Lighting
9. small Solar Creek & Solar Fountain for ambiance

That should about do it.

My ideal outdoor kitchen would have a roof and walls . . . . :)

Just got back from the Housewares Show and saw the new Mario Batalli Outdoor brick ovens....pretty much blows the beehive ovens to shame.

Wish list: Gas Grill, Charcoal, One Large Burner for Stir Fry, Pizza Oven, Sink.

Now back to reality.

Thanks every one. I did not even know about some of the possibilities.

We are in south on galveston bay and try to be outdoor year round (except when evacuating for hurricanes :-)

I have covered cabana attached to full bathroom and a room previously used as storage, which I am remodelling with dishwasher and refrigerator and lots of cabinets.

I will have sink (hot and cold water) and seating area in the cabana.

How many people I would entertain? In my previous life when things were simple, I entertained ~30 to 40 people with food cooked on crumy cooktops and small grill. But lately I have not done any thing except worry about getting house completed. I sometimes wonder if I would ever go back to my old self after all this is over.

I have never fried turkey and now after reading about the disasters I am not sure I want to do it ever.

Thanks for the suggestions on pizza oven. My DH really wants one though I don't think he will make pizza more than twice on it.

We are meeting subcontractor today for designing the layout. Thanks for the input and will let you know what remained dream and what can become reality in my outdoor kitchen.

Alternative to the pizza oven: if you have an oven that gets good and hot, you can use a baking stone, and if you want to really do it up, some bricks, to simulate a pizza oven. I don't think the bricks are worth it, except for the fun of doing it, however. Plus, for outdoors, your husband can make his own brick oven, with stacked bricks. In other words, temporary. :)

Okay, we are planning an outdoor "living" space...it's going to have a grill, fireplace, fridge...I deleted the sink. Help me to understand why I'd need the sink? I can walk a few feet back to the house to wash the dishes. Is it to put out fires? Seriously, I'm wondering if I should have deleted it...

Why did you delete it? That's the important question. Is it a plumbing or plumbing expense issue? Space?

A place to pour steeped tea into a pitcher of ice (rather than killing something by doing it over the flower bed). A place to rinse off the hotdog that the four year old dropped before putting it back on the fire. A place to prep your veggies so you don't have to be inside while the whole family is outside enjoying the new living area. A place to wash chicken hands without having to go inside and touch all the doors with chicken hands. I could go on...

If it's only a few feet to the house, surely it wouldn't be that big a deal to run the plumbing?

Thanks for your post, plllog. That's the kind of feedback I was hoping for! That's a good point about the chicken hands...I hadn't thought of that!

The main reasons I deleted were: 1) It seemed a bit pricey for a little sink, 2) I thought it would be a pain to worry about turning the water off during the winter and 3)I thought it would be a nuisance to keep clean.

We do have the counter space, but putting the sink back in obviously eats up a bit.

It was a way to save a few $$, but maybe it's going to be one of those things I wished I had after the fact (and may improve the value of the space, in terms of resale? Not that I have any intention of selling this house in the next decade...).

Hm... Re pricey sinks, check the Kitchen Forum Conversations area for "Garage Sale" items. I think a few people were going to put up sinks. Also, check for closeouts, eBay, Craigslist, etc. Pricey plumbing, well, better to have it done right if you're doing it, so if that's an expense you want to forgo, it's understandable.

You can have a cover for the sink made of countertop material, or something practical, that will keep general garden dirt out of the sink when it's not in use, and convert it to counterspace if you need it.

I live in a moderate climate where we don't have to winterize pipes. Do you have hosebibs in the garden? Sprinklers? Other things that need to be set up for the Winter? Is it a lot harder to do whatever it is to a sink? Can it just be added to the list?

I don't think anyone who wanted to buy your house would reject it because there's no sink in the outdoor kitchen, though it might help the overall impression of the outdoor living space on an emotional level. I think most of it is about looks, however, rather than specific features.

Whatever you decide to do about the sink, the outdoor kitchen sounds like it will be a lovely addition to your home.

Plllog, thank you so much for taking the time and giving such a thoughtful response. In truth, I could just hug you! :) I've been completely stressed out about what to add, what to take out, what I won't miss, what I will regret...we are doing a whole-house build, and I'm making all these decisions in quick succession. I needed a little voice of reassurance saying, "Hey, it will all be alright, whatever you do." :)So thank you for that!

I live in a moderate climate, too (well, actually, HOT...at least, right now!). We can get below freezing in the winter at times, hence the shut-off valve to the sink. It isn't *that* big of a deal, but it added a bit of expense. And that's a great idea to put a cover on the sink; I don't know why I didn't think of that. I've seen some outdoor kitchens with ice basins and those have SS lids on them. Hmmm...I just may put that sink back in, after all. :)

Thanks!

Happy to help! It'll be all right whatever you do. :)