How to Choose the Best Grill(s) for Your Outdoor Kitchen
- Posted by livewell in Landscaping Tips, Patios
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You want your outdoor kitchen to be a place you use. A lot. A big part of making it a place you’ll love to cook is by choosing the right outdoor kitchen grill. And by “right”, we mean right for you.
When we build an outdoor kitchen, we utilize built-in grills, so that your grill(s) integrates seamlessly into your kitchen layout. You want to choose the right grill for what you want to cook, how you want to cook, and who you want to cook for.
Working with an outdoor kitchen design and a build team like LiveWell Outdoors can help guide you toward the right grill(s) for your cooking style and help you decide on accessories. But before you work with a pro, it helps to know your options.
Outdoor Kitchen Grill Options
Your outdoor kitchen grill options continue to grow, as the industry expands to meet every cook’s demands. Keep in mind that you can have more than one grill. For example, many of our clients have us install both a smoker and a flattop grill.
The basics include:
Charcoal Grills
A traditional charcoal grill will give you the well-known barbecue taste (and smell), but it may take you longer to cook, as the charcoal briquettes have to be just right. You will need to work harder to learn the intricacies of temperature regulation if you want to go beyond cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks.
Gas Grills
Gas grills are the most popular outdoor kitchen grills, and for good reason. They’re easy to start, usually with just a switch or a knob. You can accurately and easily control the temperature with knobs, just like on your indoor range.
Since there is no open flame, gas grills are a safe choice for under overhead structures. They’re also your best choice if the county or state imposes a fire ban or temporarily bans charcoal grills because of air quality issues.
STO (stucco) finish, EVO and Primo grills, flagstone steppers.
Smokers and Kamado Grills
Kamado grills, popularized by the Big Green Egg, combine features of a charcoal grill with a gas grill. You get the easy starting ability and temperature regulation of a gas grill and get the smoky flavor of a charcoal grill. Kamado grills use lump charcoal or wood pellets.
Kamado grills make excellent smokers, but you can use them like a gas grill or charcoal grill as well.
Flat Tops
Your custom outdoor kitchen might not be complete without a flat-top cooking option. You can prepare food directly on the cooktop (hibachi style), or use traditional pots and pans. We recommend products from Evo. They use either propane or natural gas as fuel.
Blaze Grills – Our Outdoor Kitchen Grill Choice
For charcoal grills and gas grills, we highly recommend Blaze Grills. They’re made with superior materials and technology and boast a lifetime warranty. Conveniently, they also offer outdoor kitchen cabinets and refrigeration options.
The size and type of an outdoor kitchen grill will depend on how you plan to cook, how much cooking you plan to do, and how many people you plan to cook for. You want the Goldilocks size grill for your needs – not too big where it wastes fuel, and not too small, where you’re cooking in batches. A medium-sized grill is just right for many people.
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Dream It. Build It. Live It.
If you want to expand your outdoor living options with an outdoor kitchen, the team here at LiveWell Outdoors can help. We have decades of experience designing and building outdoor kitchens for homeowners in Maryland, DC, and northern Virginia. We’ll work closely with you to help choose the centerpiece – the grill, as well as all of the other components to help you get the outdoor kitchen of your dreams.
Interested? Just fill out the contact form or call us at 301.720.1000 to schedule a consultation.
