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When it’s summertime, the last thing you want to do is be stuck inside slaving over a hot oven or stove, with no escape or reprieve in sight.

And just think of the many disadvantages of cooking inside during the summer:

• It’s hot—cooking in a stuffy kitchen, even with the windows open, is too hot for most people to handle, so you choose easier meals that don’t require a lot of effort or a lot of cooking, like salads and fried chicken from the grocery store deli with a gelatin salad on the side. But the same type of picnic food, whether you have it indoors or out, can get extremely boring after just a few days of repeats and you’ll find yourself lost for new ideas. You don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen the entire time you’re cooking but you also don’t want to eat the same raspberry and whipped cream gelatin dessert week after week either.
• It wastes energy—You know that it takes energy to cook indoors—both gas and electric. But when you’re cooking inside during the summer, you’re going to waste even more energy by running the fans and air conditioning that you wouldn’t have to use if you cooked outside.
• It’s boring—Let’s face it. When the sun is out and there’s a light breeze blowing, cooking indoors can and usually is mentally, emotionally and physically draining. Your family is outside having fun while you’re stuck inside making sure the corn cobs don’t boil over onto the stovetop.

But what’s the solution?

Cooking outside on the barbecue grill. Bbq is the solution to a summer’s day meal that you just don’t want to cook inside. If you’re craving baked potatoes, corn on the cob, bell peppers, chicken, steaks, hamburgers or fish there’s nothing you can’t do on a bbq that you regularly do on your stove top and kitchen island.

When you’re working in an outdoor kitchen, there are a few things that you’ll need and several things you’ll want to be aware of:

• A bbq grill—Don’t skimp on the grill when you’re building your outdoor kitchen. When you decide to invest in a grill remember that it’s one of the most important purchases you can make. You’ll need to decide whether to buy a gas-burning or charcoal-burning grill and you’ll want to make sure that you purchase a grill that fits your needs. Don’t go overboard but don’t hide in a closet either. Most grills will tell you somewhere on the box how much food they can cook at any given time. If it doesn’t take a look at the picture on the box, or if there’s a model out, take a good look at the model.
• Briquettes and lighter fluid—If you’re buying a charcoal grill you need to decide whether you will use wood chips/chunks or briquettes and if you’re a newbie to the outdoor kitchen routine, you’ll want to stick with briquettes. Also, don’t forget to pick up a long-handled lighter and a canister of lighter fluid.
• Metal utensils/cookware—When you’re using a grill, it’s probably not a good idea to use your plastic spatulas, steak forks, salad tongs, etc. to turn or flip the foods on your grill. Bbq  grills get extremely hot and can melt your cookware faster than you can say “Holy Macaroni!” and you don’t want to have to scrub that off.
• Shade and Comfort—Whatever you do to build the perfect outdoor kitchen, make sure you invest in an excellent outdoor umbrella or other type of shade so you can cook without the heat of the sun bearing down on you. But make sure that it is high enough to stay safe out of the reach of the flames.
• Hygiene & Safety—It’s important to keep yourself aware of the many bbq kitchen health and safety tips that are available to you on the packaging of many lighter fluids and briquettes. You can also find an array of bbq hygiene tips on the internet. When you’re cooking in an outdoor kitchen you want to make sure to keep children and pets away from the grill at all times to avoid major burns and other injuries. You should always make sure to close the grill when you walk away, not only for safety but also to keep bugs and other things in the air from landing on your food and becoming part of the meal. And remember to always clean your bbq grill when it gets too caked with charcoal. It’s just like cleaning your kitchen island after you’ve had raw chicken laying there. You want to keep your food tasting fresh and great and also keep it safe.

But cooking in your outdoor kitchen isn’t just about health and safety, or rules. It’s about having fun and being creative. Remember that aluminum foil makes it possible to cook nearly any food on the barbecue grill, and there are plenty of utensils, cages and other contraptions that also contribute to grilling that will make your outdoor cooking experience a snap every time.

When you’re cooking on the grill let your big ideas go wild.

If you want to try making  S’mores on the grill because you just can’t get out to the woods this weekend, you can either roast your marshmallows over the flame (but remember to be careful so you don’t get burned!) or you make the sandwich, wrap it in aluminum foil and set it in the grill for a couple of minutes. Pull it out and there you have a perfect S’more.

Remember, outdoor kitchens are about freedom from boredom, from heat and from a waste of energy—both yours and your homes. Free yourself from the confines of the indoor kitchen and get to know your bbq grill.

 

Tags: health and safety | health and safety | bbq hygiene tips | bbq hygiene tips | kitchen island | cookware | bbq

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Bedroom decorating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.