Designing an outdoor kitchen for your Big Green Egg
If like me you’ve become totally addicted to cooking everything on your Big Green Egg, then you probably want a few more bits and bobs than just your Egg and a side table.
I love the Egg for its superb cooking ability and the way it blends into a garden. I bought mine because they were the original, still the best, and don’t stick out like a sore thumb.
I love the Renson pergola’s look and feel (shown above); it’s something I have aspired to for a few years. Imagine having an Egg in there and using the louvred roof and open sides to let any smoke out. I could host some lovely dinner parties in there, protected from the elements, with beautiful ambient lighting.
More importantly, is what to put the Egg in and what other accessories I would need.
My thoughts on the accessories an outdoor kitchen should contain:
- A sturdy work surface that not only can I put things on, but I can also do prep work on while being with my guests.
- Cupboard space to hide away all the accessories.
- Somewhere I can put hot accessories out of the way so that no one steps or leans on them.
- A sink to wash my hands or grab some water to add to a dish.
- Somewhere to put rubbish.
- Somewhere to keep drinks and food cool.
- Lighting as I want to be able to cook when it’s dark outside.
Lots of people seem to design their BBQ shelters to keep their BBQ’s and themselves dry but don’t really think about their guests. I want my guests to be comfortable, and to be honest, the Big Green Egg is such a great BBQ that you don’t need to be constantly tending it, like much of the competition. Therefore a shelter for me should focus on seating, lighting, warmth (hot or cold) and the entertainment of your guests. If you can wheel in a Big Green Egg or have space for one, even better.
Here at Meat Smoke Fire, we’ve been looking at this for a while, trying to find the right solution to keep our guests comfortable during a day-long cooking class. Covering the whole area isn’t practical. Initially, I thought about covering the Eggs but to be honest, they’re waterproof. It’s the guests that need to be kept dry. We’ve therefore decided that we will cover our seating area.
We have a cantilever umbrella but that is only any good if the wind is still. As soon as you get anything other than a light breeze you risk damaging it. We looked at roll out cassette awnings, the same thing.
So what are the options?
If you want your Egg in a fixed location, then a table or a kitchen would work for you. Take a look at:
- Big Green Egg – they do their own tables and also the modular nest system. We can quote you for these.
- WWOO – a Dutch design made of concrete panels slotted between concrete posts. It’s really functional and looks beautiful. For me, the downside is everything is on display. WWOO is pronounced woo.
- Barts Outdoor Kitchen – A very similar concrete design, also from The Netherlands. The difference is these units are freestanding and stackable.
If you want to be able to move your Egg around, then you have a number of options. It’s best to have a smooth surface:
- Big Green Egg – the modular nest system, the integrated nest and handler and the acacia tables all can have casters.
- VLAZE Adapt – English manufacturer VLAZE can tailor their Adapt modules to incorporate your Egg and also a sink. The units are finished beautifully with a choice of coloured enamelled panels. They have 3 main designs, the Adapt 120, the Adapt 240 and the Island.
