Don’t start talking about outdoor kitchen appliances when you’re hungry. It’ll drive you crazy.
You’ll start thinking about savory, smoky barbecue ribs. A piping hot pizza with sausage, garlic and fresh basil. Lemon garlic rotisserie chicken. Grilled Mahi-Mahi with pineapple salsa.
Wash it all down with an ice-cold beer, a perfectly chilled bottle of Chardonnay or refreshing fresh-squeezed lemonade.
We warned you. There’s potential for some amazing cooking and entertaining out there.
What appliances do you need in an outdoor kitchen in Florida? It depends on the foods you serve, how you entertain and how much time you’ll spend out there.
But you can choose from a wide variety, from grills and pizza ovens to ice makers and kegerators.
Let’s learn more about Florida outdoor kitchen appliances, including:
First, How Do You Choose the Essential Outdoor Kitchen Appliances for You?
It starts with a lot of questions. Not sure what to ask yourself?
Allow us.
That’s how the process starts, when we ring your doorbell for a consultation visit.
It’s not enough to create a beautiful outdoor kitchen. You need a kitchen that will function for you just as well as your indoor kitchen — maybe even better.
How to choose appliances for your outdoor kitchen?
Before we even take the first design step, we want to get a real handle on how you’ll use your outdoor kitchen, what you’ll cook, how many people you’ll serve.
It might seem like we’re being nosy. Actually, we’re perfectionists.
Do you love grilling steak? You’ll want a sear station on your grill, sometimes called a sear zone.
This separate, high-intensity heating area produces faster, hotter cooking temperatures — often 500 degrees or higher — that caramelizes steak and locks in its juices.
Do you tend to cook filets or porterhouses? That helps us choose what grill size you need. You can fit 12 filets on a 32-inch grill but only four porterhouse steaks. (Don’t worry — we’ll do the math.)
Maybe steak isn’t your jam, but you love grilled fish. You’ll want a flat top area on your grill for the perfect Mahi-Mahi with mango salsa or chipotle lime red snapper.
Love chicken? You might want a rotisserie accessory for your soon-to-be-famous Greek rotisserie chicken bowls.
We ask a lot of questions and use your answers to help us design your perfect outdoor kitchen with the best outdoor kitchen appliances to suit your needs.
If you serve a lot of canned beverages, you might want an integrated ice station to keep those cans frosty cold.
Or you might need a dual fridge. Those under-the-counter models designed for outdoor kitchens aren’t very big.
When we ask to take a peek at your indoor kitchen, it’s not because we plan to sneak a cherry popsicle from your freezer. We want to see how far away it is from where your outdoor kitchen will be. If you’d have to lug lots of utensils and supplies
through your living room and family room all the way outside, you might want more storage and counter space outside.
It’ll be a fun chat. Along the way, we’ll talk about essential outdoor kitchen appliances. Among your choices:
1. Stainless Steel Grills
This is a must-have. Stainless steel is beautiful, long-lasting, durable, and weather-resistant, making it a great choice for your outdoor kitchen.
You won't have to worry about it deteriorating or rusting even after prolonged exposure to the sun and rain.
Stainless steel also retains heat effectively, meaning it can cook food quickly at high temperatures.
2. Griddle-style Grills
Love stir frying? Pancakes? Fried eggs? Pretending you’re a cook at a 1950s diner?
The flat surface of an outdoor griddle offers possibilities beyond the standard grill set-up.
While a conventional grill has grates for grilling, flat-top griddles have a uniform steel surface for cooking. It’s great for smash burgers, pancakes and stir fry.
Large griddles often feature controllable cooking zones, so you can cook different foods at their proper temperatures at the same time.
3. Pizza Ovens
Mmmmm, pizza. We’ll pause for a minute to let you envision all your favorite toppings, piping hot and delicious. But instead of arriving in a lame cardboard box, you’re sizzling up your pies yourself, outside in the fresh air, biting into a fresh slice mere seconds after you slide it, hero-like, out of your own backyard pizza oven. Don’t burn your tongue.
Maybe a pizza oven isn’t among your essential outdoor kitchen appliances. But maybe it is. There are lots of options here, from full-scale built-ins to countertop models that heat up faster.
Pizza ovens crank up the temperature and allow you to produce restaurant-quality pizza in your own backyard, with crispy crust and gooey cheese.
Choose a stainless steel pizza oven to match your grill, or select a stone or brick version.
Make this tasty scene even more impressive by growing your own fresh pizza ingredients, from juicy tomatoes to fragrant basil and oregano.
4. Smokers
Smokers are increasingly popular Florida outdoor kitchen appliances, adding the flavor of smoky meats and vegetables to your outdoor entertaining.
Choose a model that burns mesquite, hickory or apple wood chips or a pellet smoker fueled by compressed hardwood pellets for a clean, consistent burn.
Versatile pellet smokers can grill, smoke, bake and roast, so there’s no excuse to say, “I don’t know what to make for dinner.”
5. Beverage Fridges
Why would you want to make the trek from your outdoor kitchen all the way inside to your fridge just to grab a cold drink?
You wouldn’t.
What appliances do you need in an outdoor kitchen in Florida? It’s hot out there. Make sure you have an outdoor fridge, or even two, to keep stuff cold.
Choose a free-standing outdoor beverage fridge, a countertop model or a built-in option.
6. Kegerators
Yes, it’s a cool-sounding thing to boast about to your friends, but more than that, a kegerator is a handy specialized refrigerator designed to store, chill and dispense craft beer — or other beverages —from a keg.
It offers immediate, on-tap access and reduces the hassle of bottles and cans. No more breaking a nail popping open your beer can. That’s the worst, right?
7. Ice Makers
Go ahead, we’ll wait while you belt out the lyrics to “Ice Ice Baby.”
“If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it
Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it.”
One problem you can easily solve — not enough ice.
Outdoor ice makers freeze lots of ice fast, great if you host lots of backyard bashes.
Portable models can move easily or have your ice maker built in.
Word to your mother: there’s always enough ice.
Who Makes the Best Outdoor Kitchen Appliances?
Here at Tropical Gardens, we have a few favorite brands.
Budget plays a big part. Some homeowners want to splurge on high-end appliances. Others are more budget conscious and opt for less-expensive models.
How to choose appliances for your outdoor kitchen? We can help, no matter your budget.
Viking appliances are top of the line, Lynx and Wolf are high quality but at a middle-ground cost, while Blaze and Coyote are considered lower-cost options.
Be aware: if you buy a lower-end outdoor kitchen appliance, it may need replacing after a few years, especially if you use it a lot.
One of our customers chose a lower-cost grill and it wasn’t long before a burner stopped working. We tried buying a replacement burner, but none were available. So, he ended up buying a whole new grill.
If you’ll be using your grill multiple times a week, consider investing in a high-quality grill like Viking.
Once you’ve settled on your choices, who installs outdoor kitchen appliances?
At Tropical Gardens, we handle every step of your Sarasota outdoor kitchen, from start to finish.
And we love making it easy, from our first design chat at your kitchen table to the day you slide your first savory pizza into your cool outdoor pizza oven. Save us a slice. Maybe two.
Ready for Sarasota Outdoor Kitchen Appliances You’ll Love? Talk to Us
Deciding all the details of your Sarasota outdoor kitchen can seem overwhelming.
That’s why we’re here, for outdoor kitchen installations in Sarasota that go smoothly from start to finish.
Our landscape design and build teams know how to boost your outdoor life with a perfect outdoor kitchen and everything you need to really enjoy it.
Let’s get started. We’ll help you figure it all out.
Give us a call or fill out our form today! Our team of Sarasota designers can’t wait to design your perfect outdoor kitchen, complete with all the convenient appliances you need for fantastic foodie feasts.
