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Favorite Thanksgiving Grill Recipes

With Turkey Day right around the corner, I wanted to take a short break from outdoor kitchen design topics to wish everyone a joyful and delicious Thanksgiving. I also wanted to share a terrific turkey and a delicious side dish recipe we at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet created for the holiday.

If you haven’t yet tried to grill some or all of your Thanksgiving feast outdoors, I really encourage you to give it a try. You’ll find it easier and better tasting than cooking indoors.

Looking for another benefit to cooking your feast outdoors? The extended entertaining space that comes from freeing up the kitchen allows guests to gather in an area traditionally taken over by the cook. Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple Brined Turkey:

Top Chef Masters Winner Chef Rick Bayless uses Kalamazoo’s hybrid grills on his show “Mexico: One Plate at a Time,” and this recipe is inspired by his guidelines for creating a succulent brined turkey. Faulk adds spiced apple cider for a can’t miss turkey recipe.
Check out the recipe.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes:

Here you’ll find the subtle, smoky taste of grilled sweet potatoes melded with a savory twist on classic turkey stuffing and the familiar tang of fresh cranberries. You’ll think you are in sweet potato heaven.
Check out the recipe.

Design Trend: Give Me Shelter

Outdoor kitchens began as a trend of taking the indoors outside; homeowners are now putting a roof over their outdoor kitchens. A sheltering structure provides a location for lighting, ceiling fans and helps retain heat from radiant heaters on cool spring and fall evenings, among others. More than 50 percent of designers attending Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet’s kitchen design classes report seeing an increase in the number of outdoor kitchens being designed under a roof. Kalamazoo believes this trend will continue to strengthen and become more elaborate as more people combine their outdoor kitchens with outdoor living spaces. Below are some best practices to keep in mind when installing an outdoor kitchen under a sheltering structure:

1. Extending a home’s living space. Shelter over an outdoor kitchen has grown to be an important addition to today’s increasingly sophisticated kitchens. It has been adopted most readily in the northeastern United States. The main thing to keep in mind when considering structure: it is an architectural element and it must blend in with the exterior of the house. Clients are starting to build shelters that often require an architect’s skill to ensure it blends well.



2. Ventilation. Once a structure goes over a grill, the need for ventilation increases. While a grill’s job is to produce smoke, you want to keep it and grease spatters contained. Vent hoods can be mounted on a wall, or suspended from the structure to service cooking islands; performance varies by manufacturer. Kalamazoo builds ventilation hoods to a commercial standard and six inches wider than its grills to ensure smoke and some grease are captured. The hoods are designed from the ground up to include a vertical capture area that is 30 inches tall.



3. Keep a light on. Lighting is always important in an outdoor kitchen, but it becomes doubly important when a kitchen is under shelter. It is probably the least understood element in outdoor kitchen. Two types of lighting, task and ambient, have distinct jobs. Task lighting makes the work area more visible. Make sure that each work station (grill, sink, cooktop) and at least one prep area are well lit. Ambient lighting ends drama and atmosphere to the outdoor kitchen. Make it indirect, but provide enough for the entire kitchen and dining area. To see more about outdoor lighting, check out this article from Kitchen & Bath Business magazine.



4. Don’t forget the cable, as in cable TV. TVs and audio equipment are gaining in popularity as a “must-have” in outdoor kitchens. There’s nothing like watching the big game outside while the grill cooks your favorite food. When placing the TV, keep in mind the movement of the sun. The last thing you want is the sun in your clients’ eyes or shining directly on the television. Consider the placement of cables and outlets so the TV’s appearance is kept as clean and simple as possible. Many TVs are being placed into the roof structure to keep them off of work surfaces and conceal wires, cable boxes, DVD players. Keep the same considerations in mind when placing speakers, docks for iPods or stereo equipment.

Winterizing the Outdoor Kitchen

You know you’re supposed to winterize your car and house. You should also winterize an outdoor kitchen, especially if you close it up for the winter. Here are five steps that need to be taken:

1. Clean it out. That means cleaning the interior and exterior of the grill, cabinets and refrigeration. Including food and drinks in the refrigerators. If you can get to the back of the refrigeration unit, make sure you remove leaves, dirt, etc. that may have accumulated around the condensing unit.


2. Turn it off. If you have a sink or an ice maker, it’s time to turn off the water supply. Turn it off at the connection to the house. Allow the remaining water to run out of hoses or faucets. This prevents water from freezing inside the lines, causing ruptures and big repair bills.


3. Turn it off again. Outdoor refrigeration doesn’t work well when the outside temperature is colder than the refrigerator’s interior. On Kalamazoo units it is as simple as pressing the “OFF” button. If the power cord is easily accessible, unplug the appliance. If not, turn off the circuit breaker serving the appliance.


4. Shine it up. Use stainless cleaner and polish on all exteriors except glass. Use the same cleaner and polish on all cabinet and refrigeration units (only if the interiors are stainless steel).


5. Under cover. Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet products do not need a cover. If a cover is desired, use a synthetic material that does not trap and hold moisture and can withstand the elements.

For detailed winterization instructions, please visit the customer service section of the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet website.

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Announces 2009 Oasis Award Winner

Small site lives large through inventive use of space, wins national outdoor kitchen design award

Brian Griffith of Columbus, Ohio created the Prima Vista Entertainment Garden to win the 2009 Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design.

His design took a small, empty space that connected a house and a garage and transformed it into an outdoor living space that features the cooking grill as the design’s centerpiece, making the host/cook always accessible to the guests; extends the interior feel of the main residence to the outside space and uses terracing to create cooking, conversation, and serving areas.



Griffth’s outdoor kitchen concept is featured in the November/December issue of Garden Design magazine in Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet’s Hot off the Grill! and Outdoor Kitchen Profits by Design e-newsletters and the Web sites of the Oasis Award, www.oasisaward.com; Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, www.kalamazoogourmet.com; and Garden Design magazine, www.gardendesign.com.

With more than six years in the industry, Griffith is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He holds a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the Ohio State University.

The only nationwide contest to recognize excellence and innovation in the design of outdoor kitchens, the Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design is open to all design professionals, including architects, landscape architects, interior designers and certified kitchen designers.

Oasis Award Entry Deadline in Two Weeks

Monday, August 3rd is the deadline for entries into the third annual Oasis Award competiion. This is the only nation-wide competition formed exclusively to recognize excellence in outdoor kitchen design.

For more information on submitting your work, visit www.OasisAward.com.

The competition is open to all design professionals, including:

• Residential architects
• Landscape architects
• Landscape designers
• Kitchen designers
• Interior designers
• Students

The judging panel, consisting of five experts in outdoor design, will select the 2009winner. The judges for the 2009 Oasis Award for Outdoor Kitchen Design are:

• Mary Palmer Dargan, MLA, ASLA, APLD, RLA, CLARB, Author, Vice President, Dargan Landscape Architects
• Jane Humzy, Owner, Designer, Jane Hamley Wells
• Sarah Kinbar, Editor, Garden Design magazine
• Bill Marken, Honorary ALSA
• Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAPS, Principal, Mary Jo Peterson, Inc.
• Michael A. Thomas, FASID, CAPS, Principal, Design Collective Group, President-Elect, ASID National

The judging panel will review entries for:

• Overall design quality of the outdoor living space
• Effective kitchen design
• Integration of the outdoor kitchen space with the overall environment
• Creative and effective use of materials
• Design value to the client

The winner will receive national recognition through media and website coverage as well as exposure at the 2009 ASLA Conference. Complete entry information is available at www.OasisAward.com. Enter today!

Outdoor Cooking 101

Some of your clients will be grill or barbecue enthusiasts who know exactly what they want to cook in the outdoor kitchen, and which equipment they need for doing it. Others will be less well-versed. Some will be "foodies," and others simply enjoy a great burger on the grill. A little outdoor cooking knowledge can go a long way toward helping your clients select the right equipment and design their dream outdoor kitchen.

Grilling: The most common type of outdoor cooking, grilling is used for delicious steaks, fish fillets, burgers, chops, chicken breasts and vegetables. The food is placed on an open grate directly over a gas, charcoal or wood fire and cooked for a short period of time, usually less than 20 minutes. The temperatures used typically range between 350˚ and 550˚ F.

Most grills on the market, whether gas or charcoal, will do an adequate job of grilling. The grills that do a great job deliver even temperatures across the cooking surface, feature heavy grill grates for good sear marks and feature a design specifically engineered to reduce flare-ups. Flare-ups happen when juices, fat or sauces drip onto or accumulate near the heat source and catch fire. Flare-ups are the enemy of the grilling enthusiast.

Searing: Searing is a type of grilling using more extreme heat. A grill must be able to reach at least 700˚ F for good searing. Searing is done quickly. It is usually followed by continued cooking at lower temperatures. Some gas grills feature dedicated searing zones, usually with an infrared burner. Searing temperatures are easily reached over charcoal or wood fires.

Barbecue: Barbecue sauce does not make barbecue. Low heat and long cooking times with the use of wood smoke are the key characteristics of barbecue. Temperatures as low as 200˚ F are used for as long as 24 hours, and very few grills excel at barbecue. Some homeowners will choose to have a gas grill and a charcoal or wood barbecue or smoker as separate, dedicated pieces of equipment in the outdoor kitchen. A few grills, like the ones from Kalamazoo, are quite good for barbecue.

The key to barbecue, beyond the low heat, long cooking time and use of smoke, is that the food is next to the fire and not over the fire. This is called "indirect grilling," and the same technique is used for roasting.

Roasting: Turkeys, prime rib, whole chickens, racks of lamb and large chops are all ideal for roasting on the grill. As with barbecue, indirect grilling is used. The difference is higher temperatures and shorter cooking times. Using a Kalamazoo, you can perfectly cook a whole, butterflied chicken in 35 minutes using 500˚ F indirect cooking. Any grill with multiple control zones can roast, but not all grills can reach 500˚ F using only a portion of the burners.

Spit Roasting or Rotisserie: Food roasted on a spit bastes in its own juices. The only difference between roasting and rotisserie cooking is the use of the spinning spit. Many grills are available with optional or standard rotisserie systems.

Pizza Ovens: The popularity of pizza ovens has exploded. A good pizza oven will feature a high-quality baking stone and can deliver a broad range of temperatures. Calzones and deep dish pizza require lower temperatures, while Neapolitan-style pizza is cooked for less than a minute at temperatures around 700˚ F. An important consideration for pizza ovens is the amount of time needed to get the oven ready for cooking. Many require hours of pre-heating.

The Recipes & Tips section of the Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet website contains more then 150 outdoor cooking and entertaining recipes, plus information on a variety of outdoor cooking techniques.

Guides for perfectly grilling popular foods like steak, chops and fish are also online. A little outdoor cooking know how will help your clients get the most enjoyment from their outdoor kitchens.