The Smokehouse Backstory.
How I took the existing yard and turned it into an outdoor kitchen.
From Hot Tub to Hot Coals.
When we first moved into this house, an outdoor kitchen was on my to-do list. The challenge was finding the perfect spot.
The yard had a hot tub right outside the patio door. I’m not a hot tub fan, so this quickly became the ideal location for an outdoor kitchen. It wasn’t easy to remove a counter-sunk concrete hot tub, so I hired a team to do the work. It took two weeks with jackhammers just to clear out the hot tub. Planning the outdoor kitchen to fit the space was the next task. I had a good idea of what I wanted, so it all came together pretty well according to plan.
The outdoor kitchen is built with stacked blocks, so it is quite heavy. Fortunately, the yard had a concrete foundation around the pool area, so that supported the weight. We needed to add a couple of sonotubes to support the back corner of the brick oven. The brick oven alone weighs over 6,000 pounds, so it’s not going anywhere!
How The Smokehouse became The Smokehouse
The Smokehouse wasn’t originally called The Smokehouse. In fact, the outdoor kitchen didn’t have a name at all. The branding took place as part of a bigger overall landscaping project for our entire backyard. As sometime Disney travelers, we decided to create a subtle Disney-travel-inspired backyard oasis. It’s not a cheesy attempt to reproduce actual Disney parks or resorts, but rather the creation of an outdoor oasis that would bring a little magic and aroma to our own backyard. We named it Disney Resort North. The branding of the outdoor kitchen area became The Smokehouse (a subtle tie-in to a popular Disney BBQ joint).
Every backyard needs a great kitchen to bring life to the party. Just like indoor parties, when the cookers start pumping out hypnotic wood-fired aromas, our guests know that something great is about to come their way. Much like a Disney Park or resort experience, the show and interactivity of The Smokehouse is a big part of the overall enjoyment.
The outdoor kitchen was officially named The Smokehouse in 2018 as part of the full backyard renovation. In 2019, The Smokehouse in our yard took on the full name as The Smokehouse: Smoke, Fire, Grill, which became the branding for this site. This represents the multiple levels of hardwood cooking that come out of this kitchen on a regular basis.
What began as a home to southern BBQ has become an annual global specialized menu. Each year, The Smokehouse features a different themed BBQ style. Past years have included Brazilian BBQ, Spanish BBQ, Croatian BBQ, Chilean BBQ, Middle East BBQ and more. There’s always something cooking and something new on the horizon.
What would I change?
While I got most of it right when designing the outdoor kitchen, there were a few things that I got wrong.
Areas for Improvement
I didn’t give enough thought to some sort of rain/sun/snow cover. I get around this with umbrellas, but it’s still something I may address in time. A permanent roof is challenging because I have to allow smoke to escape and consider where water runoff would go in the rain.
The countertops are sandstone, which while sturdy and heatproof, they aren’t great for stain resistance. I seal them annually and cover with tablecloths etc. for big parties, but I may retrofit granite or something similar in time.