If you love to barbecue but hate the mess, consider creating an outdoor kitchen area with a bbq islands in it. These islands can be very fancy or very simple, the choice is yours as to budget and design and what you want to include in your outdoor kitchen. The bbq islands are usually the center point in a curved design so you can move from the grill to the counter tops etc.

They often come with mosaic inlays and are quite durable and beautiful. I’ve even seen these bbq islands (usually as part of a complete outdoor kitchen set up) with an umbrellas in the countertop, so with stools on the other side the counter serves as a bar or eating bar. And your guests can chat with you when you are grilling, as long as the smoke is blowing the other way! Of course, the wind depends entirely on Mother Nature.

I have seen outdoor kitchens run the gamut from a small stainless steel refrigerator, a modest grill and perhaps some tools, to very fancy rigs in mansion gardens. They are also a big feature if you are renovating your home with an eye to reselling it a little later. They add tremendous value to a home, especially of you live in a favorable climate. While a daytime barbecue is great in the spring, summer or fall, using your outdoor kitchen at night for drinks around a fireplace, perhaps a wine tasting party with grilled salmon and veggie appetizers would be a wonderful way to stimulate conversation.

You can’t see the stars as you sit with friends and family, if you are indoors! A tip for cooking fish or veggies, which may tend to be more fragile on the grill than say, a steak, is to wrap them in aluminum foil after basting with olive oil and herbs, then grill them for a little while and you will have a wonderful, delicious and good for you meal. This would be a treat for the people who fish in your family, and if the fisherman or gal is a child, what better way to show them the process from the wild or a farm, to the dinner table.