Many people prefer the outdoor fireplace to the outdoor kitchen. Such fireplaces may be elaborate in construction and completely equipped for all types of cooking. These may be outfitted with either a homemade grill or one of the many commercial units set into the fireplace framework. Many are built with a simple firebox with a few sections of flue lining added and iron bars cemented into the stones for cooking surface. In northern climates these fireplaces should be built down below the frost line and should be planned to agree with the prevailing winds to insure the smoke being blown away from the eating space rather than right into the faces of guests—a most unfortunate occurrence which quite often happens.
One of the most effective and still exceedingly functional stoves we have ever seen was designed and built in his own garden by a well-known Palm Beach builder and contractor. This outdoor range is as simple to build and to operate as any we have known. It has served parties of six, and with equal case has provided for a hundred people in an evening. Basically, it is a large, square chimney of bricks about four feet high. There is a good-sized firebox with a grill over it which may be used to grill four or five steaks or six chickens split for broiling at one time. Under the firebox is ample storage space. A most workable and imaginative addition to this range is a stainless-steel top with a welded edge made to fit over the grill. This has a small vent with a section of stovepipe for proper draw from the fire. On this flat cooking surface one can cook a large number of hamburgers, ham or bacon and eggs, hot cakes—an endless repertoire of fine food to tempt hearty outdoor appetites. If you entertain in numbers that really require assembly-line production, this is certainly ideal.
There still are many people who feel that the outdoor cooking and eating area must be architecturally a part of the entire scheme of the home and grounds. For these people a true fireplace type of cooking space is almost obligatory, and they should consult an architect or good contractor to help in its construction. If you do build such a spot for your outdoor living, it should have an adjacent living and eating spot, proper landscaping, and such conveniences as proper wiring, water outlets, a spot for refrigeration, and all other equipment to make it as easy to use as an indoor room.
Fireplaces of such elaborate design are usually built of brick or stone, depending on which better compliments the house. Naturally, there should be a flagged or brick patio, and the entire cooking unit would have to be designed to withstand all sorts of weather and be planned and constructed so that smoke would not fill the eating and living area. You would in all probability use commercial grill units, which abound, in the fireplace.
We have become a strong supporter of a particular type of vertical grill with spit, which has been on the market for a number of years and which has proved itself to be as fine an appliance as has yet been designed for roasting, grilling, and broiling. It follows the principle of the fireplaces still in use after centuries in many European houses, and is as simple to use as a modern electric range. There is a good-sized vertical firebox for coals and grills that hang in front for broiling or grilling. Stainless-steel spits, motor-driven if you wish, will roast anything from a quail to a small pig and do it with a minimum of effort and a maximum of results. Easy to clean and maintain, this is to us the ideal source of fire for outdoor cooking.
Another one, perhaps more acceptable to your needs, is a horizontal grill with a spit which may be built into any fireplace and which offers about the same type of accommodation. This has many points to recommend it and will give a great deal of satisfaction to anyone who seriously plans an outdoor living space for relaxation and fun.
If you really wish to have a complete and elegant outdoor room, you will be interested in one of several we have seen which seems to cover every need. It was planned in a large patio. There was a large fireplace with fuel box and supply closet flanking it at the sides. The supply closet was as well stocked as the kitchen shelves in the house. A second unit next to this had a fine worktable and a sink with large sink boards. At right angles to this fine installation was another space devoted to a four-burner electric stove with an oven and a full-sized electric refrigerator. There were also drawers for equipment and closets for dishes so that this room could be completely independent of the house. No running to the kitchen for ice, a can opener, or an extra plate. It was right there. Shutoffs for the utilities and folding waterproof covers with fine insulation made all the perishable equipment impervious to all kinds of weather. What a joy this spot was to the owners and to their many guests. Plenty of tables and chairs and small side tables dotted the patio so that one felt he was experiencing a substantial quality of true living, rather than just a momentary relaxation.
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