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 fans of Disney travel, we decided to create a 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 of the Dinsey-inspired travel magic to our own backyard. We named it Disney Resort North. The branding of the outdoor kitchen area becoming The Smokehouse is a good example of how we have subtle tie-ins to Disney travel. As an aside, one thing I like about our theming is that Disney fans will get the nods to Disney travel, while non-Disney-travelers will just appreciate it as a fun backyard space.
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 for all our guests.
The outdoor kitchen was officially named The Smokehouse in 2018 as part of the full backyard renovation. The Smokehouse was named after the temporary food area of the same name at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT park, which appeared annually during the park’s flower and garden festival. While the original Disney restaurant became a permanent fixture and was renamed the Regal Eagle Smokehouse in 2019, The Smokehouse in our backyard took on the full name as The Smokehouse: Smoke, Fire, Grill. This represents the multiple levels of hardwood cooking that come out of this kitchen on a regular basis. As if by special power, I had already placed a brass eagle on the back of The Smokehouse brick oven, so when Disney renamed their restaurant with the addition of Regal Eagle…
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.