Final Tweaks to Grill Gazebo & Some Storage Questions

jfm0830

Three times the amount of work I need, a new driveway and the arrival of the last of the cabinets for my "outdoor" Kitchen (all good things) have helped keep me away from my Eggs. This past weekend I skipped grilling so I could get all the work done reorganizing my Egg setups. After a brief description I will post some pictures of my new setup and follow that up with some questions regarding what and how to store the Eggcessories in the expanded storage space I have. 

One big change was turning the various grills 90 degrees from their old locations. This gave me two side entries into my grilling area instead of one rear entrance. The side entry is a shorter walk and I can continue out through to our seating area. The other big change is I picked up two more base cabinets including one for my first large which was on a rolling nest. I moved the Egg from the nest to a base cabinet and removed the plastic side shelves which frankly were driving me crazy. The charcoal dust from refilling the Egg was constantly staining the side shelves and was a challenge to clean. The new drawer base cabinet gave me enough counter space to replace the space lost from removing the side shelves, and coupled with the drawer base cabinet I now have nearly 5 feet of counter. Oh and for the anal architect type in me: The two covers are now both the black dome cap style covers and match each other. Onto the pix. And those of you have experience storing your Eggcessories outdoors, I would love to hear your thoughts about what to store outside and what to store inside.

The original setup: Grills on the two sides, bushes on the front (at the end of the driveway) and entry in the rear. The rear entry was a bit longer walk if it was raining and got muddy at certain times of the year. I had two cabinets: A drawer/door base cabinet and a base cabinet to hold my newer Egg.

The new setup has the Eggs and their cabinets facing the driveway, the gas grill and charcoal holders facing my back yard and entrances on both sides. Now when I come out of the house I have a quick trip into the side of the grill gazebo and can cut through to our tables and chairs in the side yard beyond. My walk pit to the grills is all on hard surface now. This will keep me from having to walk through the mud near the old rear entrance.

The cabinets facing the driveway make a nice ending to the driveway & make a nice backdrop to the bushes. The evergreen bushes will match the counter top height when fully grown.

I now have both Eggs on (matching) low cabinets and can use (matching) black dome cap covers. In lieu of the plastic egg shelves I have a nice nearly 5 foot countertop between the Eggs. The second high base cabinet is a 3 drawer unit.  I now have lots of storage possibilities, but I am not sure what to do with it.

I bought some gasketed plastic storage cabinets for the base cabinet with the door last October. The items I have stored this way have held up fine. But and this is a bit of a big but....It is a bit of a nuisance having to pull out the bin and open it up when I want to get my Eggcessories out. Hence my questions below.

STORAGE QUESTIONS:

The storage cabinets are made for outdoor use out of a man made material. They do not have a tight seal at the doors & drawers. There can be anywhere from an 1/16" to 1/8" open gap around the perimeter of the doors and drawers. This means the items inside the cabinet will be exposed to higher humidity than they would ever see inside my house. Also these gaps would allow bugs to get inside. I did seal the bases where there were gaps due to the (drainage) slope of the deck. So nothing should be able to get underneath any of the cabinets. But the gaps around the doors and drawers could allow ants or other bugs in. There was a thread here where people posted pictures of their grill setups and there were lots of neat outdoor kitchens. For those of you who don't have 100 percent hermetically sealed doors & drawers, I would be interested in your experiences and what gear & how you store that gear in your outdoor kitchens. As you all know these grill accessories can add up in price, so I'd like to not have to replace them anytime soon. I will throw out my thoughts and questions please feel free to comment on any and all items you have experience with. TIA

Ceramics:

-I already stored my two platesetters in the short cabinet that held one Egg. These were stored in the open where they are not in contact with food.

-I plan to add my Deep Dish Ceramic Pizza Pan and BGE Ceramic Pizza stone. Both in their original cardboard boxes. I was thinking this would help with the bugs possibly finding them and walking on them. Also it would help protect them from breakage. I was wondering though if the humidity would be a problem making the boxes damp in the wet or humid weather (mold/mildew)?

Wood Chips or Chunks:

I have been storing these in one of my gasketed bins, more to help keep them together than for moisture protection. They are in boxes or plastic bags to begin with. I was thinking of giving them their own drawer, and just putting them in there in their own bags or boxes. I don't see bugs or moisture being a problem here.

Half Moon Cast Iron Grill Grate (2):

I would love to get these out of my house, but I am thinking they would need to be in a gasketed storage bin so they don't rust (and for bugs). Anyone stored these outside, any thoughts?

BGE Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

Same potential issues as for the CI grill Grates. Anyone keep their's outside?

Grill Baskets, Grill Extender, Half Moon Raised Grill Grid:

What about s/s items like the BGE Grill Baskets or Grill Extender? Will they hold up to the moisture outdoor without rusting. I know they are stainless steel but these days many folks are using the cheaper grade of stainless that can and does rust. Also there are items like the Half Moon Raised Grill Grid which appear to be some sort of painted steel. Do you store those out doors?

Jim

Griffin

Looking real good, Jim, what a great set up.

Can't help you much with your storage issues. Most of my stuff gets stored in the Egg. Or on a chair next to the Egg. Or when I'm feeling industrious, I'll walk it all the way across the yard to the shed.I don't worry much about bugs and stuff. When I want to use it, take it inside and a quick wash and rinse and I'm ready to go.

TexanOfTheNorth

Looks like a great set-up Jim. Just curious... are your eggs visible from the street and, if so, do you have any concerns about how accessible they might be to a would-be thief?

mb99zz

That's an awesome setup.  Congratulations.  

GrannyX4

New kitchen indoor and out. Looks good. You must be in heaven. I store everything in the table or the garage except for the cast iron. Florida weather and the pool does not like CI. The cardboard will mildew and bugs love to nest in it in Fl. ;;)

jfm0830

Thanks guys! I can't believe how much my grilling life has changed for the better in the last year. In a week it will be my one year anniversary getting my first Egg. I still pinch myself to see if it is real when I go outside and see my outdoor playground.

TexanOfTheNorth said:

Looks like a great set-up Jim. Just curious... are your eggs visible from the street and, if so, do you have any concerns about how accessible they might be to a would-be thief?

@TexanOfTheNorth I have lived here for 28 years now and have always had grills outside. It is a concern, but I live in a "good" neighborhood where people keep their eyes out for each other. The light at my kitchen door is on a motion sensor so it comes on if someone gets close to the kitchen door (and my grill gazebo). Also I have worked from home for the last five years, so it is less of a concern that it had been. My driveway is over 100 feet long and with a car parked at the end you can't really see the grills. When driving up the street if you are looking straight ahead, the house screens the grill from one direction and in the other direction there is a line of pine trees that extends almost out to the street. So unless you look straight up the driveway you really don't see the grills just driving by. Although the grill gazebo does call attention to it now more than ever.

Two other things that have recently entered into my thoughts on this are: many folks don't know what the BGE is. They don't know it is a grill and they don't know how pricy it is. Also after moving both grills around myself this weekend it certainly isn't a snatch and grab type thing.

TexanOfTheNorth

It's a beautiful set-up Jim. I'm sure you'll enjoy it for years to come!

jfm0830

Thanks @GrannyX4. Sorry I didn't see your post when I did my original reply. But you're one of the "guys" too because I actually mean guys in a gender-neutral form anyhow.

I was afraid the cardboard might be an issue. I'm beginning to think I may have another trip to The Container Store for some more gasketed plastic bins in my future.

Speaking of new kitchen in and out: I don't know if I told the story here or not, but when I picked out the granite for the indoor kitchen it turned out it matched the granite on the cabinets I had bought for the Egg. I wasn't aware of it at the time when I was picking out the kitchen granite, it just looked familiar to me. When I got the first outdoor cabinets it was winter and most of my grilling was happening at night and I didn't have lights in grill gazebo. Fast forward to the spring: The workers were out cutting the granite for the kitchen cabinets out in the driveway, and I was leaning on one of my grill cabinets watching. All of a sudden I looked down and said Holy…. Now I say just like I planned it.