When it comes to entertaining family and friends, little beats getting together outdoors when the food becomes the center of attention. Who doesn’t love hanging out by the grill to see what’s being prepared? Socializing around the grill has become a national pastime. And with the first official day of Spring only a month or so away, homeowners coast-to-coast are champing at the bit to make outdoor lifestyle improvements.
Depending on what part of the country you live in, an outdoor kitchen may or may not make sense. It may not seem like it during Snowmaggedon 2015, but even in New England (the home base for KettlePizza), we enjoy many months of temperate weather where spending time socializing outside is preferred over jamming guests in a hot and crowded kitchen.
In fact, a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that homeowners who have an outdoor kitchen consistently rate it as their favorite room. And the number one outdoor kitchen item the homeowners regretted not having was a backyard pizza oven. As our KettlePizza customers already know, an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven quickly becomes the central gathering spot for family and friends who not only want to see what’s cooking, but relish the opportunity to participate in a fun and entertaining cooking process.
“The number one item that current owners of outdoor kitchens regretted leaving out was a pizza oven. Backyard pizza ovens serve as a gathering place for guests to participate in the food prep process. It’s what I call ‘kitchen karaoke.'” … June Savage, Realtor associate, Coral Gables, Florida, ONE Sotheby’s International Realty
So if you’re flipping through outdoor kitchen furniture web pages and brochures these days, looking forward to a time in the not-too-distant future when snow drifts and ice will be replaced by green grass and flowers, don’t forget to budget for a wood-fired, backyard pizza oven. If you decide on a KettlePizza — which converts a kettle style charcoal grill, like a Weber, into a pizza oven — you’ll spend as a little as $150 for everything you need to take your entertaining capabilities to an all new level.
Beyond the entertainment benefits, an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven, such as a KettlePizza, has many other benefits, including:
- You and your guests will eat sooner. How long does it take for your indoor oven to reach its highest temperature (at least 20 minutes)? And at its highest temp of around 500 degrees F, it will take up to another 15 minutes to bake a pizza. A KettlePizza oven quickly hits temps of 700 – 800 degrees F, and beyond, so you can expect your pizza to be ready in two or three minutes.
- Your pizza will taste better. That’s because a KettlePizza distributes the heat evenly across the pizza and the wood-fired heat delivers a unique and delicious flavor.
- A wood-fired pizza is healthier for you. Since toppings like vegetables and some fruit will cook more quickly in a KettlePizza than in an indoor oven, these toppings retain more of their nutrients and antioxidants.
- A wood-fired oven is versatile. Baking bread, roasting meats, burgers and dogs and vegetables — all fun and easy to do in your KettlePizza.
- Wood-fired ovens are inexpensive to operate. No electricity. No propane. Just heat from fire.
Are you thinking about adding an outdoor kitchen to your home this year? Or adding items, like a wood-fired oven, to an existing one? If so, we’d love to hear what you have in mind.
