Outdoor living has been revolutionized in recent years, as the patio has become an extension of the house itself. It’s time to move summer entertaining outside, and new lines of furniture and barbecues make everything more comfortable.
“I can’t pin down when the change to move outside happened but manufacturers have been making more and products available so that the backyard is more of a gathering spot. The outdoor room is no longer just a barbecue on a deck,” said Cam Mitchell, managing partner of Barbecue Country in Edmonton.
Mitchell speculated that the advent of cooking shows, especially those that include barbecuing contests, has also added to the allure.
“Is there a reason why people are barbecuing more? There isn’t just one reason, but I’d say the number of cooking shows, especially barbecue specific shows and a handful of barbecue competitions both in the U.S. and in Canada may be one of the reasons,” he said.
New styles of barbecues make grilling, frying, roasting and baking possible even on the hottest summer days. In addition, pizza ovens, griddles, clay-bread ovens, pig roasters, meat smokers and deep fryers mean cooks have even more options available outside than they may have inside on their traditional stove range.
The latest outdoor cooking fad is to use smokers, Mitchell said.
“Smokers aren’t new but they are one of those fun things that people like to experiment with. They allow you to cook at a low temperature for an extended period of time,” he said, adding that he recently spent 14 hours cooking a brisket and six hours cooking ribs on his smoker.
“If given a choice, I’d definitely choose ribs cooked on a smoker over ribs cooked on the barbecue,” he said.
All this outdoor cooking can be done with exact temperature controls and precision.
“The Saber barbecue is infrared with individual temperature controls per side. And each side is a separate box so your temperature is very accurate and individual on each side,” said Lyndon Hodgins, who manages Beachcomber Hot Tubs and Patio in the Enjoy Centre.
Hodgins said he uses infrared heating to sear meat very quickly before finishing the cooking on the barbecue grill.
“The infrared side burner has lots of heat – 700 degrees Celsius – so it sears the meat and locks in flavour. Then you put it on the grill for two minutes and get the grill marks. Then you flip it and because it’s cooked so quickly and seared, it doesn’t get hard and charred and the meat doesn’t lose size,” he said.
If the cooking is more high-tech, summer living is definitely easier thanks to weather-resistant materials that are being used in new ways on such things as resin-wicker tables and chairs and on the Dacron-protected fabric cushions that make them so comfortable.
The morning after a torrential downpour, Hodgins took a seat on a padded patio sofa placed outside on the balcony.
“It’s bone dry. It will be dry within 10 minutes,” said Hodgins, as he added that the chairs had been outside on the balcony since March and had already endured both snowstorms and rain.
“It’s made from the same material as umbrellas. It’s made to deflect the rain and reflect UV rays,” he said.
The Home Depot also sells Martha Stewart Living swivel rockers and Trestle-Ridge five-piece dining room suites suitable for patios.
New storage centres and cabinets that are specific to cooking and dining outdoors mean the cook no longer has to keep running inside the house to get supplies.
“Some of the barbecue companies are offering options such as pre-manufactured barbecue islands and cabinets that are moveable. They aren’t on castors, but they can be moved and they come in different configurations that the individual can assemble themselves,” Mitchell said.
So, if you can’t stand the heat this summer, then get out of the kitchen. But don’t stop there because new gadgets, fancier-than-ever barbecues and innovative furniture designs, make it possible to move the whole darned house with you.
