Can I get away with this...

[dcdivenut]

I am in the process of building a new house and designing the outdoor kitchen. My original thoughts were that I wanted to go with a gas grill with some side burners and a pellet smoker. However, as I am looking at it all closer I have a few concerns
Space... As much as I'd love a huge island by the time I get grill, smoker, sink etc it may be more than I can do
Cost of appliances... I was looking at something like a Weber drop in and then a Mak 1/2 or a Fast Eddy's for a pellet smoker but the pair gets pricey. Then I was looking at the Memphis Advantage Elite, which can go to 700 degrees and I started wondering if I could indeed have it all with one unit?
Thoughts? Am I crazy? I know a lot of people will say to go charcoal or BGE, but that's not where I am headed. I read the thread from last month about people using it for pizza, even frying fish (?) but would love some thoughts on how it works as a 70/30 grill/smoker.

My original thought was a gasser and a Mak1 or something like that as a smoker and below are the parameters I was working in. Now

1. Since I am building from scratch I can run gas lines/electric as needed.
2. Idea is that off the kitchen is an eat in, which will open up to patio where the outdoor kitchen will be. Current plan is to cover at least the cooking area so it's more weather friendly.
3. I live in MD, so not year round, but I grill from spring to fall.
4. We cook 5-6 times per week, and I probably use the grill about 3 of those when I can.
5. I know that charcoal is better than gas for flavor, but I like the convenience of a gas grill. I currently have an older cart Weber that I like, but I wont reuse here.
6. Dinner is 4 people, and when I cook for friends, its usually 10 to 14 max, so I don't need capacity to do TONS of food.

So here are some questions

1. What else should I be thinking about in terms of setup? Definitely a sink and refrigerator outside and maybe a burner or two for pots next to grill, whatever it ends up as?
2. What considerations for smoke output from a pellet smoker/Memphis should I be thinking about in terms of location. Am I crazy to think it can go in the same area or do I need to locate it further in the back yard?
3. I was also thinking of a hood/vent over the grill if I could depending on final design and cost. anyone have any experience with that?

 

[gr8day]

Not going to help your cause but I like the way you're thinking, I really like cooking on a gasser when doing burgers, steaks, rotisserie and I like the MAK 1 Star for indirect cooking. If you want just one unit to smoke and grill the Memphis Pro or Elite would be tops on the list. I would want a couple of burners for cooking in pans and I'd want a dedicated griddle.  

 

[dward51]

Not to throw a winkle in the plans, but you left out a gas based griddle top.  There is a huge range of food you can cook on that.  I agree with multiple units like a gasser grill insert, griddle insert, side or stand alone burner (or two, and how about a wok ring option?), and also a smoker. I'm really liking a gravity fed smoker like the Assassin models or similar. You can do a lot with that sort of combo.  I guess it all depends on space available and your budget.

And if it's covered, why not use it all year round?  As long as you can get into the kitchen area, air temp is not a huge issue with the right equipment.  I've smoked pork butts at 10* in a un-insulated WSM with no problems.

 

[bregent]

I've got an Elite and typically cook for our family of four. If I were to do it again, I'd probably get the Pro. I've never used the space available in the Elite. Either way you go, the Memphis grills are great for smoking, grilling and baking. But I still use my Weber Summit gasser for searing when doing a reverse sear - it just takes too long for the Memphis to get from low smoking to high sear temps. In your case, you might think about adding a small sear station in the mix.