If you love to cook and have space in your backyard, then an outdoor kitchen can completely change both your space and how you spend your summer. Outdoor kitchens are popular in areas that get a lot of sunshine and are slowly becoming more and more popular across the United States and Europe. Even colder climes are embracing the benefits of having an outdoor kitchen.

If you don’t already have an outdoor kitchen, check out our article on the nine reasons you need one. We’ve also got tips on how to build it on a budget. After your kitchen is built, there are lots of options to consider when buying accessories to complete it. Here are some of the top accessories for your custom outdoor kitchen.

1 Instant-Read Thermometer

Plenty of delicious food is served up in luxury outdoor kitchens. If you are at all worried about cooking food to perfection, then you need a meat thermometer. Every cook should have a meat thermometer in their kitchen to ensure food is cooked correctly for health, safety, and taste reasons.

An instant-read thermometer is one of the most common kinds of thermometers found in an outdoor kitchen store. Instant-read thermometers are one of the few tools that give you an instant confidence boost to your cooking skills. Just stick the thermometer into food and give it a minute or so to get an accurate temperature reading. It’s as simple as that.

2 Stainless Steel Griddle Top

Stainless steel is one of the most popular surfaces for cooking. Some outdoor accessories come in convenient and cheap outdoor kitchen kits. This is great, but if it doesn’t come with a stainless steel griddle top, then consider buying on separately.

One reason stainless steel is so popular is that it avoids the chemical reactions of other metal cooking surfaces, keeping food clean and safe. Stainless steel is much safer than even nonstick frying pans and surfaces, which are sometimes treated with chemicals that can seep into food.

Safety isn’t the only reason to choose stainless steel. Top chefs use stainless steel because it offers better flavor preservation. Cooking with stainless steel means that you get restaurant-quality food in your custom outdoor kitchen with little effort on your part.

3 Cast Iron Cooktop

Much like stainless steel, cast iron cooking equipment is also popular with top chefs. Cast iron is the original form of nonstick cookware. Cast iron also stands out for being durable, meaning your cast iron cooktop will be a part of your outdoor kitchen installation for years to come. Some people even pass down cast-iron cookware through family generations because it lasts that long.

An excellent cast iron cooktop will retain heat pretty well, allowing for an even heating process. Cast iron can take a minute or two longer to get hot, but it will stay hot for much longer. The material is excellent for frying and grilling, which requires the pan to remain hot. It’s less useful for foods that require quick temperature changes but is still an excellent accessory for an outdoor kitchen installed as part of a patio remodel.

4 Margarita Center

Summer is the perfect time to head out to the outdoor kitchen. The sun is out, the weather is warm, and there’s only one way to cool down – margaritas! Who doesn’t love a fruity little drink on a hot day? Well, thanks to margarita centers you can brew up all the drinks you want, whenever you want.

The Twin Eagles Margarita Center lets you create incredible margaritas, cocktails, and other drinks all in one place. The handy little bar comes with two stainless steel levels and electrical output, giving you everything you need for a blender and juicer, not to mention a coffee maker. That’s right; you can create more than just margaritas with a margarita bar. They can be used for juice, salsa, espresso, and anything else you can imagine.

5 Rotisserie Kit

Rotisserie cooking is one of the oldest forms of cooking around. People have been cooking on rotisseries since the middle ages. A rotisserie kit cooks food by rotating over a heat source such as a fire or grill. One reason rotisserie food is so delicious is that the meat is basted in its own juices, guaranteeing delicious and tender meat. Head over to an outdoor kitchen store and pick up a rotisserie kit so you can enjoy the best meat around.

Not only is it easy, but it’s also versatile. Rotisserie cooking is one of the best ways to cook chicken, ham, turkey, fish, and ham. There’s no beating that self-basting nature for juicy meats.

6 Spice Caddy for Storage

No kitchen is complete without spices – outdoor or indoor. Spices add all kinds of flavors to food and take meals to the next level. If you’re a fan of spices, then you’re going to need a good spice caddy for storing them all. The more jars and bottles of spices you have, the harder it can be to keep everything together. If you’ve got too many spices for your countertop, then a spice caddy is just what you need.

The great thing about spice caddies is they come in all shapes and sizes. Get a rotating rack, small shelves, or a tiered caddy to save on space. Spice caddies let you have all the spices you want without taking up all the room in your custom outdoor kitchen.

7 Grill Safe Skewers

The grill is an integral part of any outdoor kitchen. It’s where most of the cooking will take place. People get so caught up in finding the right grill that they often forget about how they’re going to cook food on it. Make creating kabobs and other grilled foods easier with grill safe skewers.

Grill safe skewers are used for cooking all kinds of savory meats, fresh vegetables, and even some desserts. You can also use them in the off-season to bread food before baking or frying. Choose from either bamboo or stainless steel skewers. Wooden skewers tend to come bin bigger packs because they are disposable. Metal skewers can be washed and reused, so they come in smaller packages.

8 Utensil Kits

There’s no getting around the fact that you need some utensils for your kitchen. Every kitchen needs them. The good news is that utensil kits make it super easy to get everything you need. Rather than buy everything individually, just pick up a kit and get a complete set.

Good kitchen utensil kits have everything you need from brushes and tongs to spatulas. Utensils let you cook the food you want how you want, so don’t forget to pick some up for your custom outdoor kitchen.

9 Accessory Organizers

Now you have all the accessories you need, and there’s just one last thing to get – an accessory organizer to keep them all in. Kitchen storage is something everyone needs to keep their cabinets and drawers in order. No one wants to spend time in a messy kitchen. Not to mention the fact that it’s impossible to cook if you can’t even track down what you need. It’s good to have everything in one place, so you always know where your cookware and accessories are.

Accessory organizers mean that you never have to wonder where you left your cooking accessories and utensils. You’ll never lose your tools again because you can find it all in your organizer. Take your messy kitchen and turn it into the beautiful and organized cooking space it deserves to be.

Complete Your Kitchen

Outdoor kitchen sets make for the perfect patio remodel. Breathe new life into your yard by adding a kitchen for alfresco dining, outdoor entertainment, and plenty of family fun. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need help with your outdoor kitchen installation.

The accessories listed above will help take your outdoor kitchen to the next level by allowing you to cook a wider variety of delicious food in an ideal environment. From grilling to baking to broiling and beyond, outdoor kitchens let you cook what you want, how you want.