Outdoor kitchens topped the project trends list in the latest American Institute of Architects’ survey. No surprise, people love living outside. As we move into the warmer months, let's look at what’s popular for outdoor kitchens and their related living areas.

Luxury moves outdoors

Homeowners are seeking the sanctuary of outdoor living spaces – both for entertaining and unwinding. These spaces are likely to have architectural structures like pergolas, walls, custom fireplaces, hedges and varying elevations to create privacy and distinct rooms with a natural indoor-outdoor flow. These outdoor rooms may also be equipped with water, light and fire design features.

Outdoor kitchens are getting more elaborate, both for entertaining and relaxing.

Premium cooking

In the past, many homeowners focused solely on their grill, and perhaps some outdoor seating. Today, many homeowners are accompanying the grill with a fully functioning built-in kitchen complete with sink and faucet, refrigeration, dishwasher, ice machine, beverage unit, pizza oven, weather resistant cabinets and more. Smart appliances are becoming very popular and it comes as no surprise that smart technology is also trending in the outdoor kitchen. Many grills and smokers are now wi-fi enabled, some even have voice recognition.

Even with all of the extras, the grill is still king of the outdoor kitchen. No longer is stainless steel the only option. Grills are available in bright red, sunny yellow, royal blue, hunter green, and more! The ability to customize your outdoor space allows the homeowner to complement the surrounding landscape and views or extend the home’s décor into the exterior.

Exactly as the interior kitchen and bathroom design trends have shifted towards more sleek and modular aesthetics, so too have outdoor designs. To mirror the look inside the home, homeowners are choosing longer, linear plank pavers outdoors, and playing more with texture and color than in the past. This trend extends beyond modern homes, with this look translating to every home style.

Technology enhancements

An outdoor living area’s natural elements might hide speakers and wiring, as well as irrigation and security tied to smart home controls. Homeowners are taking on far more projects and spending far more money outdoors than in past years. Outdoor televisions are a major category. So are outdoor speakers.

While outdoor kitchens and living areas are trending strongly and richly, with more enhancements than ever before, there are still many homeowners who are likely to drag a comfy chair and portable grill out on the porch or deck. It’s all about enjoying life outdoors, financing nice, but not necessarily needed, for life’s simplest pleasures.

Visit The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop, your local specialty grill retailer to discuss how the array of choices available would best meet your needs.

Source: Forbes

Unlike grills, where the heat is more direct, smokers cook the meat (or veggies) with smoke heat and add an unforgettable smoked flavor. Smokers allow for longer cook times when you want to achieve that mouth-watering “fall off the bone” consistency.

Cylinder Smoker or Offset Smoker

Offset smokers are often recognizable by the large cylinder shaped chamber where your food is smoked alongside an attached firebox. The firebox is filled with wood or charcoal and sends smoke to the main chamber. These smokers typically have vents on both the firebox and main chamber and require a bit more attention to temperature control. Contrasting the vertical smoker, the smoke and heat flows from the firebox to a pipe on the opposite side as it cooks and flavors your food in the main chamber. These smokers are just as popular as vertical smokers and can also be used to grill.

Perfect for your backyard, you are just as likely to see offset smokers when heading to the cook-off.

Kamado

The Kamado design is popular due to its ability to be used as a grill or a smoker. The Kamado style uses ceramics, lava rock, cement, and other refractory material to absorb and radiate heat with venting that allows for high-searing to slow-smoking temperatures. When using a Kamado as a smoker, you want to aim for a lower temperature when heating as the ceramic walls tend to retain heat and will take longer to cool down if you overshoot. Charcoal is placed at the bottom of the bowl and functions similarly to the vertical bullet smoker with the upward flow of heat and smoke with a domed cap. Sometimes smaller than traditional smokers, Kamados have the capacity for two-zone cooking, with both direct and convection heat, making the design perfect for smoking or grilling.

Home Use

Aside from type of method, take into consideration home use when choosing the perfect smoker. Of course, you don’t need to be confined to one smoker, but your outdoor space provides a place for entertainment and a larger smoker is suitable for larger outdoor spaces. Most smokers will fit any outdoor space; however, you also want to look at larger sizes if you plan on feeding multiple mouths in a short amount of time. As with grills, there are a variety of features, and details that reflect your style, complement your home, and set the vibe.

Outdoor Kitchen

A is the centerpiece of an outdoor kitchen. After you’ve decided the type of smoker you prefer, consider style, size, and how much food you plan to cook when entertaining guests. Where to Shop

Visit The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop, your local specialty grill retailer to discuss how the array of choices available would best meet your needs.

There are so many delicious ways to serve the Smoked Lamb! We pulled ours to make these gyros and the contrast between the crisp greens, lemony yogurt sauce and the rich warm lamb smoked in Memphis Wood Fire Grill was unbeatable! Served buffet-style where everyone can assemble to their own preference was the most fun.

Ingredients

• 1/2-1lb Pulled smoked lamb according to preference

For tzatziki sauce:

• 1 C Greek yogurt
• 1/4 C sour cream
• Juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 C)
• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 T fresh dill, chopped (plus more for garnish)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 leaf per gyro red leaf lettuce
• 1 C arugula
• 1/2 C feta, crumbled
• 1 C cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/2 C kalamata olives, for garnish

Preparation

1. Mix together tzatziki ingredients
2. Toast the pita
3. Assemble the gyros and enjoy!

For more information about Memphis Pellet Grill and recipes you can do with it, contact The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop.

Set up your Memphis Wood Fire Grill for Direct flame grilling, grab the ingredients below, keep the hood open and you're ready to start making our Louisiana Style Jambalaya recipe brought to you by the guys at Big Swede BBQ.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Chicken thighs
• 1 Tbs Creole seasoning
• 1 lb Kielbasa sausage
• ½ lb Andouille
• 2 Roma tomatoes, halved
• 2 Tbs Olive oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
• ½ Green Pepper, finely diced
• 1 Celery stalk, finely diced
• ½ lb Bacon or Ham, diced
• 4 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 1 Tsp White Pepper
• 1 Tsp Black Pepper
• 1 Tsp Louisiana-style hot sauce
• 3/4 Cup White Rice
• 3 Cups Chicken broth
• 2 Bay Leafs
• 1/2 Cup Green onions, finely sliced

Preparation

1. Set up your Memphis Wood Fire Grill for Direct flame grilling and medium temperature. Always have the hood open when you cook with Direct flame.
2. Trim and season the chicken thighs with Creole seasoning.
3. Place chicken, the Kielbasa and Andouille sausages, and the tomatoes on the grill. Grill the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, about 20 minutes.
4. Cook sausages until browned all over, about 10 minutes.
5. Cook tomatoes until they have grill marks and start to blacken, about 5 minutes. Remember to turn chicken and sausage occasionally, until
6. Transfer chicken, sausage, and tomatoes to a cutting board as they are done. When cool enough to handle, pull chicken into large chunks, slice the sausages and chop the tomatoes.
7. Place a large cast iron pan over the Direct Flame Insert and add Olive oil to the pan and heat until shimmering.
8. Add onions, pepper, and celery and cook until vegetables have softened, 7 to 8 minutes, and stir occasionally.
9. Add the bacon and cook for about 10 minutes until nicely browned.
10. Add garlic, salt, white pepper, black pepper, and hot sauce and cook for 2 minutes.
11. Add rice and stir to thoroughly coat grains with the mixture.
12. Add chicken stock and bay leaf.
13. Simmer until rice is fully cooked, 20-30 minutes.

For more information about Memphis Pellet Grill and recipes you can do with it, contact The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop.

Whether you’re looking for a modern, sleek chrome finish for the outdoor kitchen or a simple black grill for the balcony, there are a plethora of to choose from. Find the grill that's best for the backyard or tailgate experience you're looking to create.

Features

There are plenty of features to consider when . These features can make all the difference in your grilling experience! Features to consider include the following.

• Ease of cleaning
• Quality of construction
• Size of grilling surface
• Ability to adjust heat
• Size of the grill

Grill Design

From the small details, to make and material, the design of your grill is an extension of your style. Things to think about when considering the design of your grill include:

• Useage
• Size
• Color
• Extras

Fuel Types

Grills come in four fuel types, each of which has specific benefits. Whether you choose propane, natural gas (a grill hooked up to your home’s natural gas supply), charcoal, electric, or pellet fuel will depend on your lifestyle. Your options include propane, natural gas, charcoal or electric.

Accessories

The right accessory can take your grilling experience from excellent to superb. While manufacturers continue to add new categories, here are some general categories to get started.

Budget

Whatever your budget, there is a grill for you. However, investing in quality, well-built grills will give you the best experience and return.

Visit The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop , your local specialty grill retailer, to discuss how the array of choices available would best meet your needs.

Dear Stove Professional,

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), in coordination with the Department of Energy Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection, would like to announce the launch of the 2019 Commonwealth Woodstove Change-Out Program. The program will be accepting applications from March 20, 2019 through August 5, 2019.

Stove Professionals who participated in the 2018 program do not need to sign-up for the 2019 program. New stove professionals should email woodstoves@masscec.com with a Stove Professional Agreement, which can be found on our Installer Resources page, to sign up for the program.

MassCEC has developed a customer-facing one-pager for use by stove professionals. This one-pager provides a high-level overview of the program for customers, including information on income-eligible rebates.

Please read below for a summary of the program's application process and eligibility requirements. As a participating Stove Professional, your responsibility is to:

1. Check the customer's existing stove for change-out eligibility. The existing stove must be:
   • Operational
   • Non-EPA-certified
   • Manufactured by a wood stove manufacturer (i.e. not homemade or modified)
2. Work with customer to complete the change-out by selecting and installing an eligible stove model from MassCEC's list of qualified equipment.
3. Issue a discount equal to the amount of the rebate to the customer. This discount must be indicated as a line-item or note on the invoice. MassCEC will then pay the rebate directly to your company upon application approval.
4. Submit the rebate application and supporting documents to MassCEC through the online portal.
5. MassCEC approves award, sends award letter, and issues the rebate payment to the Stove Professional.

For further information on the 2019 Woodstove Change-Out Program, please see the Program Manual. MassCEC has also posted a webinar which provides an overview of the application submission process and reviews changes since the 2018 Program.

Customers interested in the program should be directed to MassCEC's WSCO website. If you have any questions or updates, please contact us at woodstoves@masscec.com or (617) 315- 9300.

Thank you for your ongoing participation in the MassCEC Woodstove Change-Out Program.

Warm Regards,
The MassCEC Woodstove Team
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
63 Franklin St, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02110

Customers interested in the program should be directed to

If you have an existing fireplace but seldom use it, a set of gas logs may be the best way to have dancing flames at your fingertips.

Gas Logs and Doors

Gas logs can transform an existing wood burning fireplace for realistic, room-enhancing fire and they don't require any change in the appearance or structure of your fireplace. Instead, gas logs deliver fire with the flip of a switch, at any time, any day of the year. If you have an existing fireplace but seldom use it, a gas log set may be the best way to have dancing flames at your fingertips.

Gas logs provide dramatic realism, from the lifelike ceramic fiber, concrete, glass, or refractory logs down to the glowing embers. A log set has a burner that uses either natural gas or propane. Propane and natural gas fireplace sets are an affordable way to revamp your existing fireplace and change the look and feel of your room.

Vented units have a spectacular flame pattern, but are decorative only. Vent-free models offer high efficiency, even more so when used along with fireplace doors.

Where to Shop

Your local specialty retailer can help you find the gas log set best for you, whether it's a small split pine campfire or massive oak logs. The Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop is also familiar with the ins and outs of installing a log set in your area.

Up to 50% on great finds.

March Madness Sale is through End of March - While Supplies Last!

Contact Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop for more details.

It's March, it's cold. Maybe you are running out of fire wood and need to order a bit more to make it through the winter. Be sure you wood is seasoned. Wet wood is a waste. Watch the video below to find out if you are burning the best and most efficient wood for heat.

For more information on burning wood for heat, contact the Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop and let us warm your home.

Have you ever been into a home in the winter and felt a sense of comfort and warmth? You probably have, and there's a good reason for that if they had a wood burning fire creating ambiance, beauty, and heat. And the reason it had that effect was its power to evoke memories. This can be the same in your home with Vermont Castings Wood Burning Fireplaces.

The heat generated by a Vermont Castings remarkable wood burning fireplace is just the beginning. Meeting emissions standards, EPA certified, and featuring clean-burn technology, many of these fireplaces can even heat up to 2,500 square feet of living space as efficiently as a wood burning stove. This is a new tradition in fireplace design and it’s only available from Vermont Castings.

Fortunately, fireplaces have only become more affordable as their technology has improved. Such as a popular new choice of a fireplace insert which can be installed very quickly and is much less expensive than trying to buy an entire new mantel. Not to mention the traditional look of a wood burning fire brings people comfort. Feel free to contact the Woodstove Fireplace & Patio Shop and let us warm your home.