Outdoor kitchens are a popular staple on many Kansas properties. From brick ovens and barbeques to smokers and charcoal pits, there is a wide assortment of cooking tools to work into your outdoor oasis at home. At High Prairie Outdoors, we often receive requests for outdoor kitchen design, and we love helping our clients achieve their kitchen goals. To add a little spice to your outdoor kitchen, we thought we would share some of our favorite recipes to make in your new space.
Outdoor Kitchen Recipes
1. Brick Oven Kansas Tomato Sandwich
When it comes to outdoor kitchen recipes, there is nothing like a tangy tomato sandwich on toasted golden bread, with a nice glass of chilled sun tea on a sunny Kansas afternoon. With a brick oven feature in your outdoor kitchen, you can take your tomato sandwich to the next level and show your friends and family just what is missing from their lives. This recipe requires:
- 1 washed slicing or Roma tomato
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 slices of thick white bread
- 2 leaves of crisp lettuce
- 2 slices of cheddar cheese
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
The key to a brick oven sandwich is watching that your flame isn’t too hot. Before roasting or toasting, slice the tomato into thin even slices, unwrap the cheese, and wash and dry lettuce leaves.
Using a pan, lay out two slices of bread, each with a butter coated exterior. Slide this into the brick oven until just golden and remove from heat. Add sliced cheddar cheese to each slice of bread, and place back into the brick oven until the cheese begins to melt – remove from heat. Line one slice of bread with tomatoes and sprinkle it with salt and pepper, add lettuce leaves and top with the other side of toasted cheesy bread. Slice and enjoy!
2. Slow-Cooked Kansas City Ribs on the Smoker
When it comes to BBQ, nobody does it better than Kansas City. Ribs are cooked low and slow for a luxurious tender bite that falls off the bone. Top them with Kansas City style BBQ sauce and you won’t want to come up for air. So, how can you make these delicious morsels for yourself in your outdoor space? Here’s a BBQ recipe worth trying. You will need:
- Your favorite Kansas City BBQ sauce
- 2-3 racks of baby back pork ribs
- Wood chips for smoking (soaked hickory is best)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
- ½ tbsp chili powder
- ½ tbsp onion powder
Before beginning, mix all the seasoning powders together in a bowl – this is your rib rub. Many families have their own rub mixes, so if yours is the best on the block, change it up! This rub should be massaged into the meat before you smoke it. Ensure every cranny is covered and place the ribs into a sheet of tin foil. Wrap them snugly.
Next, line the bottom of your smoker with your damp chips, insert the tray, and place your tin foil wrapped ribs into the heat. For a proper low and slow smoke, you should cook these ribs for 5 hours at approximately 225°F. Unwrap and eat up!
3. Bierocks on the BBQ
For German-American families, the best taste of Kansas comes in the form of Bierocks. These hearty meat and cabbage filled pockets go back generations and offer up the comforting aromas of home. Now, you can enjoy them outdoors on your BBQ. To begin, you’ll need:
- Homemade or store-bought bread roll dough
- 1lb 80/20 mix ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- ½ head of green cabbage (shredded)
- 1 yellow onion (diced)
- Aged cheddar (shredded)
- 1 tbsp butter
Believe it or not, you can bake most bread on the BBQ because it offers an enclosed space for bread to rise. The key is even heat and temperature control. Most modern BBQs have a heat gauge to monitor the temperature. If not, you can check your Bierocks frequently to ensure flames are not too high and bread is becoming golden, not blackened.
In a cast-iron skillet on the grill, add butter, ground beef, salt, and pepper. Stir occasionally until beef is browned. Now, add onion and cabbage and mix until tender.
Cut your dough into even pieces and on a floured surface press dough flat. Spoon in 2 tbsp of filling and top with grated cheese before closing the dough over itself. Be sure the dough seals shut so the filling stays inside. Bake on your BBQ for 15-20 mins at 400°F. Enjoy!
Contact High Prairie Outdoors
Interested in learning more about creating an outdoor kitchen space on your property? Contact High Prairie Outdoors today for more information. Call 1-816-398-2091.
