The history of grilling dates back well before colonial times. The Indians actually used a “barbacoa,” a small wooden structure, to roast their meat. The first commercial, mass produced BBQ grills weren’t created until the early 1900s, but even before this Americans used a slow cooking method of roasting their meat that was similar to “rotisserie.”
Outdoor kitchen islands have not been around for very long but they are already replacing many stand-alone grills. If you were ever a fan of the show “Dallas,” which ran from 1978 to 1991, then you might have seen one of the first BBQ Islands to ever exist. It was a prototype of what was to become a popular outdoor cooking accessory.
The show was about a wealthy Texas family called the Ewings. The family was in the cattle ranching and oil business on the television show. And of course, the show’s producers thought it would be great to portray the wealthy, cattle-ranching, Texas family as barbecue lovers. They hired the well-known grill making company, Ducane, to come up with the prototype for the series and before anyone knew it the outdoor BBQ Island was born.
BBQ Islands went quickly from fiction to reality and had many of the same features as the TV prototype. Today BBQ Islands are fully loaded and customizable. Even if you do not have one built from scratch by a contractor, there are still many customizable features on prefabricated models. Like the original prototype, today’s BBQ Islands have loads of counterspace. They clearly knew even back then that this is extremely important feature when creating an outdoor kitchen environment.
There are many more features that you can have on your built in BBQ Islands today. Along with tons of counterspace you can also have cabinets, refrigerators, stainless steel sinks, bar counters, lighting, dishwashers, warming drawers, spice racks, and for fun a palapa umbrella or flat screen TV.
