The side burner is one of the most frequently added appliances in Tulsa outdoor kitchen projects and one of the most frequently underused features after installation. Understanding what a side burner actually enables — and how it connects to how you actually cook outdoors — helps determine whether it is worth including in your kitchen and where to position it within the layout. VistaScapes & Design incorporates side burners into outdoor kitchen designs across Tulsa and discusses their practical applications during the design consultation.
What a Side Burner Enables
A built-in side burner is a gas burner — typically 12,000 to 15,000 BTU — with a grate surface positioned adjacent to the main grill counter. It allows you to operate a pot, pan, or wok on the outdoor kitchen counter without the grill. The primary use cases are sauces (barbecue, glaze, chimichurri, compound butter) that need to be prepared simultaneously with grilling; side dishes (corn, potatoes, vegetables) that don’t make sense on the grill; boiling (pasta, crabs, shrimp) for outdoor meal prep; and high-heat wok cooking for those who use the outdoor kitchen for Asian-influenced cooking. If your outdoor cooking involves any of these activities with regularity, a side burner adds genuine functionality. If you primarily grill proteins and serve them directly, the side burner may see little use.
Positioning Within the Kitchen Layout
Side burners are typically positioned to the right or left of the primary grill. If you are right-handed and use a spatula in your right hand, a side burner to your left allows you to stir a sauce with your left hand while monitoring the grill with your right — a functional arrangement for simultaneous cooking management. If the kitchen includes a sink, positioning the side burner near the sink reduces the distance between boiling operations and the water source. We discuss cooking habits and workflow preferences during the design consultation and position the side burner based on how the homeowner actually works in a kitchen.
Double Burner vs Single Burner
Side burner units are available in single-burner and double-burner configurations. A single built-in burner occupies a 12 to 15-inch-wide cavity in the kitchen base and provides one cooking position. A double burner occupies an 18 to 24-inch cavity and provides two simultaneous cooking positions — useful for the cook who prepares multiple sauces or side dishes simultaneously during larger outdoor cooking sessions. Double burner units add cost and counter space requirement. For most Tulsa homeowners who add a side burner, the single-burner configuration provides adequate functionality for the cooking scenarios they actually encounter.
High-Output Burners
Standard built-in side burners operate at 12,000 to 15,000 BTU — adequate for most sauce, side dish, and boiling applications. High-output burner options reaching 30,000 BTU or more are available for homeowners who do serious high-heat wok cooking or who boil large volumes of water (for a large batch of seafood boil, for example). High-output burners require more robust gas line capacity and proper ventilation consideration for use under a covered patio structure — the elevated BTU output produces more combustion products than a standard burner. We factor high-output burner BTU requirements into the gas line sizing calculation when homeowners request them.
Call VistaScapes & Design at (918) 779-1317 for a free outdoor kitchen consultation in Tulsa. We’ll discuss your outdoor cooking habits, help you determine whether a side burner fits your kitchen use, and deliver a written proposal with complete appliance specifications.
