Sea Island Forge: The Cook

So far, the Sea Island Forge experience has been unique, in the absolute best way possible.  When Steve and Sandy offered to drop off my kettle, they also offered to break it in and do a cook.  Of course, I jumped at the chance, but little did I know what a treat we were in for.

Mrs. RCS and I agreed to get the meat and stuff for s’mores, so we picked up three really thick ribeyes, about a dozen chicken thighs, some ground beef (for the boys – they wanted cheeseburgers), and a pack of marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers (oh – and all the booze).

The Schoettles brought the veggies, some sweet potatoes, onions, Romain lettuce, bread, and a WEALTH of knowledge.  We did a bunch of prep: setting up the bar, lighting the fire, and getting everything up to temperature.

I’ll get into the details in a few, but after only 30 minutes into the cooking process, I was hooked.  The kettle gives cooking an elegant, but rustic feel, almost the way it should be. It’s not a smoker, it’s not a charcoal grill, it’s cooking over an open flame.  It’s hardcore, and as I learned through the night, very controllable.  The temperature is relatively easy to control.  The cooking accessories are extremely well thought out and designed, making the kettle an outdoor kitchen.  And considering how much fun our boys had, something we’ll be doing a lot.

Back to the inaugural cook…

The cook starts with a 15-pound bag of lump charcoal.  You know how to light it: build it into a pile with paper/twigs, light it, and use a blower to move the heat.  It takes about 40-45 minutes to get all the coals good and toasty.  Just enough time to finish up the prep.  The boys were all about the fire, and “Mister Steve” was a great host, showing them the ins and outs, and what is safe to touch and what isn’t.

Once the fire was up to heat, we put the sweet potatoes right on the coals and added some oak for flavor.  There are plenty of great tools to use, but the best is the fire poker.  It’s heavy-duty and functional in getting the fire just right.

The obvious move for our first good was the grill attachment, which is a modern miracle of design.  It features heavy-duty gauge steel and gears that allow it to be raised, lowered, and turned for easy accessibility.  The heat dome fits right on top and allows the heat to be captured and contained.

The first things to hit the grill were the broccoli and foil-wrapped onions.  The prep was easy: oil, salt, and pepper.  Then we added the bread, giving it just the right char.  We kept the grill high, as to control the heat.  The smell was intoxicating.  Right after the vegetables came off, we made a couple of quick burgers for the boys.  This required us to move the grill a little closer to the flames, which was a very simple maneuver.  Once the burgers were done, we got them set up at the dining table on the back porch.  We told them that they needed to clean their plates or NO s’mores…

Once the boys were settled, it gave us a chance to get down to business.  We threw those steaks on the grill, got them close to the fire, and listened to the sizzle.  I will say: cooking meat over an open fire is a very good feeling.  There’s something basic about it.  Obviously, we monitored the internal temperature and pulled them off at just the right time.  We tented them under some foil and finished up the smaller chicken thighs.

Once we were done with the meat, veggies, and bread, we brought it all inside and got ready for s’mores.  The boys couldn’t wait any longer…

The forks were perfect!  Each fork easily holds two marshmallows (the perfect amount for a s’more), and the wooden handle makes it easy (and cool) to hold.  The boys picked it up no problem!  Next time we’ll roast hot dogs, another of the boys’ favorites.

Needless to say, there were smiles all around.  The boys enjoyed their s’mores, and then headed off to bed.  It gave us a chance to dig into the amazing spread that was ALL cooked over the kettle.  We enjoyed ribeyes, chicken thighs, roasted Romain (my favorite), broccoli, sweet potatoes, roasted red onions, and garlic bread.  It was a stretch pants kind of night…

After dinner, we cleaned up and made our way down to the fire pit. We threw on some wood, turned up the music, and enjoyed a nightcap (or two…).  I’m sure you can imagine how that went…

Next up: Breakfast over the kettle…