The fire
Everything on the plate has met the oak.
There is no gas line in our kitchen. There is a hearth, a stack of split white oak, and a cook who has been tending the coals since early afternoon.
Oak burns slow, hot and clean. It gives a hard sear and a quiet smoke that seasons the meat without shouting over it. We salt each cut, lay it close to the embers, turn it by hand and let it rest for as long as it cooked. That is the whole method. It asks for patience and it pays it back.
See what is on the fire tonight
- 01
The wood
Split white oak, seasoned under cover until it rings when two pieces knock together.
- 02
The coals
Lit hours before the doors open and raked into beds of fierce, even, glowing heat.
- 03
The rest
Every cut waits on the warm stone above the hearth before it is carved and carried out.
