I’ve told you about The Owl’s Nest and I’ve told you about my husband’s ridiculous improv cooking skills. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that when you put them together, amazing things happen.
The only way to cook at the Owl is to put food over fire. I guess you could boil things too, but really, who wants boiled food when you’re in the woods? It’s food over fire or chips as far as we’re concerned. And chips get old fast. Luckily, Joe does very well with very little.
The project: pork loin and chicken wrapped in bacon, cooked over a fire, rotated on a spit. Aside from the groceries and string, our only other resources came from the woods. So the spit was made from whittled branches staked into the ground. Phil, Jason, and Lauren hunted for branches while Joe, Christian, Yelena, and Alexis chopped, mixed, and seasoned. Joe made a dry rub from miscellaneous spices in the Owl’s kitchen. We collectively strategized to position the chicken, pork, and bacon on the spit so it would cook evenly, then tied it down securely. Then we brought it over to the fire and waited. And waited some more.
Meanwhile, corn and garlic bread made their way onto the fire. S’mores were prepped and set aside for later (although we never made them, thanks to rain). The whole operation began around 7pm. The meat was done at 11pm. The time in between was lost somewhere in the Owl, in the woods, or most of all, just sitting in front of the fire, rotating the spit, not worrying or caring about anything happening in the outside world. It’s just something that the Owl does to you.
Joe’s Kitchen Sink Dry Rub
The only reason these ingredients were used is because they’re what Joe found in the Owl’s kitchen. These are all pretty essential base ingredients for any dry rub, though. You can add things as you have them, but do aim for salt, pepper, sugar, and paprika as your staple ingredients. Just measure everything to taste until you like it. Then rinse the meat, pat dry with a paper towel, and cover in rub before cooking.
Salt
Black pepper
Sugar (white or brown, whatever you have)
Paprika
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Dried thyme
Ugh, I’d kill to get away to a place like that this summer. And for a husband who can cook! Lucky gal.
What an amazing place!! And your husband is so creative. Sounds like a keeper to me!
Marie. How could I not like your kind words. You have found the true meaning of the Owl. When we built it 43 years ago we wanted a place to go where our stresses would evaporate. From the Owl we hunted ,fished, snomobiled, dirt biked, and used any other excuse to go to the Owl. The next time you arte at the Owl read our Memory book. Especially the first part. The trilogy. It will answer a lot of question you might have about the place, like how it’s name came to be. Be sure to press Joe to take you to the Owl in the deep cold.
winter. The Owl provides a totally different feeltng in the winter.
thank you again for your kind words
That looks unbelievably tasty!