Chapter 383: Chapter 226: Planning for the Future (Image-Rich)
The most precious thing was the pure white subcutaneous fat that he had stripped off in sheets, which he carefully wrapped in a large piece of birch bark, preparing to take back to the shelter to slowly refine into precious wild boar oil.
Then he dragged the complete porcupine skin with quills to the downwind area far from the camp and temporarily buried it under snow. This "Thorn Cloak," he still needed time to consider how to safely handle and utilize it.
Lin Yu’an no longer lingered outdoors and returned to the shelter against the cold wind, leaving only the campfire leaping in the wind outside.
As soon as he pushed open the door, the warm atmosphere mixed with the faint milky scent of December rushed over, instantly isolating the harsh cold and blood stench from outside the cabin.
December was still lying on the wolf skin bed, looking at him curiously.
"I’m back, little guy." There was a hint of fatigue in Lin Yu’an’s voice, but more so, a sense of satisfaction from returning with a full load.
He walked to December’s side, squatted down, and rubbed its little head with the back of his clean hand. Once December confirmed there was no danger from Lin Yu’an, it relaxed and snuggled affectionately against him.
After soothing December, Lin Yu’an’s stomach began to rumble thunderously. He couldn’t wait to taste his spoils of war.
He selected the two deep red tenderloins from the chunks of meat he brought back.
"The tenderloin of the wild boar is the most tender part of its entire body."
He explained to the camera, "For such a top-quality ingredient, you only need the simplest method to present its original flavor."
"And the two hind legs, with their tendons and membranes, are most suited for slow roasting over charcoal, allowing the heat to slowly penetrate, making the meat tendons tender while inducing the richest roasted aroma. This will be my main dish."
He pointed to the remaining forelegs, ribs, and vertebrae, "Finally, these, these parts have more bones than meat and are excellent materials for making stock. I’ll use them all to simmer a pot of essence bone broth."
Lin Yu’an’s cooking method was indeed extremely simple. He first heated the iron pan until it was scorching hot, then cut a small piece of the just-peeled porcupine fat and tossed it into the pan.
"Sizzle——!"
The fat quickly melted in the searing hot iron pan, and the clear oil instantly covered the bottom of the pan. A rich meaty aroma, incomparable to any vegetable oil, rose abruptly, filling the entire shelter.
He directly put the two whole tenderloins into the aromatic hot oil, and the moment the meat met the hot oil, it burst into a pleasant sizzling sound.
The surface of the tenderloin shrank rapidly under high heat, quickly changing from its original deep red to an enticing charred brown.
He didn’t turn it too much, only patiently waiting until one side was perfectly seared with a charred crust before turning it over with chopsticks.
While searing the other side, he pinched a few coarse salt grains from his little salt bag, sprinkling them evenly on the charred side.
He shared his cooking techniques, "Salt should only be added after a charred crust forms on the meat surface."
"Adding salt too early will cause the moisture in the meat to be released too soon, resulting in tough, dry meat. Adding it before serving won’t infuse flavor. Only at this timing can the salt dissolve into the surface layer without ruining the internal juices."
He removed the seared tenderloin from the pan, placing it on a clean piece of birch bark.
Next, he began handling a piece of hind leg meat with the leg bone, skewered it securely with a sharpened birch stick, and directly hung it by the charcoal pile in the fireplace, using radiant heat for slow roasting.
Finally, the soup; he didn’t waste the mixed hot wild boar oil left in the pan, added the ribs with little meat, along with the front legs and vertebrae with scattered meat, all chopped into small pieces with an axe, and tossed them into the oil pan for sautéing.
"Bones, first sautéed in oil, then stewed in water, produce a rich milky white broth, with a more mellow taste."
When the bone surfaces also turned golden brown, he added a large amount of water to the pan, setting the iron pot back over the flame to start a long simmer.
At this point, the "seared tenderloin appetizer," "slow-roasted main course leg meat," and "essence bone broth" forming a feast of fat, had all taken their places, beginning to brew their final flavor under the catalysis of flame and time.
He first picked up the already perfectly awakened, aromatic seared tenderloin. Using a hunting knife, he sliced it into thick pieces where you could clearly see, beneath the charred brown crust, was a tender, juicy, and finely textured pink core.
He picked up the largest slice, not immediately putting it into his mouth, but first bringing it to his nose for a close sniff.
"This is the unique aroma of wild boar meat."
"Many people think all wild game smells the same, but it’s not. This scent, besides the meaty aroma, also carries a very strong, pine-like and birch bark-like herbal smell."
"This is because it feeds on plant roots and bark for a long time. The aromatic hydrocarbons in these plants have deeply infused into its fat and muscle fibers. This scent is the wild boar meat’s identity card and is also why many can’t accept it."
He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for some kind of gustatory psychological preparation, before finally putting that piece of meat into his mouth.
The moment his teeth broke through the charred crust, a surge of scalding, rich gravy, mixed with the unique wild aroma of wild boar oil, exploded in his mouth!
