King of the Wilderness

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Wilderness Feast

Lin Yu’an selected a deer heart, deer liver, a whole deer head, and a sizable deer stomach from the pile of ”spoils of war.”

”These are the parts of the deer that spoil easily but are the most essence-filled.”

”Tonight, I will use them to make a sumptuous dinner!”

He first dealt with the sizable deer stomach, turning it inside out and using stream water to rinse away the residual grass and mucus inside.

Then, he sprinkled a layer of dry Ashes of Grass and Wood on the surface of the deer stomach, vigorously rubbing with both hands.

”Ashes of Grass and Wood is a natural cleaner. It is somewhat alkaline and can effectively remove dirt and part of the odor from the surface of the deer stomach.”

After rubbing for about ten minutes, until the slippery feel of the deer stomach surface was noticeably reduced, he thoroughly rinsed off the grime with water.

Then, he placed the deer stomach into a previously fired clay pot, letting it soak in water filled with Ashes of Grass and Wood.

”Soaking it for a long time like this can further remove the deep-seated gamey smell from the deer stomach. I’ll process it more carefully tomorrow; today’s focus is on the other parts.”

Next, he turned his attention to the whole deer head and placed it securely on a clean stone slab.

”Now, we need to extract the very delicious muscle from the deer—the deer tongue.”

He gently pried open the edge of the deer’s mouth with his finger, using the tip of a sharp knife to cut along the inner edge of the lower jawbone, severing the soft tissue and muscles connecting the tongue root on both sides.

”Here, you need to follow the curve of the bone, first separating the tongue from the muscles and membranes on both sides of the jaw.”

After most of the connections on both sides were severed, he set down the knife and used one hand to forcefully pry open the deer’s upper and lower jaws to their widest extent.

The other hand inserted a suitably-sized stick as a support brace.

After putting on gloves, he reached into the deer’s mouth, tightly grasping the base of the tongue and pulling it backward.

Lin Yu’an held a knife in his right hand, probing deeper toward the back of the oral cavity, feeling for the connection between the tongue root and throat, cutting through the connection tissues bit by bit.

Finally, with the severing of the last bit of connection tissue, a complete, robust, and plump deer tongue was successfully extracted from the deer head!

Lin Yu’an also swiftly gouged out the two relatively intact eyeballs from the deer head.

”To many, this might seem a bit heavy.”

”But in the wilderness, you can’t afford to waste any part that can provide energy and nutrition. I plan to taste it as a ’pre-dinner dessert.’”

He poured water into the cleaned stainless steel pot and placed it on the stove.

When the water in the pot boiled vigorously, he gently placed the two cleaned deer eyeballs in.

”We don’t need to cook it for too long, a few minutes will suffice, just blanch them.”

While the deer eyes were cooking, he selected a few stalks of the wild drooping flower onions he had gathered, chopping the bulbs and slightly yellowing leaf stalks.

Five minutes later, Lin Yu’an used a wooden spoon to scoop out the cooked deer eyeballs, placing them in a small birch bark clay bowl, sprinkled with drooping flower onion shreds and a pinch of fine salt.

”Wilderness appetizer, boiled deer eyes with wild drooping flower onions, complete!”

He picked up one with chopsticks and put it in his mouth: ”Hmm! The outer layer is a bit chewy, the gelatin is very smooth and tender, almost melting upon entering the mouth.”

”The inner core is a bit hard, the taste is still somewhat gamey, but combined with the drooping flower onion barely... uh... still... acceptable....”

He tasted this unique dessert, barely chewing before forcing it down, then ate a wild drooping flower onion raw...

After enjoying the unique ”pre-dinner dessert,” his taste buds were a hundred percent ready for the upcoming grand feast!

Lin Yu’an began processing the deer tongue, reheating the boiling water from the deer eyes, and carefully placing the entire deer tongue inside.

”The meat of the deer tongue is very tender with few fibers; if cooked properly, the texture is excellent.”

”So, we need to boil the whole deer tongue first, as the thick outer skin of the tongue coating must be removed completely.”

He gently stirred the deer tongue in the pot with wooden chopsticks to prevent it from sticking to the bottom while explaining.

”It doesn’t need to be fully cooked; the goal is to heat the thick white tongue coating so that it expands and separates from the underlying tongue meat, making it easier to peel off.”

The boiling water soon rolled again, the steam carrying a faint meat smell spreading in the stone house.

About fifteen minutes later, seeing it was almost done, he clamped the scalding deer tongue out of the boiling water and placed it on a clean, flat stone slab.

”Now, while it’s hot, is the best time to peel the tongue coating.”

Lin Yu’an, unafraid of being burned, started gently peeling off the outer skin from the root of the deer tongue.

The thick tongue coating, which was somewhat grey after boiling, began separating from the tender tongue meat beneath like tearing a thick sheet of paper.

”Patience is essential when peeling the tongue coating; follow the grain of the tongue, and be gentle.”

”If you encounter areas that are hard to peel, you can slowly tear it open from a crack using your hands.”

Before long, the entire rough tongue coating on the deer tongue surface was peeled cleanly and completely.

He held the cleaned deer tongue up to the camera and said: ”Look, the cleaned deer tongue is pink and looks very appetizing, doesn’t it?”

Lin Yu’an placed the processed deer tongue horizontally on the stone slab and sliced it into evenly-sized round slices.

”The deer tongue slices should not be too thin, or they’ll easily overcook, about a centimeter thick is just right.”

After cutting all the slices of deer tongue, he found a smooth, flat stone slab that he had specifically selected by the riverside, about two to three centimeters thick.

He meticulously cleaned the stone slab and then placed it outside the shelter, on the newly set up fire rack, to heat the slab.

”I’m planning to try a new cooking method, stone-grilled!”

While waiting for the stone slab to heat up, he planned to make another dish first.

He halved the deer heart, removed the membranes and blood clots inside, and then cut it into thick, even pieces.

Meanwhile, he also sliced the very tender and fresh deer liver into thin slices.

”Deer liver must be sliced thinly to maintain its tender texture.”

Once the stainless steel pot on the stove was hot, he cut the deer fat into small pieces and tossed them into the pot.

”Sizzle—”

The fat pieces, upon touching the scorching pot bottom, immediately emitted a pleasant sizzling sound.

The white solid fat began to melt quickly into clear, bright oil, and a rich aroma of meat fat spread out.

He occasionally stirred the oil residue in the pot with chopsticks, ensuring it was heated evenly to extract as much oil as possible.

When the oil residue turned crispy and golden brown, he scooped it out as a tasty snack.

What remained in the pot was pure deer oil, golden and fragrant.

He dumped all the deer heart pieces into the pot.

”Sizzle—”

The heart pieces, upon contacting the scalding deer oil, instantly crackled, the edges curling up rapidly, the color changing from deep red to light brown.

Adding a pinch of fine salt, he sprinkled it evenly into the pot while stirring.

In merely a minute or two, a rich roasted aroma was released, some water and wild onions were added, and he covered the pot to let the deer heart soup simmer on the stove.

While the deer heart soup simmered, the stone slab had been heated until it was scorching hot, a drop of water dropped on it would instantly evaporate with a ”sizzle”.

Lin Yu’an first used a small piece of deer fat to quickly rub the surface of the hot stone slab, the fat melting immediately and releasing an enticing aroma!

Then he spread the sliced deer tongue and liver on the sizzling stone slab.

”Sizzle!!”

The slices of deer tongue, upon contact with the scorching stone slab, immediately emitted an ear-pleasing sizzle!

A rich aroma of meat blended with the unique slightly charred scent of the stone slab burst forth instantly!

The edges of the deer tongue slices quickly changed color under the high heat, from a pinkish hue to a caramel-like light brown.

Fine juices seeped out from the fibers, sizzling and crackling on the stone slab, turning into tantalizing wafts of aroma!

Lin Yu’an deftly turned the slices of deer tongue on the stone slab with chopsticks, ensuring the other side produced the same enticing sizzle and quickly turning golden brown.

When the deer tongue slices were almost done, he pinched a small pinch of fine salt, sprinkling it evenly over the deer tongue slices.

When both sides of the deer tongue slices turned an inviting golden hue while retaining their juicy tenderness inside.

Lin Yu’an decisively picked them up with chopsticks off the stone slab and placed them into a clay bowl.

Then he couldn’t wait to pick up a slice of slightly charred deer tongue.

The moment it touched his mouth, the slightly crispy surface contrasted perfectly with the tender inside, the high-temperature stone slab perfectly sealing in the juices, and the pure sweetness of the deer tongue!

”This stone-grilled deer tongue is absolutely amazing!”

He couldn’t help but exclaim, quickly sending a few slices of deer tongue into his mouth, savoring the wonderful taste bouncing between his teeth.

He also sent the liver slices, grilled to an enticing caramel tone on both sides, into his mouth, where they almost melted on his tongue with no need for chewing!

The exquisite tenderness and richness were just like the finest foie gras.

”This deer liver is definitely the tenderest I’ve ever had! It feels even more delicate than foie gras!”

”If you ever get the chance, you must try this way of eating!”

Lin Yu’an indulged himself with the stone-grilled liver and deer tongue, and in about 20 minutes, finished all the deer tongue and liver.

By then he was completely full, and the deer heart soup on the stove kept bubbling.

The rich aroma of the meat soup and the fresh fragrance of wild onions gradually permeated the stone house, not as direct and strong as the stone-grilled meat’s aroma but carrying a kind of warm and delicate scent.

Lin Yu’an’s gaze was drawn to it involuntarily.

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(Fellow shareholders, we’re going strong! We’ve already reached 229 on the monthly ticket ranking, first and fourth on the new book ranking. Looks like our project is about to top both lists!)

(The editor said we’ll consume the Sanjiang list’s traffic for a week, let’s launch on July 1!)