King of the Wilderness

He glanced at the locked rope, ”And the invisible wall underwater is completely different. It is all-weather, a physical interception system covering critical paths of the riverway.”

”It doesn’t rely on fish’s appetite, only on their presence and the most basic movement. As long as they adjust their posture, they might hit this net!”

A day’s hard work might bring the promise of a bountiful harvest the next day.

And today’s ice-fishing ”blank,” rather than discouraging him, fills him with even more anticipation for tomorrow’s stinging net harvest.

He extinguished the charcoal fire in the metal bucket, left the tripod, fixed the fishing rod and all tools together on the sled, and set off back to the shelter.

When he dragged his tired body back to the shelter, night had completely fallen.

Today, he completed a great project worthy of being recorded in the history of the Alone in the Wilderness challenge!

So, he deserves a top-notch dinner to reward his hard work and celebrate the grand inauguration of a new ”hunting era” with an epic feast!

His gaze passed through the shelter door, landing on the snow well refrigerator where a trophy symbolizing ultimate deliciousness lay, a huge Boston Lobster.

”Alright folks, it’s dinner time! Today, we’re going to celebrate really well,” he said to the camera, with a long-awaited smile on his face.

He took out the lobster, weighing more than two pounds. At this moment, it was still frozen like a stone covered with a dark green armor, full of strength.

Then, he placed the giant lobster next to the fireplace, letting it thaw slowly in the warm environment.

”For such top-grade ingredients, the simplest cooking is often the greatest respect.”

Lin Yu’an explained as he prepared the tools, ”But that doesn’t mean monotony. Today, I plan to make a lobster three ways!”

About an hour later, the lobster’s joints were movable, basically thawed.

His first step was not to throw the whole lobster into the water, but to first twist off the warhammer-like claws and the thick, powerful tail from the cephalothorax.

Now, only a huge, heavy lobster cephalothorax containing essence remained in his hand.

”The soul of lobster flavor, half in the meat, the other half hides in here.”

He carefully pried open the cephalothorax’s hard shell with the hunting knife, revealing the yellow-green, paste-like brain and roe inside.

He heated the stainless steel pot on low, without any oil, using a wooden spoon to scrape all the precious brain and roe into the pot.

”Sizzle—”

Rich in fat, the lobster brain immediately started to melt upon touching the hot pot, emitting a pleasant sound.

With patient simmering on low, soon, a complex fragrance difficult to describe began to permeate the entire shelter!

With continuous stirring, the moisture within the lobster brain slowly evaporated, leaving behind a pot of golden-red, enticingly glossy lobster oil.

Then, separating the complete tail meat from the shell, he cut it into thick pieces. Then, he placed piece by piece into the pot of their own refined lobster oil, pan-frying them gently on low.

The lobster meat crackled in its oil, edges quickly turning opaque from translucent pure white.

The aroma of the lobster oil and the sweetness of the lobster meat merged perfectly under the high heat!

A few minutes later, after pan-frying both sides of the lobster meat slices to a perfect golden color, he plated them. This was the first dish—original lobster oil pan-fried lobster tail.

Next, he dealt with the giant claws. Using the ax’s back, he cracked the shell and extracted two complete pieces of claw meat.

Instead of putting them into the pot, he found two leftover large scallop shells as natural ”bakeware,” placing the claw meat separately into the two shells.

Then, he drizzled the remaining lobster oil evenly over the cold raw claw meat.

”Sizzle—!”

The hot lobster oil hit the ice-cold claw meat, instantly erupting a cloud of steam!

Then, he carefully placed the two ”natural bakeware” filled with top-grade ingredients onto the scorching stone slabs in the fireplace, using the radiant heat for final roasting.

A few minutes later, as the lobster oil in the scallop shell began to gently bubble and the aroma of the claw meat was fully activated, he knew the second dish, lobster oil baked lobster claws, was ready.

He placed the two dishes side by side on a clean wooden board, first tasting the steaming baked claw meat.

Starting with the blisteringly rich lobster oil enveloping the exterior, brimming with the ultimate savory fragrance.

Then, as his teeth broke through the firm surface ”baked” by the hot lobster oil, the slightly underdone, yet remarkably elastic and sweet interior flesh burst in his mouth!

This was a top-tier flavor sensation with extreme richness outside and tender freshness inside!

Picking up a pan-fried lobster tail piece, different from the claw meat, the tail meat was more tender. After pan-frying both sides, each muscle fiber was saturated with the rich lobster oil, elevating the natural sweetness of the lobster meat to a whole new realm!

This wasn’t just a meal, it was the highest reward for his continuous days of intense exploration, planning, and construction!

After finishing this luxurious lobster feast, he exhaled with satisfaction, gazing at the pile of fresh red lobster shells with no intention of discarding them.

”In survival in the wild, no potential nutrient can be wasted.”

”Although the essence of the brain and meat has been consumed, these lobster shells are still a treasure.”

Lin Yu’an pointed to the junctions between the lobster shells and the internal walls, where white muscles and remnants of meat difficult to separate by hand attached.

”These tissues contain collagen and flavorful amino acids, astaxanthin. Through prolonged low-temperature simmering, they can completely dissolve into the water, resulting in a pot of natural broth full of umami and base protein, providing more salt and energy compared to drinking pure hot water.”

Throwing all leftover lobster shells back into the still warm stainless steel pot, he added ample water and stabilized the pot on the fireplace’s heat-absorbing stone slab.

Without needing the broth to boil violently, during this long cold night, the fireplace’s residual heat could function like tireless low-temperature simmering, extracting every valuable substance from the remaining lobster shells bit by bit.

Finishing this final closure exercise of utilizing everything, he truly relaxed.

As night deepened, Lin Yu’an sat beside the cozy fireplace, listening to the faint wind sounds starting anew outside...and anticipating tomorrow’s stinging net harvest.

————

(May the brothers enjoy lobster daily!)

(Remember to vote for the monthly ticket!)