American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 52 Wilderness Feast
Lin Yu'an selected the deer heart, deer liver, complete deer head, and a substantial deer stomach from the pile of "spoils of war".

"These are the parts of the deer that are very easy to spoil, but are also the most valuable."

"Tonight, I'll use them to make a sumptuous dinner!"

He first dealt with the rather heavy deer belly, turning it inside out and roughly rinsing away the remaining grass and mucus inside with stream water.

Then, sprinkle a layer of dry wood ash on the surface of the deer's belly and rub it vigorously with both hands repeatedly.

"Wood ash is a natural cleaning agent. It has a certain alkalinity and can effectively remove dirt and some odors from the surface of a deer's belly."

After rubbing for about ten minutes until the slippery feeling on the surface of the deer's belly was significantly reduced, he rinsed the dirt off thoroughly with water.

Then, he placed the deer's belly in a previously fired earthenware jar and let it soak in water filled with wood ash.

"Soaking it for such a long time can further remove the deep-seated fishy smell from the deer's stomach. I will process it more carefully tomorrow. Today's main focus is on the other ingredients."

Then he turned his attention to the complete deer head and placed it steadily on a clean stone slab.

"Now, we're going to take a very delicious muscle from the deer—the deer tongue."

He gently parted the edge of the deer's mouth with his fingers, and with the sharp tip of his knife, he deeply cut along the inner edge of the deer's lower jawbone, deeply slicing open the soft tissue and muscles connecting the two sides of the tongue root.

"Here, we need to follow the curve of the bone and first separate the tongue from the muscles and fascia on both sides of the jaw."

Once the connection on both sides was mostly severed, he put down the knife and used one hand to forcefully pry open the deer's upper and lower jaws, opening its mouth to its maximum extent.

With his other hand, he inserted a suitably sized wooden stick as a support.

After putting on gloves, reach into the deer's mouth, grab the base of the tongue tightly, and pull it backward.

Lin Yu'an held the knife in his right hand, the tip of the blade probing deeper into the back of his mouth, groping for the connection between the root of his tongue and his throat, severing the connecting tissue bit by bit.

Finally, with the breaking of the last connecting tissue, he successfully removed a complete, thick, and fleshy deer tongue from the deer's head!

Lin Yu'an then carefully gouged out the two still relatively intact eyeballs from the deer's head.

"This might seem a bit extreme to many people."

"But in the wilderness, nothing that can provide energy and nutrition should be wasted. I'm going to have a 'pre-dinner dessert' to try something new."

He poured water into the stainless steel pot that he had already cleaned and placed it on the stove.

Once the water in the pot is boiling vigorously, gently place the two cleaned deer eyeballs into the pot.

"We don't need to cook it for too long, just a few minutes is enough, just blanch it briefly."

While the deer eyes were cooking, he picked out a few wild scallions from the collection and chopped up the bulbs and some withered leaves.

Five minutes later, Lin Yu'an used a wooden spoon to scoop out the two cooked deer eyeballs and put them into a small earthenware bowl made of birch bark, sprinkling them with chopped scallions and a pinch of salt.

"A wild and refreshing appetizer, boiled deer eyes with wild scallions, is complete!"

He picked one up with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth: "Mmm! The outer layer is a bit chewy, but the gelatinous texture is very smooth and tender, almost melting in your mouth."

"The inner crystals are a bit hard, and the taste is still somewhat fishy, ​​but with the scallions, it's barely... tolerable."

He savored the unique dessert, swallowing it down after only a few chews, and then ate a wild scallion raw.
After enjoying the unique "pre-dinner dessert," his taste buds were even more eager for the main course to come!

Lin Yu'an began to process the deer tongue, reheating the water used to boil the deer eyes and carefully placing the whole deer tongue into it.

"Deer tongue has a very tender texture and few fibers, and if cooked properly, it tastes excellent."

"So you have to boil the whole deer tongue first, and the thick outer layer of coating on its surface must be completely removed."

He explained as he gently stirred the deer tongue in the pot with wooden chopsticks to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

"It doesn't need to be cooked until fully cooked. The purpose is to allow the thick white coating on the surface of the tongue to expand when heated, separating it from the underlying tongue flesh, making it easier to peel off."

The boiling water quickly started bubbling again, and the steam, carrying a faint smell of meat, filled the stone house.

About fifteen minutes later, seeing that it was almost cooked, he took the piping hot deer tongue out of the boiling water and placed it on a clean, flat stone slab.

"Now is the best time to peel the tongue coating while it's still hot."

Lin Yu'an wasn't afraid of getting burned. Starting from the base of the deer tongue, he gently peeled off the outer layer of skin.

The thick, grayish coating on the tongue, after being boiled, began to separate from the tender pink flesh beneath, as if tearing open a sheet of thick paper.

"You must be patient when peeling the coating off your tongue. Follow the lines of your tongue and be gentle."

"If you encounter a section that is difficult to peel, you can slowly tear it open from one tear to both sides by hand."

Soon, he completely and cleanly peeled off the rough coating on the surface of the deer's tongue.

He held up the deer tongue with the coating removed to the camera and said, "Look, the cleaned deer tongue is pink and tender. Doesn't it look very appetizing?"

Lin Yu'an placed the prepared deer tongue horizontally on the stone slab and cut it into evenly sized round slices.

"The deer tongue slices should not be cut too thin, otherwise they will easily become overcooked. A thickness of about one centimeter is just right." After all the deer tongue slices were cut, he found a smooth, flat stone slab that he had specially selected by the river, about two or three centimeters thick.

He carefully cleaned the stone slab and then placed it outside the shelter on the newly erected campfire to heat it.

"I'm planning to try a new cooking method: pan-frying on a stone slab!"

While waiting for the stone slab to heat up, I planned to cook another dish.

He cut the deer heart in half, removed the internal fascia and any remaining blood clots, and then cut it into moderately thick pieces.

At the same time, the very tender and fresh deer liver was sliced ​​into thin slices.

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

Once the stainless steel pot on the stove is heated, cut the deer fat into small pieces and put them into the pot.

"Zzzzzzz—"

The fat chunks made a pleasant sizzling sound as they touched the hot bottom of the pan.

The white, solid fat began to melt rapidly, turning into clear, translucent oil, and a rich aroma of meat and fat filled the air.

He used chopsticks to stir the oil residue in the pot from time to time, so that it was heated evenly and as much oil as possible was extracted.

When the fried pork cracklings turn golden brown and crispy, he scoops them out and eats them as a delicious snack.

What remains in the pot is pure deer oil, golden and clear, with a wonderful aroma.

He poured all the deer heart pieces into the pot at once.

"Thorn-"

When the heart-shaped piece comes into contact with the scalding hot deer fat, it instantly makes a popping sound, the edges quickly curl up, and the color changes from dark red to light brown.

Add a tiny pinch of fine salt, and while stir-frying, sprinkle it evenly into the pan.

Within a minute or two, a rich, caramelized aroma filled the air. I added the right amount of water and wild onions, covered the pot, and simmered the deer heart soup on the stove.

While the deer heart soup was cooking, the stone slab was already scalding hot; a drop of water would quickly evaporate with a "sizzle".

Lin Yu'an first used a small piece of deer fat to quickly wipe the hot stone slab surface. The fat melted immediately under the high temperature, emitting an enticing aroma!
Then, slices of deer tongue and deer liver are laid flat on the hot stone slab.

“Sizzle!!”

The moment the deer tongue slices touched the scorching hot stone slab, they immediately produced a pleasant sound!

A rich aroma of meat, mixed with the slightly charred scent unique to stone slabs, wafted out instantly!

The edges of the deer tongue slices changed color rapidly under high temperature, quickly turning from pink to a light caramel brown.

Fine, delicate juices seeped out from between the fibers, sizzling on the stone slab and transforming into wisps of enticing aroma!
Lin Yu'an used chopsticks to quickly flip the deer tongue slices on the stone slab, making the other side also emit an enticing "sizzle" sound and quickly turn a golden brown color.

Just as the deer tongue slices are about to be cooked, pick up a small pinch of fine salt and sprinkle it evenly over them.

When both sides of the deer tongue slices turn an enticing golden color, while the inside remains tender and juicy.

Lin Yu'an decisively used chopsticks to pick them up from the stone slab and put them into the ceramic bowl.

Then he couldn't wait to pick up a piece of deer tongue with slightly charred edges.

The moment it enters your mouth, the slight crispness on the surface contrasts sharply with the tenderness inside. The high-temperature stone slab perfectly locks in the juices and the pure sweetness of the deer tongue itself!

"This pan-fried deer tongue on a hot stone slab is absolutely delicious!"

He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, quickly putting a few pieces of deer tongue into his mouth and enjoying the wonderful taste as it bounced between his teeth.

Then, take a slice of liver that has been seared on both sides to a tempting caramel color and put it in your mouth. It melts on your tongue with almost no chewing!

Its exquisite freshness and richness are comparable to the finest foie gras.

"This deer liver is absolutely the most tender I've ever eaten! It feels even more delicate than foie gras!"

You must try this way of eating if you have the chance!

Lin Yu-an was enjoying the fried liver and deer tongue on the stone slab. He finished off all the deer tongue and liver in about 20 minutes.

He was already stuffed, but the deer heart soup on the stove was still bubbling away.

The rich aroma of meat broth and the fresh scent of wild onions gradually permeated the stone house. Unlike the direct and intense aroma of meat cooked on a stone slab, this aroma was gentle and delicate.

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

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(The editor said they're riding the wave of popularity from the Zhoujiang Ranking for a week, so let's release it on July 1st!)
(End of this chapter)