American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 53 The Sturdy Bacon Barn
Lin Yu'an came over and looked at the broth and the bubbling deer heart pieces in the pot. His throat bobbed involuntarily.

My stomach, which I just felt was full, seems to have miraculously made room for a little bit more.

"I swear, I'm stuffed, really... but..."

"But this deer heart soup smells so good! It's tempting me!"

"No way! Even if I'm stuffed, I can't miss this delicious food!"

He found himself a perfect excuse and scooped up a spoonful of clear, slightly yellowish deer heart soup with a wooden spoon.

A few wild scallion leaves floated in the soup. I took a small sip and found it a bit bland, so I added a little salt.

"Um--!"

An indescribable deliciousness instantly exploded in my mouth!
The addition of wild scallions greatly reduces the gamey smell, giving it a pure and rich meaty aroma.

"This soup...this soup is amazing!"

He scooped up another piece of stewed, tender deer heart and put it in his mouth.

The deer heart chunks require almost no chewing; they have a bouncy and tender texture, with every fiber absorbing the savory flavor of the broth and the fresh aroma of wild onions.

"I must say, this pot of deer heart soup was absolutely the highlight of my 'presidential banquet'!"

"The freshness of the ingredients, combined with just the right amount of simple seasoning, makes this pot of ultimate wilderness flavors."

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Yu'an put down the ceramic bowl in his hand, his face beaming with an irrepressible sense of satisfaction.

Day 47.

The morning wind picked up again on the shores of Lake Chirko, and the chill in the air grew stronger.

Inside the stone shelter, Lin Yu-an slept soundly thanks to the lingering warmth of the fireplace from the previous night and her thick sleeping bag.

For him, food is no longer an immediate problem.

This gives him a more relaxed mindset to plan and implement some "big projects".

"Good morning."

"I slept so well last night! Today is another busy day. I need to build a special 'sauna' for those 40-plus kilograms of venison."

He walked to the stove, where there were still some warm embers inside.

With a skillful addition of some dry pine cones and chopped firewood, the fire quickly reignited joyfully.

For breakfast, he pan-fried several pieces of tender venison tenderloin in a stainless steel pan, sprinkling them with a little salt and chopped wild onions.

The golden-brown, caramelized venison tenderloin sizzled softly in the pan, its aroma blending with the spiciness of the onions.

Paired with a steaming cup of pine needle tea, it's the ultimate taste experience in the wilderness.

After enjoying this energizing breakfast, Lin Yu-an began to work on building the smokehouse.

Although the temperature at Lake Chirko is now close to zero, the rate at which meat spoils has slowed considerably.

However, in order to preserve this precious venison for a long time, smoking is essential.

"To build the smokehouse, I chose a clearing in the woods about 100 meters downwind of the shelter."

"This location allows me to have a clear view of the entire shelter, and even if a bear comes looking for it, it will give me some time to catch its breath."

Lin Yu-an used the last piece of waterproof tarpaulin to make a canoe, so this time he plans to build a sturdy smokehouse.

A large amount of logs were needed as wall material for the smoking chamber. He wandered through the nearby forest, his eyes sweeping over the tall spruce and pine trees.

"We don't need very thick logs, otherwise the transportation and subsequent processing and assembly will be very difficult."

"My ideal target is a tree with a diameter of about 15 to 20 centimeters, a straight trunk, and few branches."

He selected a spruce tree that met his requirements, and then took out the sharp hand saw he had made from a chainsaw chain.

Pressing the saw teeth firmly against one side of the tree trunk, and alternating arm movements, the hand saw begins to move back and forth across the trunk. "Swish...swish..."

The hard saw teeth rub intensely against the spruce fibers, producing a penetrating sound.

With each pull, a fine clump of wood shavings, carrying a fresh pine scent, was brought out, accumulating in a thin layer at his feet.

He controls the angle of the saw cut, making it form a slightly downward-sloping "V" shape, which will determine the direction in which the tree falls.

When the guide hole reached about two-thirds of the trunk's diameter, Lin Yu'an stopped sawing.

He picked up his logging axe, walked to the other side of the trunk, and began chopping at a position about five to ten centimeters above the bottom of the guide opening.

"The main cut should be slightly higher than the bottom of the fall cut, so that the tree will naturally lean towards the fall cut due to gravity."

He gripped the axe handle tightly with both hands, swung his arms in a full arc, the axe blade flashing coldly in the air, and then with a "thud!" it cleaved into the tree trunk with precision and power! Wood chips flew everywhere!
He chopped rhythmically, one axe blow after another, each blow landing in almost the same spot.

As the logging axe continued to penetrate deeper, a crisp and loud "crack!" was heard!
The spruce tree suddenly swayed, then with a whistling sound, it fell precisely in the direction he had indicated.

Finally, it crashed to the ground with a loud "boom," kicking up a cloud of dust and fallen leaves, producing a muffled thud.

Using the same method, the saw and logging axe were used in a clever combination to fell enough logs one after another.

After each tree fell, he would first use a logging axe to quickly remove all the branches of varying thicknesses from the trunk.

Then, using a wooden stick as a "measuring stick," and by hand sawing, the log is cut into uniform lengths according to the measuring stick.

"Next, we will build the main structure of the smoking chamber."

“I plan to use a simple and stable ‘log’ structure, where the logs are stacked in an interlocking pattern.”

"Stability is ensured by utilizing the weight of the logs themselves and the interlocking between them."

He first carefully laid out the foundation of the smoking chamber using four logs on the cleared flat ground.

Form a square with sides of about 1.2 meters, and ensure that the included angles are as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Then, he began to make the crucial "saddle points" at both ends of each log.

Lin Yu'an first used the tip of the multi-functional knife to gently carve two parallel shallow marks as precise marks for the width of the saddle opening.

"When making the saddle opening, our goal is to make the curvature of this groove fit perfectly with the rounded side of the next layer of log, just like a saddle."

Then, he used the axe to chop away bit by bit.

Dry sawdust flew everywhere, and a semi-circular groove gradually took shape in his hand.

Once one saddle opening is basically formed, the other saddle opening is made in the same way, keeping both saddle openings on the same horizontal line.

After he finished processing the saddle joints of the four logs in the first layer, he began to stack the second layer.

The two logs on the second layer are placed perpendicular to the two logs on the first layer.

The saddle-shaped notches at both ends fit snugly onto the raised arc in the middle of the first layer of logs.

One layer, two layers, three layers... He patiently stacked the processed logs at the saddle point in an alternating pattern.

When the structure was about halfway up the wall, he left a "doorway" in one of the walls.

He inserted two short wooden stakes vertically into each side of the doorway as temporary supports.

Then, above the doorway, a thick log was placed horizontally as a "lintel" to support the log of the wall above.

When the four wooden walls of the smoking chamber are stacked to the desired height of about 1.2 meters, a sturdy "wooden box" is formed.

After the wall was completed, Lin Yu'an began to work on the gaps, collecting a large amount of dried moss and some flexible twigs from the forest.

Carefully stuff them into the gaps between the log walls, into those unavoidable tiny crevices.

"These moss and twigs act as a good seal, preventing the smoke from dissipating too quickly."

(End of this chapter)