HUN Chapter 132: “Hunter's Reward"

After processing the organs, Old George returned to the most classic part.

With an almost reverent attitude, he carefully stripped away the two long pieces called "hunter's reward", the tenderloins, completely intact from both sides of the spine.

These two cuts of meat were deep red like rubies, with almost no fat, and were considered the most sacred part in a hunter's eyes.

He solemnly handed them to Stan, who had returned with dried willow branches.

Stan smiled at Lin Yu'an, “Kid, get ready to taste the best steaks of your life!"

As the butchering began, a wild and primitive scent filled the air.

It wasn't the heavy, gamey odor of domestic sheep, but rather a cleaner scent mixed with the rust-like smell of fresh blood and the fresh fragrance of alpine plants.

While Stan went to prepare lunch, Old George's teaching session officially began.

"Kid, remember, knife tip always up."

Old George used his own "Havalon skinning knife" while instructing Lin Yu'an, “Use the knife belly to cut, let your fingers walk ahead of the blade."

"Use your fingertips to feel that translucent fascia between skin and meat, your fingers will tell you where you can cut and where there's resistance."

Lin Yu'an drew his sharp "Benchmade" hunting knife and began his first Dall sheep dissection.

Through his first-person perspective camera, his sharp hunting knife precisely cut into the skin, then the tip lifted, following the route Old George had indicated, smoothly cutting a perfect straight line.

"Steady, don't rush." Old George watched from the side, occasionally offering guidance.

"When you get to the leg joints, don't force it. Use the knife tip to find the joint's gap, give it a gentle lift, see that white tendon?"

"Right, cut through it, then twist like this... see? It separates by itself. This saves more effort than hacking with an axe for half an hour, and the cut is clean."

Following his guidance, Lin Yu'an easily achieved a perfect joint separation. Though he knew this technique, this was his first time using it on a Dall sheep.

They didn't completely strip the hide, but instead let it lie fur-side down on the cold rock like a heavy coat, forming a natural, clean "meat pad."

"Alright, now we start 'boneless method' processing."

Old George said, switching to a smaller, more flexible boning knife.

"Leave all the bones for the mountain, that's a feast for wolverines and eagles. We only take the most essential parts."

He pointed to a thick, milky-white layer of fat on the sheep's belly, telling Lin Yu'an, “Look at its fat, see? Pure white color, even thickness."

"This shows it had a comfortable summer, plenty of food, very healthy body. Sheep like this have absolutely top-quality meat."

Just as they successfully stripped away a complete shoulder section following the bone structure, Stan skillfully built a simple fire pit with stones, and soon a bright flame rose up.

He didn't touch the two precious tenderloins first, but instead cut several slices from the warm liver, using a small piece of sheep fat to grease the lightweight iron pan.

"Sizzle, "

A pleasant sound rang out, and a unique aroma with a slight metallic smell instantly filled the air.

"Try this first, the mountain spirit's blessing." Stan distributed the lightly seared liver slices to both men.

"This stuff can most quickly replenish the iron and vitamins we've lost, it's wilderness superfood."

Old George gladly accepted, and Lin Yu'an also tried a piece. The tender texture was much more delicate than pork liver, though not as refined as foie gras.

After finishing the appetizing liver, Stan solemnly began processing the tenderloin.

He cut the meat into half-inch thick steaks, again greasing the pan with sheep fat.

"Do you smell that, kid?" Stan took a deep breath, his face full of rapture.

"This is the smell of premium Dall sheep. They spend their lives eating the purest lichens and alpine herbs, so there's absolutely none of that cloying gamey smell."

"Especially this mature ram king, it's not rutting season now, so its meat is the highest quality this mountain range can offer us."

Stan carefully placed the first steak into the hot oil.

"Hiss, !"

The steak's surface instantly contracted. He quickly seared both sides to golden brown, the entire process taking less than two minutes. After achieving the perfect seared-outside, tender-inside state, he immediately lifted it out and sprinkled coarse sea salt on top.

"George! Lin! Stop working, come try this first!" Stan shouted.

The two men stopped their work and walked over. Old George cut off a small piece with his knife, put it in his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed carefully, his face full of satisfaction and savoring.

"This is the taste... after all these years, still this taste." He murmured.

Lin Yu'an also tried a piece. This was his first time eating Dall sheep meat, and he was instantly conquered by the amazing texture!

The meat was extremely lean yet unusually tender and juicy. When chewed, first came the surface's seared aroma and the sea salt's briny freshness, followed by the rich meat juices bursting from the medium-rare interior.

It also carried an indescribable sweetness and nutty flavor, completely without traditional mutton's gamey taste.

This was the second type of non-gamey sheep he'd eaten, the other being Ningxia mudflat sheep, which also had no gamey taste after cooking.

Stan smiled proudly, “How's that? I wasn't wrong, was I? This stuff packs more punch than A5 grade beef!"

The three men said no more, just sat around the campfire, pan-frying the freshest tenderloin slice by slice.

The piping hot steaks in their stomachs dispelled physical fatigue and cold, providing powerful energy for their upcoming heavy work.

Fed and rested, strength restored, they threw themselves back into the butchering work.

Old George continued his teaching, “Look here, this hind leg has the most meat, but also the most fascia. Your knife needs to follow the bone."

"Imagine you're 'undressing' the bone rather than cutting meat, that's how you get the most complete pieces."

Under Old George's guidance, Lin Yu'an's movements became increasingly skilled.

Dall sheep hindquarter, front shoulder, neck meat, rib meat... each edible portion was carefully removed, classified by cut, and neatly arranged on the clean hide.

When the butchering reached the final hindquarter, Old George reminded, “Lin, there's another small detail to note here."

"Don't completely remove the ram's scrotum from this cut, but let it remain 'naturally connected' with the tissue on the hindquarter."

"We must preserve evidence that can prove the quarry's gender and species legality."

"Now we have the Dall sheep skull and horns to prove size, plus this positive gender proof, the entire evidence chain is perfect."

"Any rookie state trooper seeing this will know we shot a Dall ram, not a protected ewe."

In less than an hour and a half, they had completely processed the entire Dall ram.

Under the DJI Action 2's wide-angle lens, the snow-white hide was piled high with a mountain of Dall sheep meat, creating a striking visual contrast with the clean skeleton beside it.

The high altitude's low temperature and dry air were the best natural refrigerator. The meat's surface had already formed a thin protective film, the perfect time for packing.

"We really hit the jackpot this time. This ram was truly fat, we stripped at least eighty pounds of good meat." Stan estimated happily.

They carefully packed the cold mutton into breathable game bags, then reasonably distributed the load among their three backpacks.

Stan and Old George each got a hindquarter, adding over twenty pounds to each of their packs.

Lin Yu'an voluntarily packed both front shoulders, neck meat, and all scattered choice back cuts into his backpack, weighing close to thirty-plus pounds.

The final and most delicate work was processing the trophy head that carried such honor.

This wasn't simply cutting off the head, but creating a perfect "head and shoulder mount" for future professional taxidermy.

Lin Yu'an magnetically fixed the Action 2 to a nearby rock to record this veteran hunter's creative process.

Old George switched to an extremely small dissection knife with a blade thin as a cicada's wing. Starting from behind the Dall sheep's shoulder blade, he carefully cut a circular incision.

Then with extreme patience, he peeled the Dall sheep's neck and shoulder hide, like removing a pullover sweater, completely forward in one piece.

His movements were gentle and focused, as if he wasn't skinning a Dall sheep but unveiling a priceless treasure.

Finally, when he separated the massive Dall sheep skull with its complete cape from the neck, a perfect trophy was born!

Old George took a long breath. He used a clean cloth to carefully wipe the blood from the horns, then used paracord to firmly secure it to the top of his backpack.

This heavy trophy alone exceeded twenty pounds.

He walked in front of the camera and, like a victorious general, proudly displayed his trophy to that small lens! Only then did Lin Yu'an press the stop recording button.

With this, all processing work was declared complete.

They cleaned the site, dragging the remaining skeleton and organs to a cliff edge far from water sources.

"Go back, return to the mountains." Old George said softly.

This was part of the ecological cycle, and a gift back to the wilderness.

The three men returned to where they'd left their heavy packs, picked up their previous equipment, and set out on the return journey.

On Old George's backpack, those massive horns reflected golden light in the sunset's afterglow.

They were not merely trophies, but a man's promise to his wife that transcended life and death.

More importantly, they were this harsh land's most generous and sacred reward to those who persevered!

However, this sacred reward's physical weight was merciless.

When they shouldered their packs again and set out on the return journey, the joy of victory was quickly replaced by harsh reality.

In Lin Yu'an's backpack, besides twenty-five kilograms of equipment, he'd added thirty-plus pounds of the choicest mutton.

This was equivalent to carrying a thin adult on his back while walking rugged mountain paths.

And Stan and George, even though Lin Yu'an had already taken the majority, their respective packs had dramatically increased in weight from their share of remaining mutton, hide, and the massive head and horns.

The load made every step exceptionally difficult for the two old men.

The descent was far more dangerous than the climb up. The heavy load made their center of gravity unstable. Every step on the scree slope required using trekking poles for firm support to prevent falls.

They walked in silence, the valley filled only with three sets of heavy breathing, the "click-clack" of trekking poles against ground, and the dull thuds of meat chunks colliding in their packs.

After nearly another hour of determined walking, with darkness approaching, they'd covered less than two kilometers.

George pulled out the map, “The nearest place where a plane can safely land is that gravel riverbank about five kilometers downstream."

"It's open terrain with relatively solid ground. We just need to persevere a bit more and get there."

"Since bush planes can enter the hunting area, why not call Hank now and have him fly directly to us?" Lin Yu'an asked with confusion.

Old George knew it was time to give this novice hunter the most important lesson.

"Lin, that's a good question, and it's something every hunter coming to Alaska must engrave in their bones as the top priority."

"Remember, in Alaska, aircraft are transportation tools, but they can never become hunting tools. There's an iron law called 'same-day airborne hunting prohibition.'"

"It means that anyone who flies in an aircraft, until 3 AM the following day, is absolutely prohibited from engaging in any large game hunting activities."

"You cannot let planes help you scout, cannot let them help you locate, and certainly cannot let them help you drive game."

Lin Yu'an followed this logic, “So now that we've finished all hunting activities and only need transportation, calling a plane is legal?"

"Exactly! Our role has changed from hunters to cargo awaiting transport."

He pointed to the riverbank they were heading toward on the map, “And we're choosing that location because we must first walk out of this area designated as wilderness preserve boundaries."

"Within the core protection zone, any motorized transportation, including aircraft landing, is strictly prohibited."

"We must use our own feet to carry ourselves and our quarry out beyond that invisible line."

This detailed explanation gave Lin Yu'an a deeper understanding of Alaska's hunting culture.

"Alright, stop resting." Stan stood back up, dusting himself off.

"To catch Hank's damned 'air pickup' early, we need to be mules for a few more hours. Let's go, guys!"

The group trudged forward with difficulty, stopping frequently, toward the riverbank five kilometers away.

After a while, Old George checked the sky, estimated their current position, and made a decision.

"We can't make it today, the load's too heavy, we can't cross that ridge before dark."

"Not far ahead is that rock cave where we sheltered from rain two days ago. Let's spend the night there again."

"Good idea! I'm getting pretty tired." Stan immediately agreed.

"That place blocks the wind, much more comfortable than pitching tents outside, and we can have a proper victory feast!"

This proposal was unanimously approved. On the way back to the cave, they also collected some dry branches and a section of old dwarf pine root to prepare for the evening campfire.

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