HUN Chapter 52: Wilderness Feast

Lin Yu'an selected deer heart, deer liver, the complete deer head, and the sizable deer stomach from that pile of "spoils."

"These are parts of the deer that spoil very easily, but are also the essence."

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

He first processed that sizable deer stomach, turning it inside out and roughly rinsing away internal residual fodder and slime with stream water.

Then he sprinkled a layer of dry wood ash on the deer stomach surface and vigorously rubbed it with both hands repeatedly.

"Wood ash is a natural cleanser. It has a certain alkalinity and can effectively remove surface filth and some of the odor from the deer stomach."

After rubbing for about ten minutes, until the slippery feeling on the deer stomach surface was significantly reduced, he thoroughly rinsed away the dirt with water.

Then he placed the deer stomach in a previously fired clay pot, letting it soak in water filled with wood ash.

"This long soaking can further remove deep gamey smells from the deer stomach. I'll process it more carefully tomorrow. Today's stars are these other items."

Next, he turned his attention to that complete deer head, steadily placing it on a clean stone slab.

"Now, I need to extract a very delicious muscle from the deer, the deer tongue."

He gently opened the edges of the deer's mouth with his fingers, using the sharp knife tip along the inner edge of the deer's lower jaw to deeply cut through the soft tissue and muscle connecting both sides of the tongue root.

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

After the connections on both sides were basically severed, he put down the knife and used one hand to forcefully pry open the deer's upper and lower jaws, opening the mouth to its maximum extent.

His other hand inserted a suitably sized wooden stick as a support frame.

After putting on gloves, he reached into the deer's mouth, firmly grasping the tongue root and pulling it backward.

Lin Yu'an held the knife in his right hand, the tip probing deeper into the back of the oral cavity, feeling for where the tongue root connected to the throat, gradually cutting through those connecting tissues bit by bit.

Finally, as the last connecting tissue broke, a complete, thick, and fleshy deer tongue was successfully extracted from the deer head!

Lin Yu'an also completely scooped out those two still relatively intact eyeballs from the deer head.

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

"But in the wilderness, any part that can provide energy and nutrition shouldn't be easily wasted. I'm planning a 'pre-dinner appetizer' to try something fresh."

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

When the water in the pot was boiling vigorously, he gently placed the two cleaned deer eyeballs inside.

"We don't need to cook too long, about a few minutes is enough, just a simple blanching."

While the deer eyes were cooking, he selected several wild nodding onions from his collection, chopping the bulbs and somewhat yellowed stems.

Five minutes later, Lin Yu'an used a wooden spoon to fish out the two cooked deer eyeballs, placing them in a small birch bark bowl, sprinkling chopped nodding onions and a tiny bit of fine salt on top.

"Wilderness appetizer, boiled deer eyes with wild nodding onions, complete!"

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

"The inner crystalline part is a bit hard, the taste is still somewhat fishy, but with the nodding onions it's barely... still... acceptable."

He tasted this unique appetizer, barely chewing before forcefully swallowing it, then ate a raw wild nodding onion.

After enjoying the unique "pre-dinner appetizer," his taste buds were one hundred percent excited for the upcoming feast!

Lin Yu'an began processing that deer tongue, bringing the boiling water from cooking the deer eyes back to a boil and carefully placing the entire deer tongue inside.

"Deer tongue meat is very tender with few fibers. When cooked properly, the texture is excellent."

"So first we need to boil the deer tongue. This thick layer of coating on its surface must be completely removed."

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

"No need to cook it completely. The purpose is to let the white thick coating on the tongue surface expand from heat and separate from the tongue meat below, making it easier to peel off."

The boiling water quickly began rolling again, steam carrying a faint meaty smell filled the stone house.

After about fifteen minutes, seeing it was about done, he lifted the scalding deer tongue from the boiling water and placed it on a clean, flat stone slab.

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

Lin Yu'an wasn't afraid of the heat, starting from the tongue root to gently tear off that outer skin.

That thick coating that had turned somewhat gray from cooking began separating from the tender pink tongue meat below like peeling thick paper.

"When peeling the coating, you must be patient and follow the tongue's texture with gentle movements."

"If you encounter areas that don't peel easily, you can slowly tear from a crack toward both sides."

Soon, that entire rough coating on the deer tongue surface was completely and cleanly peeled away.

He held the peeled deer tongue up to the camera, saying, "Look, the cleaned deer tongue is pink and tender. Doesn't it look appetizing?"

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

"Deer tongue slices shouldn't be cut too thin, or they'll overcook easily. About one centimeter thick is just right."

After all the deer tongue slices were cut, he found a smooth, flat stone slab he had specifically selected by the river, about two to three centimeters thick.

He carefully cleaned this stone slab, then placed it on the newly built campfire rack outside the shelter to heat the slab.

"I'm going to try a new cooking method, stone slab searing!"

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

He split the deer heart in half, removing internal tendons and remaining blood clots, then cut it into appropriately thick pieces.

He also cut that very tender and fresh deer liver into thin slices.

"Deer liver must be cut into thin slices to maintain its tender texture."

After the stainless steel pot on the stove heated up, he cut deer fat into small pieces and put them in the pot.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—"

The fat pieces contacted the hot pot bottom and immediately made pleasant sounds.

The white solid fat began rapidly melting into clear, transparent oil, and a rich meaty fat aroma spread accordingly.

He occasionally stirred the oil cracklings in the pot with chopsticks, letting them heat evenly to extract as much oil as possible.

When the cracklings became golden and crispy, he scooped them out as delicious little snacks.

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

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

"Sizzle—"

The heart pieces contacted the scalding deer oil, instantly making explosive sounds, edges quickly curling, color changing from deep red to light brown.

Adding a tiny bit of fine salt, during the stir-frying intervals, he evenly sprinkled it into the pot.

In just one or two minutes, it gave off rich caramelized aroma. He added appropriate water and wild onions, covered the pot and let the deer heart soup cook on the stove.

While the deer heart soup was cooking, the stone slab had been heated to 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 scalding stone slab surface. The fat immediately melted in the high heat, releasing an enticing fatty aroma!

Then he laid the cut deer tongue slices and deer liver slices flat on the blazing stone slab.

"Sizzle—!!"

The moment the deer tongue slices contacted the scalding stone slab, they immediately burst with pleasant sounds!

A rich meaty aroma mixed with the stone slab's distinctive slightly charred scent instantly emerged!

The edges of the deer tongue slices rapidly changed color in the high heat, transforming from tender pink to caramel-like light brown.

Fine meat juices slightly seeped from fiber gaps, sizzling on the stone slab, becoming wisps of tantalizing aroma!

Lin Yu'an used chopsticks to quickly flip the deer tongue slices on the stone slab, letting the other side also make that enticing "sizzle" sound and quickly develop golden coloring.

Just as the deer tongue slices were about to finish cooking, he pinched a small amount of fine salt and evenly scattered it over the deer tongue slices.

When both sides of the deer tongue slices showed enticing golden color while the interior still maintained its tender, juicy state.

Lin Yu'an decisively used chopsticks to lift them from the stone slab into a ceramic bowl.

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

The moment it entered his mouth, the surface crispness contrasted extremely with the interior tenderness. The high-temperature stone slab perfectly locked in the meat juices and the deer tongue's pure sweetness!

"This stone slab seared deer tongue has amazing texture!"

He couldn't help but praise, quickly sending several tongue slices into his mouth, enjoying that wonderful taste bouncing between his teeth.

He also put the liver slices, similarly seared to an enticing caramel color on both sides, into his mouth. They almost needed no chewing before melting on his tongue!

Extreme tenderness and richness, like the finest foie gras.

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

"If you get the chance, you must try this cooking method!"

Lin Yu'an heartily devoured the stone slab seared liver and deer tongue, finishing all the deer tongue and liver in about twenty minutes.

By now he was completely stuffed, while the deer heart soup on the stove was still bubbling and cooking.

The rich meat soup aroma and wild onion fragrance gradually filled the stone house. Unlike the direct, intense meat aroma of stone slab searing, this carried a warm, delicate fragrance.

Lin Yu'an's gaze was involuntarily drawn over.

[NEXT CHAPTER]