Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Chapter 1218 Tomorrow and Tomorrow Again

To be fair, although Wu Dong and his companions weren't very familiar with the pig-slaughtering process, they were all skilled with knives, meaning their knife skills were quite good.

Because Wang An only gave a few simple instructions, they were able to butcher a whole pig into pieces of meat and bones.

After cleaning the whole pig, the group began to slaughter the sheep.

When it came time to slaughter the sheep, Wu Dong and the other three inevitably had another noisy argument. However, this time, Wang Shuai was completely excluded by Wu Dong and the other two.

The reason is simple: since Wang Shuai has already killed the pig, he naturally can't be allowed to kill the sheep.

Finally, after a contest between Wu Dong, He Liang, and Ma Guoqiang, Comrade He Liang emerged victorious, successfully obtaining the right to slaughter the sheep.

And so, amidst the laughter and chatter, the group finished dealing with a pig and a sheep.

However, while cooking, Wu Dong and the other three disagreed again.

Wu Dong means stewing meat, because stewing is the easiest way to cook it, and it also allows you to go ice-breaking and fish-catching in the afternoon.

Wang Shuai meant hot pot, because on such a cold day, hot pot is the most satisfying thing to eat.

He Liang's idea was to roast it, and his reasoning was quite sound: only by roasting the meat can its original aroma be preserved.

Fortunately, Ma Guoqiang was the easiest to please, because this kid just said:
Now that you mention it, I want to try everything!

To be honest, the people who seem easy to please are often the hardest to please.

Having heard Ma Guoqiang say this, Wang An, as the host, naturally couldn't afford to be negligent.

So, preparations for stewing meat, roasting meat, and hot pot meat began simultaneously.

Stewing meat doesn't require much skill; anyone who has eaten it before can basically make it just about right.

Basically, you just throw the meat into a pot, add water and a suitable amount of salt, and that's it. You can eat it whenever it's cooked.

When it comes to hot pot, the key is the broth and the dipping sauce. If these two are done well, even if you're just rinsing a shoe insole in the pot, it will still taste delicious.

As for grilling meat, it requires a lot of skill. After all, grilling meat at home and grilling meat in the mountains are completely different things.

So this time, Wang An directly unleashed his ultimate weapon: the kiln!
While a kiln might sound mysterious, it's essentially a barbecue grill.

However, since Wang An's family didn't have a hanging furnace, he built a small kiln out of bricks.

While Wang An was cutting the meat into square pieces, Wu Dong and the others were quite puzzled. He Liang even asked Wang An, still puzzled:
"Xiao An, how long will it take to cook this big piece of mutton? Shouldn't it be sliced ​​thinly to cook faster?"

Wang An said with a smile:

"The kind of roasted meat you mentioned is boring and not satisfying. Today I'll show you what braised roasting is all about. Hey, you guys, don't just sit there. There's some thick wire in the storeroom. Use pliers to cut it into pieces about the length of two chopsticks. Then use a hammer to sharpen one end of the wire. I need it in a bit."

He Liang glanced at Wang An and said somewhat unfriendly:
"You've made this all mysterious. If it doesn't taste good, I'll hold you responsible."

Wang An said nonchalantly:
"The way you're saying that, it's like you'll give me a reward if I cook something delicious," Wu Dong suddenly said.

"Alright, I'll cut the meat. You go and make the metal skewers. What if you make them and they don't taste good, and then you end up with wire stuck to them?"

Upon hearing this, Wang An's hand, which was cutting meat, froze instantly, and he placed the cleaver on the cutting board with a speechless expression.

Following Wang An's example, Wang Shuai, He Liang, and Ma Guoqiang squatted down and started fiddling with the wire.

For hanging oven roasting, not only must one end of the wire be pointed, but the other end must also be bent into a hook shape.

Because there is a circle on the inner wall of the hanging oven, the meat skewers are hung on it after being skewered.

The main reason Wang An chose to grill meat this way was because there were too many people eating, and grilling meat this way was simple and didn't require one person to be there all the time.

You know, with normal barbecue methods, it's fine for only three or four people to eat, because the person doing the barbecue can manage. But with the number of people eating in Wang An's family, the person doing the barbecue has to stay by the barbecue grill all the time to keep up with the food for a whole group of people.

Soon, Wang An and his three companions had made 50 iron skewers, each over 40 centimeters long, and He Liang had finished cutting the meat.

Wang An mixed scallion segments, minced garlic, crushed chili peppers, cumin, sesame seeds, MSG, Sichuan peppercorn powder, salt, and soybean paste together to make a barbecue seasoning, and then put the meat pieces into it to marinate.

After tanning and marinating for a while, Wang An greeted Wu Dong and the other three with a smile:
"Come on, my brothers, you skewer the meat, and I'll go stir-fry the hot pot base for you."

Turning his head, Wang An said to Huang Zhong:

"Xiao Zhong, when they've almost finished skewering the meat, light the charcoal fire."

When Wang An placed the small clay pot containing charcoal into the oven and hung skewers of meat on the side wall of the oven, He Liang asked Wang An with great confusion:

"Hey Xiao An, how come you have such a great appetite? Who taught you all these ways of eating?"

Wang An was taken aback upon hearing this, and then made up a story on the spot:
"Hey, a friend of mine from Inner Mongolia taught me this. That's how the herders there roast beef and mutton. But their ovens are bigger than ours. They can roast the beef of a whole cow. I heard that Genghis Khan's army rations were made this way."

Although Wang An was making things up, what he said was indeed correct, because in later generations, the beef jerky and mutton jerky eaten by herders in Inner Mongolia were indeed roasted in kilns and hanging ovens.

One batch of meat is roasted in a kiln or oven at a time until it's dry and crisp. This way, you can enjoy it properly for a long time.

The main reason is that dried meat doesn't spoil easily. When you feel it's about to spoil, you can put it back in the oven to bake again and it will last for a long time.

Upon hearing this, Wu Dong, Wang Shuai, and the other three were full of amazement, saying that China is a vast country with abundant resources, and each ethnic group has its own delicious food, and each region has its own way of eating.

However, in the midst of their busyness, everyone forgot one thing: the days are very short this season.

So when everyone gave Wang An's barbecue a thumbs up and said it was delicious, it was already noon. And when everyone was chatting and laughing, having eaten and drunk their fill, it was already 2:30 pm.

So the original plan to chisel ice and fish after lunch did not come to fruition. Fortunately, everyone was quite satisfied with the meal and had no regrets about not being able to fish, since "there's always tomorrow."

　I'll update two chapters first. I don't know if I can update the third chapter. I'll add it slowly, slowly.

　
(End of this chapter)