American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 59 Making Blood Bait and Refining Oil
On the fiftieth day, Lin Yu'an got up early and started making tanning agents.

Soon, after most of the bark had been processed into small pieces of varying sizes, Lin Yu'an took out the largest pottery jar he had previously fired.

Lin Yu'an packed the processed bark fragments layer by layer into the earthenware jar, and used a thick wooden stick to tamp them down from time to time, filling the jar as much as possible with bark until it reached the edge.

"To extract tannins, the finer the bark is processed, the larger the contact area with water, and the higher the extraction efficiency of tannins."

"Then comes the long simmering process."

He moved the heavy earthenware pot onto the stove opening and added plenty of dry hardwood to the combustion chamber below.

"I need to boil as much tannin as possible from the bark into the water to form a high-concentration tannin solution."

"This process usually takes several hours, during which the water must be kept boiling continuously."

Time passed slowly amidst the bubbling of boiling water and the crackling of burning firewood.

The liquid in the earthenware jar began to undergo a significant and wondrous color change, while the liquid in the pot had turned into a deep, rich reddish-brown liquid.

"The tannins should have dissolved to the maximum extent in the water. This concentration is definitely enough for me to tan this large deer hide!"

Then I took another ceramic pot of the same size and prepared to filter it.

Then he pulled out a cotton short-sleeved shirt, the very one he used to pack beaver jerky, and turned it into a simple yet effective filter.

Using a makeshift ladle made from a large piece of birch bark, the concentrated liquid in the earthenware jar was poured spoonful by spoonful into this cloth filter.

Lin Yu-an explained to the camera while filtering the footage.

"Vegetable tanning is very different from the brain tanning I used before to tan beaver skins,"

"It requires a much longer process, involving soaking in this tannin-rich tannin solution for several days."

"During this long soaking process, the tannin molecules in the bark will react chemically with the proteins in the leather."

Lin Yu'an made a lot of tanning agents in one morning, and poured the filtered and cooled vegetable tanning liquid into the tanning tank one basin at a time.

The dark reddish-brown liquid gathered at the bottom of the pool and quickly accumulated to a depth of about ten centimeters.

He then took the deerskin, which had been soaked in the stream overnight and had fully absorbed water and swelled, out of the water and removed most of the excess water.

Then slowly unfold it completely, lay it flat in the tanning tank, and prepare to soak it for a few days.

While waiting for the tanning solution to soak the deer hide, Lin Yu-an decided to render all the fat into oil for easier long-term storage.

Lin Yu-an used the large, flat pieces of fat that were deliberately trimmed from the deer's abdomen, back, and around the internal organs during the butchering of the venison.

They were all collected in a makeshift container made of birch bark; the fat lumps were milky white and had begun to solidify in the cool air.

"These are high-quality animal fats."

He picked up a piece and showed it to the camera, his fingers clearly feeling its firm and oily texture.

"They've started to harden, so they have to be rendered into pure deer oil, which will greatly extend their shelf life."

"It can also add valuable calories to food during cooking."

"If you have to choose between ten pounds of fat and twenty pounds of pure meat, you must choose the fat! In the cold wilderness, fat is life."

First, place these fat chunks on a clean stone slab and carefully remove any remaining blood vessels, fascia, and small pieces of meat.

"These impurities are prone to burning during oil refining, which will affect the quality of the final oil. In order to make the deer oil purer, it is necessary to remove them as cleanly as possible."

After cleaning, he cut each large piece of fat into small pieces about four or five centimeters in size.

Then, the largest earthenware pot was carefully cleaned with water and fine sand to ensure that there were no impurities inside.

Then place it steadily on the round stove opening of the stone house fireplace.

All the diced deer fat was put into a dry earthenware pot, where it piled up in a thick layer at the bottom.

Instead of using a high flame, a medium-low flame was used to slowly heat the earthenware pot.

As the temperature of the earthenware pot gradually rises, the fat deposits at the bottom of the pot are the first to begin to change.

Their milky white surfaces began to turn translucent, and tiny, glistening oil droplets seeped out.

"Zi...ZiZi..."

A slight, rapid crackling sound began to emanate from the pot; it was the sound of fat melting as it heated up and trace amounts of moisture evaporating from the inside.

A unique aroma of meat fat began to rise from the pot, filling the entire stone house! Lin Yu'an held a wooden stick and stirred the pot gently from time to time to ensure that the fat chunks were heated evenly and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

As the temperature continues to rise, more and more fat chunks begin to melt, and the amount of liquid oil in the pot also increases.

Those originally solid lumps of fat rolled and shrank in the scalding oil, and their color gradually changed from the initial milky white to an enticing golden yellow!
Meanwhile, the liquid oil in the pot increased and accumulated, forming a clear, bright golden liquid.

The oil refining process lasted for about an hour.

When most of the fat chunks in the pot had shrunk and turned into small oil residue, he judged that the oil refining was basically complete.

"Alright, the oil has been mostly rendered."

He used a wooden spoon to scoop out the golden oil residue floating on the surface of the oil one by one.

After draining off the excess oil, place it on a clean piece of birch bark.

"These pork cracklings are absolutely delicious!"

He picked up a piece of still-warm pork crackling, sprinkled a few grains of salt on it, and then put it in his mouth to chew.

With a "crunch," the incredibly crispy and rich, oily aroma explodes in your mouth, satisfying your cravings while also providing a boost of calories.

He wrapped the remaining oil residue in birch bark, intending to use it as emergency rations for subsequent operations.

Then, he carefully lifted the earthenware pot filled with scalding hot deer fat off the stove.

He used a wooden spoon to scoop the boiling deer fat from the pot into another clean, small earthenware jar, one spoonful at a time.

The reason for not cooling the oil directly in the original earthenware jar is to perform another filtration during the transfer process, which improves the oil quality and allows it to be stored for a longer period.

He covered the earthenware jar, which was filled with hot deer fat, with a piece of clean birch bark and let it cool naturally.

"Now, we just have to wait for it to cool and solidify slowly."

"It is estimated that after a slow cooling overnight, the liquid deer oil in the jar will completely solidify, turning into a jar of fine-textured solid oil."

"There's one more thing to do today. I plan to make full use of what's left over from processing the deer earlier."

He picked up the deer lung and several pieces of congealed deer blood.

"For example, this piece of deer lung, and these solidified deer blood clots, can be used to make some powerful fish bait!"

"It is said that blood bait is banned in many fishing competitions because of its strong effect, but I don't know if it's true."

"Deer lungs, due to their loose and porous structure, can perfectly encapsulate and blend with deer blood, and also emit an aroma."

"The strong fishy smell of deer blood is an irresistible temptation for most fish."

He placed the deer lung on a clean stone slab and carefully cut it into small pieces of varying sizes with his sharpened stone knife.

“A sharp stone knife is sufficient for treating this kind of soft tissue.”

He also cut open the solidified, deep red jelly-like pieces of deer blood.

He stirred the chopped deer lungs and blood cubes together on the stone slab.

Then they took some lard scraped from the inside of the deer hide and added it in as well.

"Adding animal fat allows the blood bait to remain in the water for longer, so that the scent can spread further in the water."

"Oil itself is a high-energy substance that many fish crave."

He picked up a sturdy wooden stick, added a little water, and began to vigorously and repeatedly stir and press it on the stone slab.

The deer lungs are squeezed out to produce more fluids under the pressure, and the deer blood clots are crushed into smaller pieces and mixed with the melted deer fat.

It gradually forms a dark red, viscous paste with a strong, fishy odor.

"Alright, the super blood bait is now complete. Wrap it in birch bark and let it ferment overnight. We'll test its power tomorrow!"

Lin Yu'an tightly wrapped the pottery jar with a piece of birch bark of suitable size, and then placed it in a shady corner of the shelter.

Lin Yu-an barely left the camp that day, but his work was exceptionally fulfilling.

Making tanning liquor, preparing blood bait, refining deer oil... these seemingly tedious tasks are all preparations for a longer-term survival.

He tries his best to turn the profits from a successful hunt into a sustainable resource.

(End of this chapter)