American forensics, but the gourmet system

Russell tentatively invested one of his skill upgrade points into the Butcher's Skill.

A beam of light rose from behind the skill bar and stopped at about 50%.

Clearly, one skill upgrade point was not enough to upgrade the Butcher's Skill. Realizing this, Russell then put in his second skill upgrade point.

The beam of light slowly dissipated as the second skill upgrade point was invested, and the description of the skill bar changed accordingly:

The Butcher's Skill in Carving an Ox (Elite Level)

Cooking techniques (Master level)

I wonder if there are other ability levels between Elite and Master...

Russell was stopped by a homeless man with a messy beard as he walked out of the subway station.

"Please, sir. I need a dollar to get something to eat..."

The homeless man's eyes were numb and listless as he reached out to Russell as if he were completing a task.

Russell took a coin out of his pocket and handed it to him.

He mumbled a thank you and then dragged his feet to stop someone exiting the subway station.

Russell usually carried some spare change with him in case homeless people suddenly appeared next to him asking for money.

Generally speaking, there are no homeless people in the areas where forensic centers and criminal investigation centers are located.

But it was different in Brownsville, where Russell lived. There were often several homeless people along the one-kilometer stretch from the subway station to Russell's rented apartment.

They don't stay here for long. Usually, after a few weeks, the homeless people that Russell recognizes will disappear, and then a few new faces will appear.

  

As for where those vanished homeless people went, Russell had some idea, but that was not a problem he could handle right now.

Bertrand Russell is currently in a state of self-preservation when he is poor.

He bought two packs of pasta and a jar of chili oil at the Chinese supermarket downstairs. Before checking out, Russell thought for a moment, unsure if the pile of seasonings left by his former roommate in the refrigerator contained spices for braised beef, so he also picked up a bag of cinnamon, a bag of bay leaves, and a packet of fennel seeds.

The owner of the Chinese supermarket is a third-generation Hokkien immigrant, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a native New Yorker. He hardly speaks any Mandarin, but he seems to have special sourcing channels. Any product commonly found in supermarkets in China can be bought here, only at prices three to ten times higher.

The only problem is that this supermarket closes too early; as soon as it's past eight o'clock, the owner closes the doors to customers.

This makes it difficult for Russell, who often works overtime, to casually stroll around after get off work.

"I got off work early today."

The boss greeted Russell in almost accented English.

"There are always a few days when you're lucky."

Russell smiled at the boss.

"That's right..." The shopkeeper's barcode scanner beeped a few times, "25 US dollars."

Russell gasped inwardly, but still swiped his card and paid.

That's enough to buy three pounds of beef...

Fortunately, these spices are enough to braise at least ten pots of beef, so the cost isn't too expensive when spread out.

Russell comforted himself as he walked up to the apartment building.

Upon entering the living room, Russell immediately noticed something was amiss. The living room had previously been merely tidy, but today it was completely transformed.

Not only were the visible areas spotless, but the hard-to-reach corners under the shoe cabinet were also thoroughly cleaned, and even the sofa covers were washed...

The two large suitcases that Aina had previously placed in the living room have also disappeared; she probably moved them to the bedroom.

Russell chuckled to himself, thinking that Aina was quite eager to eat Russell's cooking.

Aina's bedroom door was closed; she was probably resting inside after cleaning. However, Aina had mentioned that her sleep schedule was a bit irregular, so perhaps this was her rest time?

Russell put down his backpack, took the groceries he had bought, and went into the kitchen.

As Russell took the stew pot out of the cupboard, he couldn't help but recall the scene of stewing bones in the dissection room earlier that day...

Damn.

Russell shook his head, banishing the dissection room from his mind, opened the system interface, and brought up the menu for braised beef.

The marinating progress bar has reached 89%, and there is still a line of small print below.

[Ending the marinating process at this point will minimize flavor loss to within 5%]

The marginal effect is still taking hold.

But Russell wasn't ready to finish the curing process now; he still had some preparatory work to do.

Russell took the stew pot to the sink and scrubbed it. For some reason, he seemed to scrub it harder than usual today.

After setting the clean stew pot aside, Russell picked up a wok and, following the system's recipe prompts, chopped scallions and ginger slices, then heated oil in the wok.

First, stir-fry the scallion segments and ginger slices until they turn slightly yellow, then add the dry yellow soybean paste, star anise, dried chili peppers, fennel seeds, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, and cinnamon, and stir-fry until fragrant.

An enticing aroma began to fill the kitchen. Russell added enough water to the pot, and the spices swirled in the water. It was time to adjust the color and flavor of the sauce.

The color of the braised beef is also very important. Pale braised beef doesn't look as appetizing, while dark-colored braised beef affects appetite. Russell had previously tried making his own braised beef, and the finished products were either pitch black like charcoal or deathly white like a corpse frozen for months…

Now, with the system helping him control everything, not only the soy sauce, but also the weight of the spices, the amount of salt, and even the amount of water, the system displays progress bars on the interface, helping Russell to control it precisely.

He poured the prepared sauce into the stew pot, and then filled the wok with water to blanch the marinated beef.

Open the refrigerator and take out the beef.

The system's marinating progress has just jumped to 93%.

The latest footnote reads:

[Ending the marinating process at this point results in negligible flavor loss; only master-level culinary tasting skills can detect the difference.]

Hmm... so the skill bar might even include abilities like food tasting skills...

Since Russell doesn't have this ability right now, and Aina is unlikely to have it either, then for the two of them, there's not much difference between 93% and 100% of the marinating progress.

Russell confidently scooped out the marinated beef and placed it in clean water.

As the water began to boil, brown foam rose to the surface.

Russell can now shrug off the fuss without any guilt.

The essence of foam is the formation of tiny particles from blood and myoglobin and other impurities when heated. Just like interfering factors in forensic identification, the presence of these impurities can also produce an off-flavor when stewing meat.

Bleeding during slaughter can solve part of the problem, while blanching before cooking can solve another part.

It's a bit better in America. Russell has seen European students complaining online more than once that European pork is smelly and rotten.

Feeding international students accustomed to Chinese cuisine the pungent smell of European pork is like putting a forensic pathologist, used to high-precision forensic tools, into equipment from two hundred years ago—it's incredibly uncomfortable.

It's hard to go from extravagance to frugality.

Russell scooped up the blanched beef; it had shrunk considerably from its original shape and was now just one step away from the final product.

Place it in a stew pot, cover it with the lid, and a light blue flame rises, gently licking the bottom of the pot. The final step is to let time do its work.