big song poppi

Chapter 9 0008 [I believe it is dragon meat]

Butcher Zheng didn't have a name, that's what everyone in the county called him anyway.

His father used to be called Zheng Butcher, and after his father died, he also inherited the name by the way.

There was also a middle-aged woman who came with him, his wife Zheng Lishi.

Looking at the wild pig like a small hill on the ground, Butcher Zheng gasped: "I've killed pigs all my life, but this is the first time I've seen such a big one."

Han Zhen urged: "Don't talk nonsense, let's untie the pig quickly."

The weather is too damn hot. It's only the beginning of July, and it's already unbearably hot.

Meat spoils very quickly in such hot weather.

Butcher Zheng knelt down and patted the wild pig: "As usual, the pig's head belongs to me."

"Row!"

Han Zhen nodded.

After negotiating the cost, Butcher Zheng took down the wooden box behind him and called on everyone to work together to hang the wild pig on the shelf, then took out the knife from the wooden box and started to untangle the pig.

It is a visual treat to watch an experienced butcher undress a pig.

That's why Gu Song would rather not go to the clinic, but stay to see Xie Zhu.

I saw the knife in Butcher Zheng's hand flying up and down, and in a short while, a complete piece of wild boar skin was peeled off.

Shaking the wild boar skin in his hand, Butcher Zheng said in shock: "Good guy, the leather is two fingers thick. If it is tanned well, it can sell for two bucks at least!"

Han Zhen smiled and said, "How about selling you for money?"

In ancient times, cowhide and pigskin were strategic materials that could be used to make armor, so a piece of high-quality wild boar skin could not be sold at all.

However, tanning leather is very troublesome, and there are more than a dozen processes, large and small.

Especially for wild boar skin, it would take several days to shave off the hairs that are as hard as steel needles.

Butcher Zheng thought for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, I will accept the usual money."

It would take at least a month to tan such a large wild boar hide, and he would earn a lot of hard money.

After earning a small fortune, Butcher Zheng was in a good mood. He folded the wild boar skin and continued to untangle the pig.

The sharp blade cut open the belly, and the internal organs immediately poured out and fell into the wooden basin below.

After removing all the viscera and intestines, Butcher Zheng replaced the bone-chopping knife and split the whole pig into two along the spine.

It's no wonder that butchers all have big arms and round waists, and they really can't do this job if they don't have two strengths.

Half an hour later, the whole pig was divided into several pieces according to each part. Although the size of each piece was different, if you use a scale to weigh each piece, you will find that the weight is almost the same, about 20 catties.

This is the craft that Butcher Zheng uses to support his family.

If it is placed in a certain country in later generations, it will be boasted as a pork fairy.

Taking advantage of his efforts to untie the pig, Mrs. Zheng Li has already processed the internal organs and large intestine.

The large intestine was cleaned and rubbed carefully with soybean flour.

After packing up the knives and carrying the wooden box on his back, Butcher Zheng took the pig's head and skin and said, "Han Er, I'm leaving first, the usual money will be brought to you later."

"Row!"

After sending Butcher Zheng away, Han Zhen pointed to the pork in the tub and ordered: "Monkeys, bugs, each of you pick two pieces of meat and send them home."

"Thank you, Brother Han!"

The monkey and the worm thanked each other, picked out two pieces of meat from the wooden basin, and happily left the temple gate.

As for the horse, the dog and the three, there is no need to give it. The mother and father are long gone. It is true that one person is full and the whole family is not hungry.

Then, Han Zhen picked out two pieces of hip pork belly and handed them to Gu Song: "Send one of these two pieces to my sister-in-law and the other to Anniang. When I come back, I will go to the medical center to buy some star anise, cinnamon and grass fruit."

Gu Song took the pork belly and muttered, "Second Brother Han, I'm really fine, so I don't need to waste money on medicine."

This rascal mistakenly thought that the star anise cinnamon was for his treatment...

Han Zhen didn't bother to explain, so he curled his lips and said, "Don't talk nonsense, just let you go."

"Oh!"

Gu Song had no choice but to agree.

……

Wild pork is actually not delicious, the meat is too dry, not as delicate and refreshing as domestic pigs.

Moreover, wild boar has a fishy smell.

This fishy smell cannot be completely removed, it can only be weakened through some methods, and finally covered with the smell of spices.

Han Zhen's method is to soak in well water, which he learned in his previous life in his hometown in the countryside.

Soak for at least one hour, and change the water constantly in the middle.

After half an hour, Gu Song bought back spices such as star anise and cinnamon.

During the heyday of Zhenquan Temple, there were many monks, and from time to time they had to receive pilgrims to eat vegetarian food, so there were two large iron pots in the back kitchen.

It's just that the iron pan is rusty because it hasn't been used for too long.

Clean the two iron pots, and the wild pork is almost ready.

In the kitchen, holding a kitchen knife in his hand, Han Zhen cut the pork into palm-sized pieces, mixed it with pork liver, pig heart, large intestine, etc., and put it into the pot together.

Add cold water, add onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, star anise, cinnamon, grass fruit and other spices, cover the pot, and it's done.

There is no way, the conditions are limited, so I can only make do with it.

Stir-fried dishes have already appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, but wild pork is really not suitable for frying, as it is too firewood and too hard.

As for the stir-fried fat intestines, there are no peppers, onions, or even soy sauce.

Han Zhen just thought about the fat sausage fried with coarse salt, and then gave up instantly.

Ma Sangou, who witnessed the whole process, hesitated to speak.

Seeing this, Han Zhen asked, "What's wrong?"

Ma Sangou hesitated: "Second Brother Han, add these medicinal materials...can I eat it?"

Although the diet developed rapidly in the Northern Song Dynasty, there were not many ingredients in cooking, that is, onion, ginger, garlic and pepper.

And ingredients such as star anise, cinnamon bark, and grass fruit are only Chinese medicinal materials at the moment.

That's why Ma Sangou has this question.

After all, if you can't eat it at that time, then such a big pot of meat will be wasted.

Han Zhen smiled mysteriously: "This is an exclusive secret recipe, and you will know it later."

After the fire boiled, Han Zhen skimmed off the scum, added coarse salt to taste the saltiness, then removed some firewood from the stove, turned to low heat and simmered slowly.

This wild pig is too big to be cooked in two large iron pots.

The remaining pork was put in a basket by Han Zhen and hung in the well. Just seal the mouth of the well with wooden boards to form a simple refrigerator.

In the past, there were no refrigerators in the countryside, and every household used this method to dispose of leftovers in summer.

……

As time went by, a faint fragrance wafted from the two cauldrons and permeated the kitchen.

Gradually, the fragrance changed from light to strong, causing Ma Sangou and the others to swallow their saliva.

"It's delicious!"

Gu Song took a deep breath, his face full of intoxication.

"Second Brother Han, are you alright?" This is the sixth time Monkey has asked.

Han Zhen smiled slightly: "What's the hurry, the wild pork needs to be stewed for a while. Go buy some wine, let's have a good meal tonight."

"Don't buy wine, I brought it!"

At this time, there was a burst of laughter outside.

I saw Liu Yong striding forward with a jar of wine leading several yamen servants.

Hearing that Han Zhen had hunted and killed wild pigs, Liu Yong and the others couldn't wait to come to eat the meat as soon as they got off duty.

In the middle of the walk, I felt that it was not good to be empty-handed, so a few people discussed and pooled money to buy a can of rice wine.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Liu Yong's expression changed, and he asked in surprise, "What is so fragrant?"

"Second Brother Han cooked the meat." Ma Sangou swallowed and explained.

Hearing that it was meat, Liu Yong said impatiently, "Hurry up, let me have a bite."

Han Zhen reckoned that it was about the same, he lifted the lid of the pot and fished out a piece of meat from it.

As the lid of the pot is opened, water vapor rises immediately, and the fragrance becomes more intense.

Cut the meat into small pieces with a knife, and Han Zhen signaled them to taste the saltiness.

Everyone immediately rushed forward, regardless of the heat, picked up the meat and stuffed it into their mouths.

The next moment, everyone was so hot that they sucked in cold air, but no one was willing to spit out the meat in their mouths.

After swallowing the meat in two or three bites, Liu Yong smashed his mouth and said, "This is not pork, I believe it is dragon meat!"

Although the others did not speak, their eyes were fixed on the two cauldrons.

　PS: The author has not found any record of using cinnamon, star anise and other spices in ancient cooking from the extant historical materials "Taiping Yulan" related to diet, as well as "Qimin Yaoshu", "Simin Yueling", and "Tokyo Menghualu".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)