Butcher Zheng has no name, but everyone in the county calls him that.
His father used to be called Butcher Zheng, and after his father died, he inherited this name.
There was also a middle-aged woman who came with him, his first wife Zheng Li.
Looking at the small hill-like wild pigs on the ground, Butcher Zheng took a breath: "I have been killing pigs all my life, but this is the first time I have seen such a big one."
Han Zhen urged: "Don't talk nonsense, hurry up and untie the pig."
The weather here is so hot. It's only the beginning of July and it's already unbearably hot.
In such hot weather, meat spoils very quickly.
Butcher Zheng knelt down and patted the wild pig: "As usual, the pig's head belongs to me."
"OK!"
Han Zhen nodded.
After agreeing on the fee, Butcher Zheng took off the wooden box behind him and called on everyone to work together to hang the wild pig on the shelf. Then he took out the knife from the wooden box and started to cut the pig.
Watching an experienced butcher decapitate a pig is a visual treat.
This is why Gu Siong would rather not go to the medical clinic but stay to look after the pigs.
I saw the knife in Butcher Zheng's hand flying up and down, and in a moment, a complete wild boar skin was peeled off.
Shaking the wild boar skin in his hand, Butcher Zheng exclaimed: "Good guy, if the skin is two fingers thick, if it is tanned well, you can sell it for two thousand bucks at least!"
Han Zhen smiled and said, "How about I sell you for the money?"
In ancient times, cowhide and pigskin were strategic materials and could be used to make armor, so there was no need to worry about selling a good wild boar skin.
However, tanning leather is very troublesome and requires more than a dozen processes, large and small.
Especially for wild boar skin, it would take several days just to shave off the hair that is as hard as steel needles.
Butcher Zheng thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay, I will accept the money."
It would take at least several months to tan such a large piece of wild boar skin, and he would earn a lot of hard money.
After making a small profit, Butcher Zheng was in a good mood. He folded the wild boar skin and continued to cut the pig.
The sharp blade cut open the belly, and the internal organs and intestines immediately poured out and fell into the wooden basin below.
After pulling out all the internal organs and intestines, Butcher Zheng replaced the bone-cutting knife and split the whole pig into two slices along the spine.
It's no wonder that the butchers are all big and round, and they really can't do this job without a lot of strength.
Half an hour later, the whole pig was divided into several pieces of pork according to each part. Although each piece was different in size, if you use a scale to weigh each piece, you will find that the weight is almost the same, about 20 kilograms.
This is the craft that Butcher Zheng uses to support his family.
If placed in a certain country in later generations, he would be touted as a pork fairy.
While he was working on untying the pig, Mrs. Zheng Li had already processed the internal organs and large intestine.
The large intestine was cleaned very clean and carefully rubbed with soy flour.
After packing up the knives and carrying the wooden box on his back, Butcher Zheng carried the pig head and pig skin and said, "Han Er, I'm leaving first. The money will be sent to you later."
"OK!"
After seeing Butcher Zheng off, Han Zhen pointed to the pork in the wooden basin and ordered: "Monkey, little insect, you each pick two pieces of meat and take them home."
"Thank you, Brother Han!"
The monkey and the insect thanked each other, picked out two pieces of meat from the wooden basin, and left the temple gate happily.
As for Ma, Sangou and the other three, there is no need to give them to me. My mother and I are gone long ago. One person can truly have enough to eat and the whole family will not be hungry.
Then, Han Zhen picked out two pieces of pork belly and handed it to Gu Si: "Send these two pieces of meat one to my sister-in-law and one to An Niang. When I come back, I will go to the hospital to buy some star anise, cinnamon and grass fruits."
Gu Si took the pork belly and muttered: "Second Brother Han, I really have nothing to do. I don't need to waste money on medicine."
This guy actually mistakenly thought that star anise and cinnamon bark was used to treat his illness...
Han Zhen didn't bother to explain, and curled his lips and said: "Don't talk nonsense, just go as you are told."
"oh!"
Gu Si had no choice but to agree.
…
Wild boar is actually not very tasty. The meat is too raw and not as delicate and tasty as domestic pig.
Moreover, wild boar meat 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 an hour, and change the water frequently during the process.
After half an hour, Gu Siong bought back star anise, cinnamon and other spices.
During the heyday of Zhenquan Temple, there were many monks, and from time to time they had to receive pilgrims for vegetarian meals, so there were two large iron pots in the 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 boar meat is almost ready.
In the kitchen, Han Zhen held a kitchen knife in his hand, cut the pork into palm-sized pieces, and mixed it with the pork liver, pig heart, large intestine, etc. and added it to the pot.
Add cold water, add onions, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, grass fruits and other spices, cover the pot, and done.
There was no other way, conditions were limited, so I had to make do.
Stir-fried vegetables have already appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, but wild boar meat is not suitable for stir-frying because it is too woody and too hard.
As for the stir-fried pork sausage, there are no peppers, onions, or even soy sauce.
It was just fat intestines fried with coarse salt. Han Zhen just thought about it and gave up instantly.
Ma Sangou, who witnessed the whole process, hesitated to speak.
Seeing this, Han Zhen asked: "What's wrong?"
Ma Sangou hesitated and said: "Brother Han, if you add these medicinal materials...can you eat them?"
Although the diet developed rapidly during the Northern Song Dynasty, there were not many ingredients in cooking, that is, onions, ginger, garlic and pepper.
Ingredients such as star anise, cinnamon, and grass fruit are just Chinese medicinal materials at the moment.
That's why Ma Sangou has this question.
After all, if you can't eat it by then, then such a big pot of meat will be wasted.
Han Zhen smiled mysteriously: "This is an exclusive secret recipe. You will know it later."
After the fire boiled, Han Zhen skimmed off the foam, added coarse salt to taste, then removed some firewood from the stove, turned to low heat and simmered slowly.
This wild pig is so big that even two large iron pots cannot finish cooking it.
The remaining pork was put in a basket by Han Zhen and hung in the well. He only needed to seal the wellhead with a wooden board to create a simple refrigerator.
In the past, there were no refrigerators in rural areas, so every household would do this with leftovers in the summer.
…
As time passed, a faint fragrance floated out from the two large pots and filled the kitchen.
Gradually, the fragrance turned from light to strong, causing Ma Sangou and the others to swallow their saliva.
"It smells so good!"
Gu Song took a deep breath, his face full of intoxication.
"Brother Han, are you okay yet?" This was the sixth time the monkey asked.
Han Zhen smiled slightly: "What's the rush? The wild boar meat needs to be stewed for a while. Go buy some wine and 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 over with a can of wine and several government servants.
Hearing that Han Zhen had hunted wild pigs, Liu Yong and others couldn't wait to eat the meat as soon as they got off duty.
Halfway through, I felt that it was not good to be empty-handed, so they discussed and pooled their 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 explained after swallowing his saliva.
Hearing that it was meat, Liu Yong said impatiently: "Quick, quick, let me have a taste."
Han Zhen estimated that it was almost done, so he opened the lid of the pot and took out a piece of meat.
As the lid of the pot is opened, steam rises immediately and the aroma becomes more intense.
Cut the meat into small pieces with a knife, and Han Zhen motioned for them to taste the saltiness.
Everyone immediately rushed forward, picking up the meat and stuffing it into their mouths without caring about the heat.
The next moment, everyone was so hot that they breathed cold air, but no one was willing to spit out the meat in their mouths.
After swallowing the meat in three or two mouthfuls, Liu Yong smashed it in his mouth, still saying: "This is not pork, I believe it is dragon meat!"
Although the others did not speak, their eyes were fixed on the two cauldrons.
