I'm the Culinary God

"How do you handle the skull?"

Seeing Lin Xu soaking the pig’s head, the onlookers watched curiously as he carved out the skull and asked.

Although the skin and meat on the skull surface have been cleaned off, the pig’s brain is still inside, and there is a lot of meat in the eye sockets that can’t be discarded.

Wei Qian glanced at the enthusiast, everyone was concerned about when to start braising, how long the braising time is, only you are concerned about the carved out bone.

People in charge of procurement clearly have a different focus.

Wei Qian said with a smile:

"Take it downstairs and let Old Xu give it a quick boil while making the braised meat. Whoever wants to gnaw on the bone can eat it directly."

The pig’s skull doesn’t have much meat, and it’s a bit of a hassle to gnaw it clean; you need to split the skull down the middle.

The only place that can split skulls is the braised goods department downstairs, where they have a special axe for splitting skulls, which is much better than the kitchen knife upstairs.

The enthusiast didn’t refuse and took it downstairs.

Zhu Yong looked at the pig head soaking in water and curiously asked:

"Boss, how long does it need to soak? When can we start cooking?"

Zhuang Yizhou, who knows this dish well, said:

"It needs to soak for more than two hours to extract the blood, then quickly blanch it to set its shape, and at the same time scrape off the mucous membranes from the pig’s nostrils and the tongue coating. The mucous membranes inside the mouth must also be removed. Only after all this is done can it be placed in the pot to simmer on low heat."

Dai Jianli added:

"While simmering, pay attention to the shape. Use a lot of caramel coloring, and prepare the marinade in advance. The marinade should use stock, and be simmered with various spices and crystal sugar first... In short, it’s very troublesome, so much trouble that all the chefs who can make it resist it deep down."

As they spoke, Lin Xu had already started preparing the marinade.

The marinade for braised whole pig’s head seems simple, just adjust the caramel color, but in reality, it’s very difficult, and ordinary chefs find it hard to master.

Pig’s head as an ingredient has a strong smell, requiring a lot of spices to suppress this odor.

But braised whole pig’s head should not taste too much like marinade, but instead should emphasize the aroma of the pork itself, with a sweet and salty flavor.

This requirement greatly increases the difficulty for the chef in preparing the marinade.

Too many spices will overpower the meat flavor, too few won’t eliminate the pig head’s odor.

Xie Baomin watched Lin Xu with interest, wanting to see his junior’s method for preparing the marinade.

Lin Xu didn’t have a cooking technique for braised whole pig’s head and didn’t know how to prepare the marinade, but he had mastered numerous braising techniques and found it not too difficult to make a suitable marinade for braised pig head with some adjustments.

For example, currently, he washed the commonly used braising spices in hot water, put them in a pot, and fried them in lard to release their fragrance, then added stock, soy sauce, crystal sugar, caramel color, scallion and ginger, and other ingredients.

To enhance the flavor of the pig head, Lin Xu specifically poured a small basin of original sauce from the tiger skin chicken feet into it.

He used high heat to bring the soup to a boil, then continued simmering for about half an hour to fully release the spices’ aroma into the marinade, making the pig head more delicious when cooked.

Watching Lin Xu’s operation, Xie Baomin said:

"There isn’t enough crystal sugar, you could add some more. The pig’s meat has a strong smell, so you might want to add a couple more pieces of angelica dahurica and cardamom, increase the salt by a small spoon, and don’t forget to put the scallion and ginger underneath during simmering."

The marinade in the pot was fine; it was just that today’s pig head was slightly larger, so the condiments needed follow-up adjustments too.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xu immediately made the adjustments.

The pig head still needed to soak, and with nothing else to do, Lin Xu started making skin residue.

They estimated many customers would come today, so the amount of skin residue must keep up to quickly complete the task.

While Lin Xu made skin residue, Dai Jianli and Xie Baomin didn’t remain idle, starting to guide the chefs in the kitchen on cooking, sharing their own understanding of culinary arts.

The more a person leads in the industry, the more willing they are to share their experience.

Because more talent in the industry leads to prosperity, which can promote the healthy and orderly development of the industry.

At around ten o’clock in the morning, Lin Xu finished making skin residue, boiled a large pot of water, and added a large spoon of liquor, then placed the well-soaked pig head inside to begin blanching.

Boiling out the blood from the pork, and using the volatility of the alcohol to carry away the pig head’s odor.

The pig head had been singed, de-boned, and soaked, so it was supposed to be very clean, but shortly after it went into the pot, the water became cloudy.

Clearly, the pig head was dirtier than expected.

Why does the pork head from deli shops have a heavy marinade flavor? It’s to suppress the pig head’s odor.

This braised whole pig’s head, if too much marinade flavor is used, it becomes a disaster, so when making it, one must be very attentive, extremely careful, and put in extra effort.

It’s why good braised whole pig’s head is hard to find on the market, due to low efficiency and the lengthy process, chefs are unwilling to make it.

They started working on this dish early in the morning, and have been focused on it ever since.

And even now, real cooking hasn’t begun yet, and even when it does, it will require four to five hours of slow cooking for it to reach the point where it melts in your mouth and the marinade becomes gel-like.

When the water in the pot boiled, Lin Xu skimmed off the foam and continued to boil it a bit.

Once it seemed the meat was cooked through, he took the whole pig head out, placed it skin-side down on the chopping board, and began further cleaning.

He scraped off the tongue coating, cleaned the mucous membranes inside the mouth, and then cleaned out the nostrils.

The entire cavity actually has a layer of white membrane, which is also the source of the odor and needs to be completely removed.

After finishing these tasks, he brought over a large iron pot, lined the bottom with a large bamboo grating, and then spread scallion and ginger and other seasonings, before placing the pig head meat skin-side down into the pot.

Add the prepared braising stock and rice wine, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn to the lowest heat, and start the braising process.

The so-called braising refers to slow cooking over low heat, specifically, arranging the cooked ingredients into a certain shape and gently simmering them in the pot.

Only food made this way can be considered braised.

Making braised dishes requires patience—one or two hours is the minimum.

Wei Qian watched as Lin Xu put the lid on the pot and said with a smile:

"Looks like we won’t be having pig head for lunch."

Dai Jianli said:

"Forget lunch, it’s good if it doesn’t disrupt dinner. The reason why this dish is hard to find done well in the market is because it takes too much time, especially the final slow simmering, under five hours and the taste isn’t quite right."

By this calculation, a chef has to work a whole day to present this dish perfectly.

Such labor costs are almost unthinkable in the efficiency-oriented modern restaurant industry.

Plus, the method is both complex and demanding, ultimately leading to a predicament where chefs who can do it don’t want to, and those who want to can’t manage it.

Niu Chuan, who deliberately came over from the pastry department to join the commotion, curiously asked:

"Can’t we just turn up the heat to shorten the braising time?"

Xie Baomin shook his head:

"No, if the heat is too high, the pork exterior will become sticky and soft, but the texture won’t reach the melt-in-the-mouth effect. To achieve the desired mouthfeel, you have to invest enough time."

When lunch was ready, everyone washed their hands and started eating.

This morning’s lunch was Beer Duck. After cleaning the duck thoroughly, it was chopped into pieces and stir-fried in the pot over high heat to extract the moisture, ridding the duck meat of its inherent gaminess.

Then beer was added for stewing.

Cooking duck with beer can make the meat more tender, and the beer also enhances the duck with a delightful aroma.

This flavored duck is delicious, whether paired with beer or rice, making it endlessly appealing.

Dai Jianli, picking at the rice, remarked:

"This duck meat has a great flavor, really goes with rice, especially that last spoonful of sour, spicy chopped chili, which adds a touch of Xiangxi cuisine flavor."

Speaking of Xiangxi, Ma Zhiqiang curiously asked:

"Is there a Blood Duck recipe over there? It’s said to be made by adding fresh duck blood for seasoning when the duck is almost ready, supposedly making the duck meat very delicious."

Dai Jianli nodded:

"Yes, Blood Duck is a dish found in many southern places, like southern Hunan, northern Guangxi, eastern Guizhou, and western Jiangxi, all have similar Blood Duck recipes."

Fresh duck blood has an exceptionally fresh flavor, pouring it into freshly stir-fried duck meat not only adds a fragrant taste but also provides an unusual texture.

Seeing everyone’s interest, Dai Jianli said:

"When we’re not busy one day, I’ll cook you guys a Blood Duck meal, but we have to make arrangements with Old Huang ahead of time. At the suburban slaughterhouse, the ducks must be slaughtered and the duck blood salted to prevent it from coagulating."

In the past, when stores were allowed to slaughter poultry on-site, Dai Jianli could make a Blood Duck right away.

But now we have to notify Old Huang in advance, and Old Huang also has to make appointments with the slaughterhouse, while also using free-range ducks.

If we use those fast-growing ducks fed with duck feed, the fishy taste of the duck blood will be very strong, making the Blood Duck completely inedible.

After the meal, the first wave of customers arrived at the shop.

Everyone coincidentally started ordering Skin Residue dishes.

Some ordered Dipped Skin Residue, some ordered Fried Skin Residue, others ordered Steamed Meat with Skin Residue and Stir-fried Skin Residue.

They were tempted by the eating method Lin Xu showcased in yesterday’s video, so they rushed to the shop to taste this delicacy, to see if it’s as good as Lin Xu had described.

Originally, Lin Xu thought the Skin Residue he steamed this morning, along with what he prepared last night, would be enough for these customers, but unexpectedly, many people wanted to buy a chunk after eating.

This caused the store’s stock levels to drop significantly.

But on the flip side, what customers buy also counts as sales, forcing Lin Xu to work harder, even asking Ma Zhiqiang and others to help.

Still, amidst the busy scene, Lin Xu didn’t forget to check the pig head simmering on the stove.

Two tasks running simultaneously left him feeling a bit stretched.

After four o’clock in the afternoon, learning that Shen Guofu, who was making the Braised Whole Pig’s Head, left work early, he picked up Han Shuzhen who also got off early, and the couple hurried to the shop.

By this time, Lin Xu and Xie Baomin were gathered around the iron pot, lifting the lid...

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Now that my blood sugar is adjusted, my weight has dropped by 11 pounds, but my body feels very uncomfortable, my head is buzzing with no ideas. This Chapter is just three thousand words; I need to adjust a bit, otherwise it’s delaying too much time.