Chapter 134: Cutting Meat
Lord Ash was proud and happy, cleaning and washing the meats while he stared at his cub, who was happy to see him in there.
He was certain he had made the right decision.
They continued cleaning the meat until they removed excess blood and left it clean.
And then Ayra proceeded to informing them about cutting the large animals into manageable chunks. Advising to slice some into thin strips so they cook faster and leave large legs whole for roasting.
They were now in the kitchen as the beastmen in charge proceeded with doing so. All standing in line and cutting through the meats.
Ayra sat down watching. Ally was on her lap now, playing with her clothing while watching the activity going on.
"It already looks so delicious..." Rai smiled at the scene before him.
"It’s still normal meat though," Lord Vale explained.
"..." Rai blinked. "But they look so cool cutting the meat."
Ayra nodded with a smile. "Yeah. This is also a cool part of the job. Cutting the meat. Cutting it excellently is a rare skill that makes a man look so hot and handsome," she smiled.
On hearing this, the cook beastmen instantly adjusted themselves and began cutting it to the best of their skill.
They displayed their best skill with hopes of looking cool and gaining more praises from the female.
And at the moment, Lord Zark folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat as he approached the scene and took a knife as well.
Everyone stared at him, surprised. "Huh? What is he doing...?"
"Does the dragon lord want to ...."
"Cut meat???" Everyone was beyond surprised.
They watched as Lord Zark approached the scene and grabbed a meat. They stared intently to see if the dragon lord could even cut anything because he wasn’t one to do such things at all!
All everyone knew about the tribe lord was the fact that he was cold and ruthless and also good at war. No one knew him for doing anything else like domestic cooking!
So watching him pick up a knife left them speechless. And they stared closely as he began cutting the meat.
Lord Zark’s hand moved smoothly with the knife, cutting through the meat as if it were nothing much.
His hands moved in a smooth attractive manner, handling the meat into careful pieces that blended so well.
It was a shocking sight for all. Everyone had their jaws dropped while they stood staring at him. They blinked repeatedly, watching as his hands moved like a pro!
"... Is this the real dragon lord we know...?" One of the warrior beastmen asked.
"I can’t even tell..." Another shook his head.
"How can he cut so well?"
A cook inquired, "Was the dragon lord once a cook or something..? Why is his hand so smooth?!"
"Same question too," another demanded as they stared in disbelief.
Ayra couldn’t help but smile at the scene. She watched his hands move like a modern day French chef at his peak, moving the knife through the meat effortlessly.
She was certainly impressed.
Lord Vale smiled, shaking his head. "Stealing the spotlight to show off as expected.. I guess you really want the female to see your skills."
Lord Ash shook his head. "How come I didn’t know he had such a skill..."
"Beats me too," Lord Vale shook his head.
Ayra smiled as she said, "At least it makes him look extremely hot and handsome..." She praised.
Lord Zark heard it but pretended as if he didn’t. His cheeks flushed as he continued cutting the more to show off.
Even Ally had reached out with a smile at the scene. "Papa!" She called out as Lord Ash turned to her.
"No, me is Papa," he insisted as Ayra and some beastmen around burst out into laughter.
---
For the next step, Ayra recommended they make the marinade.
She instructed for several huge carved stone bowls to be brought. And then as the beastmen followed the instructions, she instructed them to mix some ingredients inside.
Crushed wild garlic, crushed pepper berries, rock salt, a little honey, melted animal fat and many more. All blending them inside and mashing everything together with a stone pestle until it becomes a thick paste.
"This already smells nice..." The chef cook smiled as he watched his subordinate mix them all up.
Others sniffed and nodded in agreement as well. "Mm, yes. I agree."
"Same."
After that, Ayra instructed them to take this mix and rub it generously over every piece of meat. "Make sure it reaches every part of the meat."
And the beastmen proceeded to work through it. And in a short time they were done making sure the mixed ingredients were applied to the body of the cut meat.
And after that, they let it rest for about an hour while the fires were prepared.
Ayra led them to prepare huge fire pits. They dug several enormous fire pits, placed large flat stones around them.
Then they burnt hardwood until it produced glowing hot charcoal. And then suspended giant stone pots above some fires while they heated large flat rocks over others for frying.
After that, they kicked off to the main part—frying the meat.
Ayra instructed they add plenty of rendered animal fat onto the heated stone slabs.
Once the fat began sizzling, they laid the meat down carefully.
"Do not overcrowd it," she instructed as she showed them how it’s to be done with some meat.
While the female stood and fried some meat to show them, they all leaned in closely, watching as she did it. They were all impressed, staring with big impressed eyes at how the female did it.
"Let one side brown before turning," she instructed as she made the meat.
"Ohhh," they all nodded, impressed by the female’s way of preparing the meat.
"We always had it black and burnt.." Rai shook his head. "And I was already used to that. But this looks better!"
They all sniffed at how heavenly the scent was. The scent alone sent their souls into beast heaven!
Ayra spooned hot fat over the meat repeatedly, added extra garlic, onions and herbs during cooking so the fragrance spreads.
And as she did this, the sizzling aroma quickly filled the entire tribe.