America 1883: The Western Homeland

Chapter 79 Gathering the mule deer hunted this morning!

Tom never expected that his family, who had just settled in the town of Bozeman, would be going out shopping!

The vast ranch was instantly empty. Apart from him, Elsa, Ennis, the limping cook Jonah, and Uncle Sam and his son who were unloading cargo, there was nothing else.

Don't underestimate this lame cook!

The mule deer that were just hunted.

Fresh produce is all his job!

"Tom, are you staying here to steal my cooking skills?"

Jonah the Bearded Man started teasing Tom.

"Jonah, I don't understand why someone with your skills would choose to stay here alone?"

This matter had been on Tom's mind for a long time.

On the way to Bozeman, Tom also secretly observed him, and he did not find anything unusual.

Jonah was taken aback, then burst into laughter, his full beard trembling.

"Tom, if you were me, you'd understand that life in the Wild West is never-ending, and I need a stable place to spend the rest of my life!"

The few words conveyed a profound sense of desolation.

Suddenly, Jonah walked up to Tom mysteriously and whispered, "Tom, if you want to survive longer in this wilderness, do you know what you need?"

Tom was drawn in by Jonah's mysterious expression. "What?"

"child!"

"What?" Tom seemed to have misheard.

"Look at your family! Besides your father James, you're the only two grown men left. The rest are all women! That's terrible!"

Jonah shook his head, casually pulled out a flask, and took a swig of wine!

Tom understood what Jonah meant, but, "I'm only seventeen!"

"No, not you, it's your parents!"

Tom was taken aback, then ignored Jonah. How could he possibly interfere in his parents' affairs?

"Am I supposed to carry the deer, you lame fellow?!" Jonah roared at Ennis, who was standing by watching the spectacle.

Ennis trembled at the shout and quickly jogged forward.

Seeing this, Tom immediately offered his help.

The two men worked together to tie the hind legs of the magnificent mule-deer with thick hemp ropes, and with shouts and effort, they hoisted it upside down onto the dark, sturdy crossbeam in the slaughter area.

The deer's head was lowered and its neck was taut.

Jonah then limped over and, without saying a word, drew his gleaming hunting knife from his waist with a "whoosh".

He gripped the upside-down deer head with his left hand like iron clamps, fixing the angle.

With his right hand, the knife tip was as steady as a rock, precisely piercing three inches below the deer's throat, the fatal intersection of the carotid artery and trachea!

"laugh--!!!"

With a sudden, vicious horizontal slash, he pulled his wrist away!

The dark red, scalding blood, like a fountain that had been suppressed for a long time, shot out with a powerful hiss, crashing heavily into the wide-mouthed wooden tub below, splashing up a fine spray of blood droplets.

The strong, pungent smell of rust exploded instantly in the cold air, spreading and filling everyone's nostrils.

The upside-down position makes gravity the best helper, and the blood rushes in quickly and thoroughly. This is the first ironclad rule for obtaining high-quality venison that is free of blood stasis and odor!

The hissing sound of the blood column gradually weakened, eventually turning into the "drip...drip..." sound of blood droplets falling to the bottom of the bucket.

Jonah shook off the remaining blood from the knife, and then plunged the tip back into the gash in his neck.

This time, the blade cut close to the thin but strong fascia layer between the skin and flesh.

This membrane is crucial to the success of peeling; the blade must move with the precision of ice skating across the membrane and under the skin.

If you cut too shallowly, you'll tear the skin and ruin its value; if you cut too deep, you'll waste precious subcutaneous fat and injure the flesh.

He grabbed the skin at the edge of the incision with his left hand and pulled it upwards with force.

With a steady hand, the right wrist controlled the blade, the tip of the blade moving forward steadily along the fascia layer like a nimble snake, while the wrist deftly slid left and right.

"Sizzle... sizzle..."

A soft, continuous sound of separation rang out; it was the tough flesh being gently yet firmly sliced ​​open by a sharp blade.

When encountering particularly tight adhesions in the fascia, Jonah deftly flicked his wrist and flicked away, the tip of his knife flashing across the surface.

With a soft "pop," the adhesion broke off, ensuring the peeled surface was smooth as a mirror, preserving the integrity of the skin and the oily fat layer to the greatest extent possible.

Whether it's tanning the finest leather or adding a rich, meaty flavor, it's all thanks to it!

The entire deerskin, still warm from body heat and glossy, was enhanced by Jonah's exquisite knife skills and the gravity provided by his upside-down posture.

Like taking off a heavy coat, it was completely stripped off and spread out on the clean wooden table next to it with a "whoosh".

"Alright! Put it down!" Jonah wiped the blood splattered on his beard and gestured with his chin toward Ennis and Tom.

The two men stepped forward again, untied the ropes, and slammed the bloodless, skinned, crimson deer back onto the thick oak chopping board.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the cutting board trembled, as if it had finally met its true work object.

Next comes the meticulous work of breaking it down.

Jonah switched to a thick-backed cleaver.

He lifted one hind leg, the blade precisely wedging into the natural gap of the hip joint.

There are joint capsules and ligaments here; finding the right angle to cut in can save effort.

With a crisp "crack!", the thigh bone separated from the pelvis in an instant.

The shoulder joint of the foreleg is treated in the same way. The tip of the knife probes into the bone gap, and with a twist and pry of the wrist, the scapula is easily removed.

Precisely dissecting the joints avoids unnecessary bone fragments contaminating the meat and also facilitates subsequent processing.

Then comes the meticulous deboning.

The blade slid down the spine, close to the indentations on both sides of the spine.

This is the tenderloin, the most tender part. Cutting close to the bone will allow you to remove the entire tenderloin intact.

Turn the deer over, and the blade slices along the natural curve of the ribs, cleanly and neatly cutting off large pieces of rib meat. The curve of the ribs is a natural guide line.

He carefully cut out the tender inner muscles of the chest and abdomen with the tip of a knife, using extremely gentle movements to avoid damaging this most delicate part.

Finally, the wreckage was disposed of.

The deer's head was cleanly severed, but the precious antlers were preserved.

He used an axe to split open the ribcage, took out the warm internal organs, and quickly sorted the edible parts such as the heart, liver, and kidneys into a bucket of clean water to rinse, cool, and preserve them. The liver, in particular, needed to be processed and eaten as soon as possible.

On the cutting board, only a clean skeleton remained, with the white bone cut off precisely by the knife and axe at the joints, and neatly stacked pieces of bright red meat next to it.

Thick thigh meat, perfectly shaped tenderloin, clearly textured ribs, and intact tenderloin.

Each piece of meat was cut cleanly and smoothly, without any extra knife marks or bits of meat.

It clearly demonstrates the surgeon's profound understanding of the deer's anatomy, muscle texture, and fascia direction, as well as the technical essence of how to obtain the best part with the fewest movements and the least damage.

The remaining three deer, too, went through the journey of separation from their flesh and blood under Jonah's swift knife!

The tenderloin and ribs were precisely removed whole, wrapped in breathable coarse linen, and hung in a cool, shady place in the warehouse.

The thick leg meat and sturdy shoulder meat were chopped into several large pieces and "plop, plop" smashed into the prepared brine bucket.

As for the meat that can't be finished?

There's an incense burner!

Salted meat chunks are slowly smoked for three days and three nights.

The freshly baked smoked meat is wrapped in a moisture-proof tarpaulin and stacked in an oak barrel.

Tom and Ennis finally cleaned the bloody slaughterhouse.

A voice suddenly drifted from the shadows beside them, making them jerk up their heads!