Culinary God in Wilderness

He pointed at Andre and said, "There are six contestants with extensive wilderness survival experience like him. You’re telling me the other five haven’t hunted any large game? Haven’t they teamed up with the other three professional contestants?"

"Of course they have, but they don’t have the right to make trades, so they aren’t included in our consideration. We’re only looking at the situation of you four professional contestants."

’So, in other words, I’m the one doing the best out of the four of them?’

At that thought, he suddenly remembered something he needed to clarify.

"So, what if I want to know the exact locations of the other three professional contestants?"

"What do you mean? You want to trade meat for information?"

Surprise flashed in Robert’s eyes. He frowned, pondering for a moment.

The competition was now on its forty-first day, almost halfway through. The contestants who had made it this far all had what it took to survive in the wild.

It was true that Alaska was rich in game, which had allowed most contestants to get through the difficult initial period very smoothly.

But if things continued like this, there would probably still be many people left at the one-hundred-day mark, and that wouldn’t be very interesting.

"One hundred kilograms of meat for one piece of information. How about it?"

"How many kilograms do I have on hand?"

Lin Chen hadn’t kept a precise count himself, so he glanced curiously at Daniel and Hei.

Daniel ticked off the numbers on his fingers. "The six wolves are 224 kilograms total. Deboned, that’s about 160 kilograms. The Musk Ox meat, I’d estimate, is about 300 kilograms. And we’ll tentatively put all these King Salmon at 100 kilograms for now, because we can’t see exactly how many are inside."

"560 kilograms... 30 kilograms of Musk Ox meat is probably enough for me. I could trade all the rest. But on second thought, do I really have a reason to go looking for the other pros?"

Robert had assumed Lin Chen would trade his entire stock. A smile began to spread across his face, but it froze when he heard Lin Chen’s change of tune.

"What do you mean, you’re not going to trade for the location info? Hey! Lin, I can give you a little intel. The carpenter has most of the common furniture in his shelter now—tables, chairs, a wooden bed, storage cabinets, and so on. He also has a complete set of tools."

"If you work with him, your life will become more comfortable and convenient, and he can improve his food situation. It’s a win-win!"

"Are you saying my home isn’t comfortable enough?"

Lin Chen was completely unmoved. "Whose shelter is safer than mine?"

"...No."

"Whose shelter is more windproof and warm?"

"...No."

"Who has a bigger food supply than me?"

"...No one."

"Then what do I need those tools for? I can live this comfortably without them. And with plenty of food, I have all the time in the world to tinker around and figure things out myself. There’s absolutely no need to waste a hundred kilograms of meat. Right, Andre?"

"That’s right," Andre agreed with a nod. "Based on my thirty years of experience, Lin’s shelter is truly perfect. In his current situation, he really doesn’t need to cooperate with anyone to get anything. I’m even worried if he’ll still be willing to work with me next week."

"Seeing as you helped me move the goods, as long as you bring your own ingredients next week, I can still cook a few meals for you. You probably won’t even have to do anything."

Unable to persuade him, Robert didn’t know what else to do, but he was getting incredibly anxious.

A full 560 kilograms of meat. Even after trading for seasonings, he’d still have around 400 kilograms left.

There was no way he could eat all that in sixty days.

How was this any different from him being the designated winner?

If the competition became this predictable this early, wouldn’t the audience find it boring, causing the ratings to drop?

’No, this is too big for me to decide on my own. I have to go back and hold a meeting!’

’No, not just a meeting. We need to hold an online poll and let the viewers decide the direction of the second half of the competition.’

"For the items on your list that we have in stock, I’ll have Hei deliver them after the routine physical exam. For the ones we don’t, we’ll send someone to bring them over after our group supply run in a couple of days. We’ll get you everything then."

One bag of flour cost 50 kilograms of meat, and the remaining items were 10 kilograms each. He took three bags of salt, which brought the total to exactly 160 kilograms.

He had the crew take all six wolves, including the pelts for processing. Since there wasn’t anything to trade them for at the moment, he would have to wait until he knew their specific sale price before deciding on their equivalent value in meat.

He wasn’t worried about the crew trying to pull a fast one; too many pairs of eyes were watching from behind the screen.

The crew’s vehicle quickly disappeared into the forest.

Andre sidled up, grinning sheepishly. "Hey, Lin... so, what’s for breakfast?"

"Steak? Or is there something else you want?"

"Yes! Steak should be quick, right? I’m starving. My stomach has been cramping ever since that ice face woke me up earlier."

"’Ice face’... you really talk as if Aili can’t hear you. Be careful she doesn’t get you back next time."

’Since the old guy wants steak, that’s simple enough. Saves me some trouble, too.’

He opened the door to the storage shed.

"What cut? Phil? Ribeye? Sirloin? Blade? Or..."

"Ribeye!"

"Good choice. You’ve got good taste."

The ribeye steak, also known as eye of rib, comes from the muscle along the back of the cow, between the sixth and twelfth ribs. It is renowned for its beautiful marbling, rich fat, and tender, juicy texture.

The name comes from the fact that the fat in the center of this cut is shaped like an eye, though the fat pattern in this area isn’t always a perfect oval on every cow.

In terms of tenderness, the ribeye is second only to the Phil, but it isn’t as lean as a Phil. Its marbling makes it full of juice and aroma, making it one of the best cuts for a beginner to Western-style steak.

The previous night when he was butchering, he had only simply removed the four limbs, the two rib cages, and the tenderloin. He hadn’t had time to break down the entire backstrap and brisket.

He simply cut off half a ribeye section, placed it on the sled along with the surrounding meat, and the two of them worked together to haul it back inside the shelter.

The ribeye sold in Western restaurants is trimmed. The complete ribeye is actually wrapped between the ribeye cap and a thick layer of fat, and is known by professionals as the ribeye heart.

The rather popular Tomahawk steak is really just a ribeye steak with the rib bone left attached.

Even though there isn’t much more meat, the price can be double or triple—a true steak ripoff.

Andre was in charge of starting the fire, while Lin Chen began trimming the beef in the yard.

The excess fat he trimmed off was cut into thin slices and thrown into a pan to render later. The beef itself didn’t need much trimming; since it wasn’t for sale, he wasn’t going to be that picky for his own meal.

Whether it was the ribeye cap or the ribeye heart, the taste was actually about the same. It’s just that the cap has an irregular shape, so it doesn’t fetch a high price, and its size isn’t suitable for serving as a main course, so it doesn’t appear on restaurant menus.

The Swedish torch roared to life. The beef tallow in the pan melted rapidly, letting out a SIZZLE. It popped from time to time as water separated from the fat.

"Do you remember how I taught you to cook a steak last time?"

"More or less."

Lin Chen nodded, and without further ado, waited for thick smoke to rise from the pan before immediately laying the enormous ribeye flat inside.

The roughly trimmed ribeye steak was huge, much larger than his palm and over twenty centimeters long.

He had intentionally cut it three centimeters thick. This piece of meat alone weighed about a pound.

No steak lover could resist the temptation of a steak of this thickness and size.

While the first steak was resting, he didn’t stay idle, pulling out a second pan to cook a piece for himself.

An intensely rich aroma of beef tallow filled the air above the small yard, making both their stomachs RUMBLE. Andre was especially impatient, pacing back and forth around the torch, rubbing his hands together from time to time, his eyes never leaving the steak in his pan.

"Is it ready?"

"Is it not ready yet?"

"I feel like it’s been five minutes."

"A little rare is fine, I’ve even gnawed on raw beef in the wild before."

"Hey, hey, I’m starving to death here!"

Under Andre’s nagging, which came every ten seconds or so, Lin Chen finally lost his patience. He switched the positions of the two pans, reheated Andre’s for another half minute, and then handed it to him.

"Eat, eat. It’s somewhere between rare and medium-rare now. If you get an upset stomach, it’s not my fault. Swear it to the camera."

"I swear! If I get an upset stomach, it has nothing to do with Lin!"

Andre quickly swore an oath, holding four fingers to the sky. The moment the words were out, he stabbed the steak with his chopsticks, lifted it, brought it to his mouth to blow on it, and took a huge bite.

"SQUIRT"

A stream of clear juices mixed with browned bits shot out, searing a hole in the snow on the ground.

"Oh~ Praise God!"

Andre chewed with a look of pure bliss, the huge steak impaled on his chopsticks constantly dripping with juice. The bite mark revealed a tender pink interior, so tender you could feel it just by looking.

The layer of fat on the edge of the ribeye had been intentionally seared. Its surface was crispy, and the fat inside had completely melted. While chewing, it provided a texture similar to fried pork rinds, while the melted fat infused the beef, adding another layer of rich aroma.

Connoisseurs generally prefer the joy of that bite of beef fat. Especially when famished, the pleasure of that fat bursting in your mouth is irreplaceable by any other food.

Seeing him eat with such ecstasy, Lin Chen silently swallowed, grabbing a small pinch of sea salt from a bag. "You didn’t even put this on. What’s the rush? No one’s going to steal it from you."

"Oh, right, right! I was wondering why it felt like something was missing."

After sprinkling on sea salt and crushed black pepper, the steak’s flavor profile changed again. The perfect amount of saltiness and the spice of the black pepper helped cut through the richness of the fat while also masking any hint of bloodiness, making the meat taste sweeter.

People who don’t eat rare food might think that eating such an undercooked steak is like eating raw meat, but for those who love it, that flavor is the soul of the dish.

Soon, Lin Chen’s own steak was ready.

He had cooked his to medium-rare and was patiently cutting it into pieces with a knife to eat. Compared to Andre next to him, who was wolfing down his steak, tearing off huge bites, the two of them were the very picture of a civilized man and a barbarian.

The Musk Ox meat was more ordinary than he’d imagined, almost no different from regular beef. If he had to point out a difference, it would be that the meat was a little tough and didn’t have enough fat.

But compared to the Black Bear meat and the wolf meat, it was on a completely different level.

Especially since this was freshly slaughtered beef, going from death to the table in under five hours. It didn’t need any extra seasoning at all, and there was no gamey or strange taste.

As the two were blissfully enjoying their extravagant breakfast, a SCRAPE SCRAPE sound of claws scratching suddenly came from outside the fence.

The piece of beef Lin Chen had just picked up froze in mid-air. He sighed deeply in resignation.

"Sigh... I give up."

"If worst comes to worst, just keep it as a pet," Andre said indistinctly, his mouth full of meat. "You have so much meat anyway, one more mouth to feed won’t make a dent."

"If you can raise an arctic fox, you could steal all the viewership from the farmer. Who wouldn’t love a cute little guy like that, especially women?"

"Keep it?"

Lin Chen froze. He had never really considered that.

He turned his head and, through a gap in the fence, his gaze met a pair of small, round eyes.