U-Dae Galbi Made by Splitting Ribs and Meat Lengthwise. The Bone-In Ribs Grilled to a Golden Brown.
U-Dae Galbi Made by Splitting Ribs and Meat Lengthwise. The Bone-In Ribs Grilled to a Golden Brown.
Shhk! Shhk!
With a few swift cuts of the Butcher's Sword, I dismantled the Tuu and Wild Pog I'd hunted in one go.
Butchering meat was hardly a challenge for me.
I'd swung that sword almost every day, and dismembering carcasses had been routine work during my years as a cook knight.
Was it that I could see the length of the bone? The shape of each cut?
Sometimes I relied on knowledge from my past life, sometimes I moved on pure instinct, separating meat from bone.
And as I worked, I noticed something.
'It really is different.'
The color and texture of the meat shifted depending on who'd done the hunting.
Veronia's Tuu and Andrea's Wild Pog both had a distinctly different hue from the animals I'd butchered after my own hunt.
A deeper red, I'd say.
I filed the observation away and went on splitting the ribs.
This cut came from the flower ribs—the part that moved the least, where the marbling showed most vividly.
A special cut that yielded only small amounts at a time and sold for a high price.
I channeled mana into the sword and split the meat lengthwise along the bone, keeping it attached.
I cut the ribs long through bone and flesh, then studied the cross section.
"......."
Sure enough, the red ran far deeper than when I hunted for myself.
I could tell in a glance exactly how Veronia had taken down this Tuu.
I set the long-split flower ribs aside.
I planned to turn these into what we'd called woo-dae-galbi back in Korea—prime grilled ribs.
'But first.'
I still had to break down the pork ribs Andrea had hunted.
For the pig, I cut out the loin rib section separately—what most people would call back ribs or spare ribs.
Thwock!
Watching me chop the ribs apart, Veronia let out a snort and smiled.
A smile that was sure of victory.
No wonder—the size difference between the two rib racks was staggering.
Big as a Wild Pog might get, it couldn't compete with the massive ribs of a Tuu.
I'm not the type to say bigger is always better. But when the first thing that hits you is the sheer size, well, what can you do?
"I'll season them lightly with salt and throw them right on the fire."
After scoring the meat along the bone, I sprinkled a light layer of salt over the flesh and rubbed it in.
The salt worked its way into the cuts.
Veronia's Tuu ribs had a faint reddish cast; Andrea's Wild Pog ribs were a clean, bright red.
"Is there any meat finer than mine, gleaming like a jewel? Hahaha!"
Veronia's voice rang out, brimming with confidence.
"......."
Andrea kept her mouth shut and just watched.
"We'll start by searing them over charcoal."
While I'd been deboning and trimming the meat, Andrea had gotten a charcoal fire going. Now I laid both racks onto the grill.
The moment the meat hit the grate—
Kshhhhhh!
The meat sang as it seared against the hot metal and glowing coals.
Smoke billowed from the charcoal as both cuts began to cook.
Fat bubbled and sputtered; I watched the red meat gradually deepen to a rich brown.
Even the interior near the bone cooked through, blood seeping out and foaming.
I kept flipping the ribs, trying to expose them to flame from every direction.
The charcoal aroma filled my nose.
I flicked fat onto the glowing embers.
Fwoom!
Flames roared to life, searing the surface of the meat crisp.
"Wah!"
Veronia, who'd never seen this trick before, let out a gasp. Andrea only bit her lip, looking tense, and watched in silence.
Their reactions said everything about how they were feeling right now.
I stood still and inhaled.
Beneath the charcoal smoke, a gamey note pricked at my nose.
When an animal's blood isn't fully drained before butchering, it leaves this kind of off-putting smell.
They'd notice it too.
With their sensitive noses, there was no way they wouldn't.
Only.
'They're probably both convinced the stink isn't coming from their own kill.'
Once the initial sear was done, I set a wide griddle on the portable Flare Range—the Brustar.
Fwoosh!
I sliced the meat off the bones with a kitchen knife.
Then, with scissors, I cut the long strips into pieces following the score marks I'd made.
Snip! Snip! Snip!
The well-honed scissors made a crisp, satisfying snicker as they sliced through the meat.
A good feel in the hand.
The leftover bones, still with bits of skin attached, I placed back over the now gently glowing coals to cook separately.
Sizzle sizzle.
"Prime ribs, here we are."
I grilled the meat on the griddle and addressed today's hunters.
"On the left are the Tuu rib fillets Veronia hunted. On the right, the Wild Pog rib fillets from Andrea. I suggest you start with the Wild Pog. It's thinner, so the searing pretty much cooked it through."
Both of them looked down at the now golden-brown rib meat.
Seasoned with nothing but salt, the grilled ribs sizzled and popped with grease, waiting to be plucked up by chopsticks.
"Fine with me! If the cook says so, it must be decent!"
Veronia stabbed a piece with her fork and popped it into her mouth.
"Mm... Not bad. A very proper flavor!"
She nodded, savoring the pork.
"Surprisingly tender for Wild Pog! The one I hunted didn't taste like this at all."
"......."
Andrea silently picked up a piece and ate.
Normally she'd stuff her cheeks full, but right now, nerves had her placing just one slice in her mouth and chewing delicately.
"It's good. Your cooking really is something else, Boss."
She said it quietly, clearly deflated.
She'd completely lost her nerve.
I pushed out two sauce dishes: sesame oil mixed with salt, and ssamjang.
"Eat with these."
Andrea's eyes lit up even through her gloom at the sight of the ssamjang and seasoned oil.
"Oh? What's this?"
Unlike Veronia, who asked me, Andrea instantly grabbed more meat and dipped it in the oil sauce.
"Meat sauce. You'll know what it's like once you try it."
"If that pig elf likes it, it must be pretty damn tasty!"
"I'm not a pig elf!"
Maybe it was the food, but Andrea had gathered a bit of her spirit back and shrieked.
"Ohoh! This is quite a delicacy!"
Veronia dabbed ssamjang onto a piece of meat, stabbed it with her fork, and her face brightened.
"Delicious! What's this sauce made of? I'm shocked by how good it is!"
Chopsticks and forks moved faster and faster.
They'd burned plenty of calories hunting, so that was only natural.
Once they'd eaten about half the Wild Pog rib meat, I slid the Tuu rib meat forward.
Veronia swallowed hard at the sight of the Tuu meat—a much darker brown than the Pog.
"All right, now the Tuu rib meat Veronia brought in. Try it. First bite, no sauce."
Veronia and Andrea both reached for a piece almost at the same time.
And then.
"......."
"......."
Both women's brows furrowed.
"T-Tough, after all..."
"Ugh, it tastes bad."
They chewed the meat like it was rubber gum.
And this was the flower ribs—supposedly the tenderest cut of the whole animal.
I'd expected as much.
I didn't need to taste it to know exactly what state Veronia's meat was in.
"Doesn't taste good?! This is how you're meant to eat Tuu! Tearing into tough meat with your teeth—that's the true mark of a warrior!"
Andrea sighed at Veronia's outburst.
She'd forced down the rubbery meat, but now a smile crept onto her lips.
"You're the one who doesn't understand real hunting, little wolf."
"What?"
"A warrior's symbol or whatever, fine. But in the end, we hunt strong monsters so we can eat the by-product deliciously—to enjoy good meat. Isn't that the whole point?"