CHAPTER 38: DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RAW AND COOKED

I took a torch from the stands and used it to set fire underneath the slab, on the sticks I had gathered, and made sure it was blazing hot, enough to burn through the rocks, making it seem like a stove.

Fenric was worried I would burn myself, but I told him not to worry since I knew what I was doing. Though, that didn’t mean I couldn’t get burned if I made a mistake.

Then, I got meat that had its blood squeezed out. I used the crude rock knife to cut it into a few pieces, though it wasn’t easy. Fenric did the rest for me since I just wanted to hurry and get started.

Then, for the moment of truth.

I scratched a bit of the salt on my hand and then sprinkled it on the slab before placing the meat softly and gently over the hot slab.

It let out a chilling and sizzling sound on contact with the meat. I could feel myself salivating and my stomach turning badly because I was hungry.

I needed to put something in my mouth already. But I had to wait. It wasn’t time yet.

So, I swallowed hard.

Everyone was watching carefully as I went ahead with this meticulous process and began to whisper again. Of course, I could hear their whispering.

"What do you think she’s trying to prove?"

"How is the meat supposed to reach the fire if she blocks it with a stone?"

"She’s just trying to get attention again."

Of course, these low lives don’t know art even if it hits them in the face.

I can only shut them up with results.

"While it’s easier to just skin the animal you kill and eat it right away," I explained. "This process takes a little more time," I said, and got a long stick, poked a few meat into the stick, and sprinkled salt over it. "In that case, you can just do this and put it over a fire, unless you’re unable to make a fire."

"So fire is needed?" Rakan asked and I nodded.

"Yes. That’s the whole point. You can’t use the salt however you please and expect the meat to taste good. If you just decide to eat it with the salt on top..." I walked towards my father and sprinkled salt on his hand, urging him to taste it.

As soon as he did, he squinted his eyes and his face twisted, as he had just been given lime to drink.

"It’ll taste like that."

"So you’re saying with fire it’ll taste different?" Chief Kasa asked and I nodded. "How does that work?"

"Well," I pointed at the fireplace. "I’m showing it to you now, aren’t I?"

I walked back to the fireplace, knelt down, and sprinkled salt on top before I started flipping the meat. They had begun to stick to the rock, and the sticks couldn’t pick them up cleanly, but that’s not a problem.

I did that and then twisted the sticks that I had dug on the floor so the other side of the meat could touch the fire as well.

Phew, I suddenly feel like I’m filming a cooking show.

The clickbait would’ve been something like, ’Roasting meat for the wild beastmen I met after transmigration.’

Surely no one would believe they were real beastmen and just call it props.

Funny.

"I think this should do it," I said and put all the meat on a rock. I left them to cool as I put more raw meat on the slab. Let’s not waste this opportunity given to us and cook more meat.

"Is it done?" Chief Kasa asked and I nodded. "It smells great," I could see him wiping the drool from his mouth.

Yeah, that’s the right reaction.

Everyone had their eyes on the meat I was carrying but no one said a word. I could hear their gulping though, as they salivated over this aromatic meat, unlike the dull raw meat they usually ate.

"Sorry for the delay. Your barbecue, I mean, your roasted meat, is ready." I smiled, placing the rock in front of them.

But first things first.

I picked up a stick and then blew on it.

"It’s hot," I said to them. "So you can’t just throw it in your mouth or you’ll get burned."

"All this process seems unnecessary." Ashren suddenly said from behind father. "I mean, instead of going through all this, why not just eat the meat as it is?"

Everyone began to support him and I understand. After all, someone accustomed to bathing in cold water in the winter will never understand the warm feeling of bathing in hot water when they’ve never experienced it.

Wait, no, this idiom does not suit them since they don’t even bathe.

Whatever. He’ll change his mind once he tastes it.

I handed one stick to Fenric, smiled at him, and said,

"Make sure to blow on it."

They’re animals so I’m sure they can manage a little burn or two.

He blushed as he nodded it.

"I never thought a day would come when I would receive meat from a female." He said and I laughed.

"It’s not just any meat, though." And it’s not like I caught the meat myself. He knows this fact but still feels happy about it.

I turned to Chief Kasa and Rakan.

"Once you taste the meat, you’ll understand why the process was so long and why just eating it raw might never cross your mind again," I said, my eyes darting to Ashren who dared to speak such words without even trying it out first.

After handing the meat to those I dreamed were important, not including Veyra and the two brothers who saw me as an eyesore, I said,

"Please tell me what you think after you eat it."

I took the lead and dug my teeth into the meat that seemed so much more tasty than the raw meat I had been offered that morning.

With a single bite, I ripped the meat out of the stick and...

"Hmmm, hmmmmm..." I unintentionally hummed out excitedly as I chewed this delicacy with my hand glued to my cheek.

It was great. I did great.

At this point, anyone in this era would believe it if I said my hands had magic flowing through them.

Now, this was meat worth eating.

The others saw my reaction and decided to eat as well.

As soon as they tasted the meat, their eyes were opened to a new world and their taste buds went up by one level.

The level of eating premium steak, lol.

Now let’s see you run your mouth about how this is just a waste of time.