I was nine years old when my grandfather took me hunting in my last life. Between health crises, it was some of my best fun, and I just turned eight.
The animals in this area resemble what I was used to in my previous world. The boars are a bit bigger and meaner here, but that gives me an idea.
Knock Knock
I peer into my Father’s open office. “Father, are you in?”
“Alfred, taking a day off from training?”
“No, Father, I was in the middle of my routine when a rather angry boar charged at me. I brought the meat back and was hoping I could have our chef teach me how to cook it. Would that be acceptable?”
“Oh, it must’ve been a young boar that was wandering. Well done, but show me the spoils, boy. If you make something good, I’d like to have a taste myself.”
I don’t miscalculate often, but I took every bit of boar meat I could off the largest animal I could find. He’s going to shit when he sees a 150kg spread of boar in the kitchen.
“Sure, Father, follow me to the kitchen.” Cold sweat runs down my neck for the entire walk, and the kitchen isn’t close to Father’s office. I really hope he isn’t weird about this.
We wander into the kitchen after walking the length of the estate, and I motion to the stack of meat I have piled up on a prep table.
“My, look at the size of these ribs. And what are these larger chunks? And this slab? It’s mostly fat, but there’s a bit of meat throughout." But Father’s curiosity evaporates. He turns to me with a worried expression. "Alfred boy, come closer.”
Ah shit, here we go.
“Yes, Father, what is it?”
He runs his hands over me gently. I haven’t had a security-style pat-down since being reborn, and my Father looks genuinely concerned. I let all the freedom lately go to my head; I need to do better at acting my age around the house.
“HA hahah, you aren’t injured in the slightest, are you? You did pick up the sword rather young, but you must’ve had quite the fight on your hands to face an animal of this size.”
“It wasn’t a problem. I jumped to the side as it lowered its head to charge me. Then lopped off the animal’s head. It was rather fun; I think I’d like to do more hunting once I learn to cook properly…”
Take it, Father, take the bait.
“If you can handle an animal of this size, I don’t think you’d find anything in this area dangerous, but did Ricardo help you prepare these cuts? They’re quite clean.”
“I read a travel account when I was younger that detailed basic animal processing for boar, deer, and rabbits. It’s far from perfect since it was my first time, but I wanted to try some of the recipes from those accounts as well.”
I did look for travel accounts when I was younger, but I came up empty. In my past life, I was about this age when I first started hunting, so this sort of thing is ingrained in me.
“Alright, use the kitchen as you please and enlist Ricardo. So long as you don’t interrupt dinner with the family, I don’t mind." Father looks back to the meat pile, then drops a hand onto my shoulder. “It’s good to see you excited about something other than swinging your sword in the forest, Alfred.”
Sometimes I forget these people think of themselves as my parents. I suppose they technically are, but it’s hard to get a second set of parents at 30. I don’t feel bad lying to them and manipulating them either… I think it’s kinder than telling them the truth.
***
I wait in the kitchen, until a tall man with short black hair inside a chef’s hat enters. “Good Afternoon, Ricardo. Did Father inform you of my request?”
“Master Alfred, he has indeed. He was beaming with pride that you managed to fend off a large boar on your own. He mentioned you had some recipe ideas you’ve read about. Could you share the details of those?”
“Right, I processed the animal into four roasts made from the larger muscles of each leg, two sets of ribs, two loins, the belly, and I cut the remaining meat off to be used in a sausage. I mostly need your help selecting different spices to try on the roasts and ribs. I already have plans for the rest of it.”
Of the servants my family employs, I think I interact with Ricardo the least. He’s surprisingly nice considering I’m crashing his workplace, or maybe he gets bored spending most of his time alone in the kitchen. For how much I enjoyed cooking in my last life, I’m sad I haven’t experimented with the offerings of this world. Playing with magic is more fun, but this will be a nice change of pace.
Ricardo and I spend the afternoon making preparations. He’s not afraid to use salt. My mom in my last life would give me an earful if she saw me cooking with so much of it. The ribs, loin, and roasts will marinate overnight. The sausage is made and can be cooked whenever, but Ricardo is struggling to wrap his head around my idea for the belly cut.
“So, you’re going to cure it, subject it to low heat and smoke for a time, then slice it thin and heat it until it’s completely crispy later?”
“Exactly right, there’s a famous adventurer who learned this process on his travels and wrote about more than any other food he tried throughout his life.”
It’s me, I’m the adventurer. I haven’t had bacon once since being born here. I thought it might just not suit my parents' tastes, but from this reaction, I don’t think they have it in this country. Or maybe it’s the smoke part that's throwing him off.
***
Before dawn the following day, I’m already in the kitchen. Everything is prepped, and I’ve even tossed some sausage into my storage space. I seem to regen magic fast enough to keep it open, but this will be my first time storing something raw.
It’s time for the greatest breakfast a growing boy could ever ask for. Bacon, with a side of bacon. I chilled the belly meat when I first arrived home, then rubbed it with salt, pepper, and sugar. I even cooked it in the oven with the lowest and smokiest flame I could muster for about three hours. I’ll slice thin pieces off and fry them to a perfect crisp.
When I lay the first strip onto the hot pan, I feel an odd twinge in my chest. This world has a lot to offer. Magic is incredible, and from what I’ve seen, I’m a big fish in a small pond. But seeing that sizzle of bacon reminds me of my first world, well, whatever, at least I have bacon.
I chose a comically large pan to fry the bacon and cut ten full belly-length strips. It’s a bit overboard for a first test, but bacon is hard to screw up. Once it shrinks in length by about a quarter, I flip each piece to reveal a wonderful crispy texture. I’m excited, and the smell is making me drool.
“Master Alfred, are you cooking something?” Shayna asks as she shyly enters the kitchen.
I turn from my masterpiece and see her blinking away her sleepiness. “Good morning, Shayna. I’m surprised you’re up so early. Did I make too much noise?”
But she shakes her head. “No, no, I’m embarrassed to say, but my nose woke me up. What are you making, Master Alfred?”
“It’s called bacon. I read about making boar belly into it when I was younger, and after fighting one yesterday, I finally have the chance to try it.”
Shayna smirks at me despite her sleepy face. “I heard your Father talking about the boar yesterday; he was in particularly high spirits.”
“Father did seem pleased... the bacon is almost done – would you like to try some? There’s quite a lot.”
This first batch would be nearly a package in my old world.
“If you’re offering, I would love to.”
This reminds me of cooking for my family in my last life. I hope she likes it.
I pull strips from the pan and place them on a drying towel. “Alright, both sides are crispy. Now we let it rest on a cloth for a moment to remove the fat it was cooking in, then we can eat it.”
Here we are, the moment of truth. I lift a strip to my mouth for my first bite of bacon in almost a decade.
Crunch
It... is... incredible. And I could use a bit less salt if it’s going to sit in spatial storage where I don’t have to worry about spoilage.
My eyes open after thoroughly enjoying the flavor, but Shayna is staring at me. “Shayna, are you going to try some?”
“Yes, my apologies. You looked so satisfied eating it, I couldn’t help but watch. It must’ve turned out to your liking.”
“It did, but please give me your honest opinion. I may be biased since I’ve been dreaming about trying this for so many years.”
She’s going to love it; any sane person would.
She’s lifting it to her mouth. Incoming crunch and… “It’s so crispy, but it almost melts in my mouth as I chew it.” Shayna’s head tilts to the side. “It’s not too salty either. Where did you read about this, Master Alfred? I can’t believe I’ve never had such a nice boar dish when they’re widely eaten in this area.”
“It was in an adventurer’s travel log that I read as a child. In all his adventures, this is the food he wrote about the most. He loved it for breakfast as we’re having it now, but it has many other uses.”
“How else is it typically eaten?”
“The adventurer would regularly add it to his travel meals by placing another meat with bacon and cheese between slices of bread. He also tried a dish where the bacon was cut into little chunks, then fried and used to top a noodle dish, though he wasn’t partial to that method…”
“Interesting, I’ve tried a noodle dish in the capital, but it wasn’t to my liking either.”
I smile at the thoughts of the recipes I can work on. “He described some that sound nice. Once I’ve mastered boar recipes, I may try to recreate some of the other things he wrote of.”
“If you’re ever in need of a taste tester, don’t be afraid to ask; this was quite a treat.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” My heart feels full, and my belly is actually filling. “Take a look in the oven, Shayna.”
Shayna walks past me and opens the oven door, revealing a spread of ribs and roasts that could feed the estate for days.
“Is the entire animal in here!? Just how many people are you trying to feed?”
“Haha, well, I wanted to try several seasoning combinations that Ricardo and I decided on yesterday. Supposedly, an outdoor oven with more direct smoke and a long cook time is best for this type of meat, but I figured a regular oven and a low flame would be alright.”
“Right, but what are you going to do with all the food?”
I wasn’t worried about overcooking since I want to try storing hot food in spatial storage, but I can’t say that. I guess I’ll have to put off trying the loin and sausage for a day or two.
“If anything tastes inedible, I’ll bring it to the forest for the animals. And fatty meats are supposed to reheat well. Since we have an ice box, anything we like can be kept and eaten throughout the week.”
Which gives me an idea; I have no idea how Hawaiian rolls were made, but they definitely tasted sweet. I’ll have to ask Ricardo if he knows anything about making a bread that’s soft and sweet.
Shayna peels her eyes away from the oven and turns them to me. “I suppose that’s alright then, and it’ll allow me to try more of your cooking, which I’m looking forward to.”
“You’re too kind, Shayna. Please don’t be afraid to criticize the food. I need to learn, and making something awful will likely be part of that process.”
None of it should taste awful- the ribs in particular, I have confidence in. But Ricardo turned white at how much spice I added to the one roast. I’m really looking forward to it.