Reborn in Japan as a Chef God
Chapter 103: A Flash and Vanishing Blade Technique

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: A Flash and Vanishing Blade Technique

"Take this—"

He handed the cleaned black suckling pig to Xingping Chuangzhen, pushing it into his arms. "Hold it steady!"

Xingping Chuangzhen was a bit bewildered, but he saw Xia Yu directly grab a slender kitchen knife, stroke the head of the black suckling pig, and before he could react, swoosh, half of the shiny blade had disappeared under the pig’s neck.

This was the point where the carotid artery and jugular vein connected; with one cut, the stinking pig’s blood gushed out immediately. Fortunately, Xia Yu had prepared a basin in advance and quickly held it up to catch the blood.

This was a very important step in slaughtering pigs—

Bloodletting!

Whether or not you were making roast suckling pig, bloodletting was a must in pig slaughter. Otherwise, if the blood remained inside, it would affect the meat quality, not to mention adding a hard-to-remove fishy smell that severely damaged the taste.

Xia Yu was very confident in his knife skills. In the Chef God Space, if there was a butcher achievement, he would have been a slaughtering general for his precise single cut severing the artery under the pig’s neck without touching the trachea, ensuring the pig did not struggle or cough blood, being exceptionally humane.

The bloodletting took a bit of time.

Until there was no more blood seeping from the cut, ensuring no trace amounts were left in the suckling pig, Xia Yu had the maids bring the heated water.

Pouring the hot water into a large iron pot, Xia Yu dipped his fingers to test the temperature. "It’s a bit high, over 90 degrees. Need to add some cold water to bring it down to around 70 degrees..."

Xingping Chuangzhen still held the twitching pig in his arms, so Xia Yu could only fetch the water himself.

Next, the thoroughly bled black suckling pig was thrown into the hot water around 70 degrees, where it was scalded repeatedly, and then the hairs were rubbed off the pig’s body. Here, the water temperature was crucial; if not controlled well, it would also affect the meat’s taste.

Some hairs couldn’t be dealt with by hand, so a sharp small knife was needed to scrape them off.

The step of gutting and deboning didn’t need much elaboration. This time the dish was roast suckling pig, all the other pig innards, kidneys, etc., were handed over to the maids of the estate, and Xia Yu reached out to Xingping Chuangzhen, "Give me the prepared kitchen knife!"

"That one?"

Xingping Chuangzhen pointed to a large kitchen knife about a meter long, sheathed in leather and leaning against the grill wall.

"Yes." Xia Yu nodded.

So, Xingping Chuangzhen brought the knife over with both hands.

This knife was certainly not the [Seven Star Blade·Greedy Wolf]. Xia Yu wanted to show off his dark skills with replicated blue-quality kitchen equipment, but he couldn’t possibly say such a large knife was brought over casually.

Not finding a suitable reason and to avoid arousing suspicion, Xia Yu had to settle for second best and ask the Tiqie Family to help prepare a similar kitchen knife. Unexpectedly, the length and weight were quite similar.

Removing the leather sheath and weighing the knife in his hand, Xia Yu felt relieved. Besides shape, all other measurements were very close, and a sense of familiarity came from the muscles and nerves of his right arm when gripping the handle.

Muscle memory was awakened!

At this moment, several maids pushed over some mobile professional kitchen stations, which were assembled into a circular formation. Xia Yu spread the gutted pig on the counter.

Anyone with some slaughtering knowledge would know the difficulty of the next procedure—

Cutting the spine!

Inside the tearoom, Tiqie Xianzuowen sat up straight, staring intently at the figure holding the large kitchen knife, his eyes glinting.

"The spine is being cut..." Tiqie Helinai took a breath. "The suckling pig’s spine is long and delicate. Without adept knife techniques and excellent knife skills, one might miscut!"

The chefs present all understood what a miscut meant; it was a grave mistake, irreversible.

"Cutting the spine with such a large knife?" Eriina bit her thumb, expressing disdain, yet feeling a kind of urgency she couldn’t comprehend herself, "Ideally, two knives should adjust the position and cut the spine. The larger the kitchen knife, the harder it is to be precise!"

Hmm?

Just as she grew anxious, the courtyard beneath the night sky suddenly had a flash of silver blade light.

In the next moment, Tiqie Helinai adorably widened her eyes.

A soft "pop" echoed as the suckling pig on the counter, once spread-eagle gutted, opened its limbs in all directions. Its originally curled body, losing the spine’s support, spread open on both sides, tightly adhering to the counter.

Each thin vertebrae symmetrically arranged, resembling blooming flowers.

Flat!

So beautiful!

The onlookers examining the cut piglet all had this thought pop into their heads.

Even the pig’s head was split in half by the kitchen knife, and before anyone could react, Xia Yu swiftly cleaned the pig’s brain and processed the broken bones. The pig’s skull was entirely removed yet the head maintained its original shape. This knife skill left Xingping Chuangzhen, who was beside him, amazed.

Phew!

The [Fierce Bull Green Dragon Slash] succeeded!

Exhaling heavily, sweat rolling down his forehead, Xia Yu stood firm after sheathing the knife. This single cut was akin to a devilish training session, depleting physical strength and spirit greatly.

"Come over and help—"

He inserted a fixed bracket through the suckling pig’s body, initially rubbed it with seasonings for marination, tied up its limbs, and returned to the charcoal grill. He set an iron net on the stove, tossed the suckling pig onto the charcoal fire, summoned Xingping Chuangzhen to assist, and then turned to slaughter the cow.

"Hasn’t he sprinkled the seasoning yet?"

Looking at the suckling pig on the charcoal fire, Xingping Chuangzhen murmured to himself.

Compared to the suckling pig, slaughtering an adult water buffalo was much more troublesome, and Xia Yu had no plans to do it himself. The focus of "Flame Roasted Suckling Pig" was the piglet, with the beef being just an accessory, a secondary flavor component.

"Do you have an electric stun gun or nail gun?" Xia Yu questioned Niho Fuyuka.

Modern times had modern slaughter methods; finding a few big men to bind and slaughter the cow wasn’t impossible, but it was inefficient and labor-intensive. The cow’s painful cries would evoke sympathy.

Niho Fuyuka knew what he intended to do. In fact, when he requested live livestock as ingredients, the logistical department provided matching slaughter tools.

Placing a basin of clean water before the buffalo, petting its head, waiting for the animal to lower its head to drink, swoosh, a logistics staff member suddenly pulled the nail gun’s trigger. A metal nail pierced from the cow’s rear skull, almost passing through. The huge buffalo collapsed with a thunderous fall without a groan.

Then there were the cleaning, bloodletting, and gutting tasks.

Tiqie Helinai did not clearly see the knife skills Xia Yu used earlier. Her gaze kept following him, expecting him to perform the dark knife skill a second time. Yet to her surprise, Xia Yu showed no intent on deeply processing the cow carcass, hanging it aside after gutting.

By now, the suckling pig had been roasting mildly for a while, and Xia Yu applied flavoring for the second time.

"Get a large fan, and stoke the charcoal fire."

Xia Yu, busy flipping the piglet on the grill, never pausing his hand movements, instructed Xingping Chuangzhen while on the move.

"Oh—"

Xingping Chuangzhen embraced the task without complaint, requested a barbecue fan from Niho Fuyuka, and crouched at the stove’s air vent, winding the fan, causing the stove’s temperature to rise suddenly, with the charcoal belching flames.

"Don’t stop—"

Just as Xingping Chuangzhen wiped sweat, about to take a break, his ears caught Xia Yu’s voice.

His mouth hung open wide, and even while crouching, the stove’s surging heat waves informed Xingping Chuangzhen of the terrifying heat of the charcoal fire.

Wasn’t roasting suckling pig supposed to be done with gentle heat, slow grilling?

This question puzzled not only Xingping Chuangzhen but everyone present.

Underneath the night sky, the flames bursting from the large grill were incredibly conspicuous, with the charcoal thoroughly ignited. The fire raged for a lengthy period, and judging by Xia Yu’s instructions to Xingping Chuangzhen, he seemed not entirely satisfied with this temperature!