At this point, the Pork Skin was ruddy and emitted a rich fragrance.
The meat was thoroughly cooked, trembling faintly like jelly when it was lifted out.
The freshly lifted pig's head was soft. Therefore, it was crucial to hurriedly remove the skull while it was hot. Otherwise, once it cooled, the pork would contract, making it very troublesome to remove the bones.
The deboned pork head meat looked even more tempting.
Beneath the ruddy Pork Skin lay white, rich fat. When placed on the cutting board, oil even began to seep from this fat.
For meat enthusiasts, this was simply irresistible.
And the ruddy pig snout, along with the pig ears that looked perfect for accompanying drinks, were even more tantalizing.
However, this delicacy had not yet reached its optimal state. It required further processing to bring its flavor and texture to their zenith, only then could it be considered the epitome of pressed pork head.
Once all the thoroughly cooked skull bones were removed, Lin Xu used a cleaver to cut the pork head meat into large chunks.
He fetched a deep tray, lined it with a white cloth roughly twice the tray's size, and evenly spread the Pork Skin on the cloth. He ensured there was extra cloth extending beyond all four sides, which would make it easier to fold over when pressing.
After laying down the Pork Skin, he divided the chopped pork head meat into two portions. One portion was spread into the tray, and the other was kept aside.
"It smells so good. The flavor must be even better once pressed,"
Xu Xinhua, who was helping on the side, sniffed, his expression full of admiration for Lin Xu's skills.
Few could master both pastry and savory cooking, let alone also excel at braised delicacies. Such a wide range of expertise was almost unbelievable.
No wonder the boss has achieved so much today; his skill level is indeed a significant cut above the average person.
Lin Xu used a spatula to flatten the meat in the tray. He then took four braised pig ears, used his cleaver to slice the thicker, meatier base of each ear, and arranged the ears evenly over the meat.
After laying them down, he poured the remaining pork head meat on top.
After flattening this layer, he folded the overhanging flaps of Pork Skin from the bottom layer upwards and over the meat. Then, he covered it all with another intact piece of Pork Skin, ensuring the pork head meat was completely encased.
After wrapping it, he folded the white cloth towards the center, completely enclosing the meat in the tray.
Next, he added another layer of white cloth on top. This was to prevent the meat from being squeezed out during the pressing process.
Once these steps were done, Lin Xu placed a previously prepared tray on top of the cloth-wrapped meat. On this tray, he set several stone slabs, aiming to compress the pork as tightly and solidly as possible.
When everything was set, Lin Xu and Xu Xinhua moved the tray into the dedicated refrigerator in the braised goods department.
This would speed up the cooling and solidification of the pork head.
「At six in the afternoon.」
Lin Xu and Xu Xinhua lifted the now thoroughly chilled tray from the refrigerator. They removed the stone slabs from its surface and lifted off the top pressing tray. They found that the pork head, wrapped in the white cloth, had completely hardened and taken shape.
Unfolding the white cloth, a solid block of pressed pork head, resembling firm tofu, appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Holy moly! This suddenly makes me feel like it's Chinese New Year!"
Wei Qian's family were butchers. Every Spring Festival, they would prepare several pressed pork heads to serve to relatives and gift to friends. Seeing Lin Xu's pressed pork head now, Wei Qian instantly felt the urge to set off firecrackers.
Chen Yan, who had spent the afternoon showing off her figure at the basketball court, remarked,
"Every Chinese New Year, UPs online all jump on the bandwagon, making pressed pork head. If I'd known, I would have filmed this earlier to wish our followers a Happy Chinese New Year ahead of time. We could see which UP could beat us with the earliest greetings!"
Lin Xu: "..."
Are even New Year's greetings this competitive nowadays?
Shen Guofu stood to the side, watching the enticing piece of meat, grinning with such delight that his mouth couldn't stay closed, unconsciously caressing the Liquor bottle in his hand.
TSK TSK, this is truly a top-tier dish to go with drinks!
With this dish available, forget about practicing aerial yoga! Even if my wife were to string me up from the rafters, I, Old Shen, am going to drink to my heart's content today!
He swallowed and brazenly said to Lin Xu,
"Let's get started, Lin Xu! Let Dad give it the final inspection!"
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I was nodding off while writing this afternoon, which led to a ton of typos. It took me nearly an hour to correct the mistakes and sentences in this 6,000-word chapter. Please subscribe and give your Monthly Tickets, brothers!
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