Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 127

Dragon hide is tough. Even with an Aura Sword, cutting it properly is a challenge.

That’s why the technique of compressing three types of Aura onto a single kitchen knife was necessary.

“Glaze!”

As the skill activated, a reddish film coated the blade.

With the addition of the 13-star Basic Swordsmanship, even dragon meat could be cut.

Slice, slice-

“Oh! It cuts!”

Kainchel began to make diamond-shaped cuts all over the dragon meat.

This would allow the oven’s heat and seasoning to penetrate the entire piece of meat thoroughly.

‘Wouldn’t this create a very crispy and wonderful crust when baked?’ he mused.

“Hoo, that’s the end. If this were any other meat, I could just season it and bake it as is, but…”

Of course, dragon meat is much tougher than human teeth.

Unless you had Mithril blades instead of teeth, you needed to tenderize the meat to eat it.

‘What’s the point of making delicious food if you can’t eat it?’

Kainchel took out the lemons and tangerines that had been pre-soaked in gem salt.

Then, he cast Effect Amplification on them.

The sour fruit juice has the effect of tenderizing the meat.

Moreover, the salt prevents the juices from escaping.

He evenly spread the jam-like gem salt on the skin.

He carefully seasoned it so that it would penetrate between the cuts.

‘This will make the crust even crispier and tastier,’ he thought.

While the fruit tenderized the dragon meat, he prepared spices to enhance the meat’s flavor.

Strongly flavored spices and vegetables should be used for dragon meat.

Of course, he didn’t forget to add a drop of Mimir’s Well [a mythical well of wisdom].

That gave the spices and vegetables a presence that wouldn’t be overpowered by the dragon meat.

He placed fennel on the cutting board and chopped it finely. Mixing it with anise seeds created a spice that would eliminate the gamey smell of the meat and add flavor.

‘Come to think of it, fennel is said to restore the original flavor of decaying meat or fish, so in the East, it’s called 회향 [hoehyang, fennel in Korean, literally “returning fragrance”], right?’

In a way, it was the perfect spice for hundred-year-old dragon meat.

Kainchel touched the meat, which was well-soaked in gem salt and fruit juice.

Before he knew it, the hide, which had been like a steel shield, had become tender. And the flesh retained its unique elasticity while becoming soft.

‘If it weren’t for Effect Amplification, I would have had to marinate it for 50 years.’

With the meat prepared, he began cooking in earnest.

First, to bring out the garlic flavor, he crushed it with the back of a knife without peeling it.

Then, he poured olive oil into a large pan.

Kainchel didn’t miss the sound of the oil heating up. He immediately added the spice mixture of fennel and anise seeds and stir-fried it.

The pungent aroma of garlic, the sweet scent of fennel, and the rich flavor of olive oil mixed together, making his mouth water without him even realizing it.

He added plenty of basil along with onions.

‘And adding bay leaves straight from the branch adds a rich and deep flavor to the dish.’

Now it was time for the star of the dish, the dragon meat, to make its appearance. He placed the softened meat on the pan with the skin side down.

Sizzle-!

The olive oil, infused with the flavors of numerous spices, began to cook the surface of the meat.

You have to cook the fatty parts first so that the flavors and aromas of the spices are well absorbed.

Then, to add a light aroma to the meat, he poured in white wine.

When the wine started to boil, the alcohol evaporated, leaving only a sweet aroma.

And he took out a secret weapon to further enhance the flavor of the meat. He poured beef stock into the meat, which was simmering in olive oil.

‘The important thing here is to pour it only up to the bottom of the fat. That way, the skin stays crispy and the meat inside stays moist.’

Before putting it in the oven, he had to finish the process of infusing the spices’ flavors and aromas.

The result was even better than he had imagined.

‘Wow, this smell is…’

Even though he hadn’t started baking in earnest, the aroma was so delicious that his eyes rolled back.

Even the 6-star steak he had grilled in Mino wasn’t this good.

‘If this smell escaped outside, wouldn’t everyone turn into hungry zombies?’

‘It’s a waste of Aura, but I can’t help it.’

Kainchel used five meringues to surround the oven [a culinary technique to seal in aromas].

Completely blocking the airflow would prevent the smell from escaping outside.

‘The oven temperature is exactly 180 degrees Celsius. Really perfectly wonderful.’

Now all that was left was to take out the cooking meat once an hour, apply Effect Amplification, and wait for it to cook.

In that scorching oven, the dragon meat was browning nicely.

Meanwhile, the dining hall was in chaos.

@

The front of the dining hall was noisy from the dwarves lining up since early morning.

The smell of roasting meat wafting from somewhere had awakened them from their sleep.

“Where on earth is this crazy smell of roasting meat coming from?”

“It’s definitely coming from near the kitchen, but I don’t know the exact location.”

“Hoo! I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat meat anymore after eating sand worm meat every day lately. But I think I was wrong. Meat is always right after all.”

The tightly closed dining hall door opened, and Vino, who had been grilling the meat, walked out.

He widened his eyes as he saw nearly a hundred dwarves lined up.

“Huh? It’s still quite a while before mealtime, but you’re already here?”

“I wanted to sleep in! But isn’t it against the rules to send out the smell of roasting meat like this from morning?”

“Chef Al said he was going to make oven-roasted pork belly as a special. But did you all really come to the dining hall this early because of the meat smell?”

“Hehe, it seems he’s putting in some effort at the end since he said he was leaving soon. This smell is no joke. Anyway, being able to eat meat from morning is really the best!”

“But is it okay to eat meat this early in the morning? When the chef suddenly said he was going to grill pork belly, I objected, saying that such a heavy meal wasn’t good from morning…”

“Haha! With such amazing meat waiting, is time even a problem! Don’t worry! Our stomachs are like steel!”

“That’s right! We demand three meals of meat a day from today!”

“…I guess I was wrong.”

Vino nodded with a look of dismay.

To think that he would become close enough to joke with the dwarves, who had been like cats and mice until a month ago.

It was all thanks to the new chef.

But something was strange.

The smell of roasting meat reaching his nose was so intense that it made his eyes roll back.

It definitely wasn’t this strong when he smelled it in the kitchen.

What kind of magic did he use to make the smell so different inside and outside?

At this rate, it was no wonder the dwarves who were deep in sleep had flocked to the dining hall.

In fact, the smell wafting outside the dining hall was coming from the dragon meat Kainchel was grilling.

The meat, which had been slowly cooked all night, emitted a much stronger smell than expected.

It broke through the five layers of meringue and even woke the dwarves from their deep sleep.

If they hadn’t prepared a separate batch of pork belly for show, something terrible would have happened.

Uoba, who was watching the oven, shouted loudly.

“Vino, the pork belly is done!”

The gathered dwarves cheered.

“Ugh! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Finally, we can eat!”

“Meat! Meat! Meat!”

Vino once again admired Chef Al’s skills and said.

“Then we’ll start serving right away.”

He took the well-baked pork belly out of the oven and pierced it with a knife, and a pleasant crispy sound echoed.

And the appetizing flesh was revealed.

“Wow. Amazing.”

He cut it, placed it on a plate, and poured a sauce made by adding mustard sauce to the broth.

With the addition of consommé soup [a clear broth] and buttered potatoes, a wonderful meal was completed.

“Here you go.”

“I’ll enjoy it!”

The dwarf who received the meat bowed his head. In front of delicious food, even dwarves with fiery tempers become gentle sheep.

The pork belly, which had turned a deep brown color, looked crispy just by looking at it.

The dwarves in line silently swallowed their saliva at the sight of it looking so appetizing.

If they were tortured with that, they wouldn’t last even a minute and would tell everything they knew.

He picked up a knife and cut the pork belly in half, revealing the soft flesh with hot steam rising from it.

“Ugh! The smell is really crazy. Hmm? The smell seems a bit different from what I smelled outside… Oh well, never mind. Let’s eat first!”

He applied plenty of mustard sauce, and it began to sizzle due to the heat remaining in the meat.

He brought it straight to his mouth.

It melts. The meat melts the moment it enters his mouth. The pork, baked in the oven to remove the grease, was so tender that it went down his throat without needing to be chewed much.

“Ugh!”

The slightly rough-tasting skin shattered and disappeared the moment it was put in his mouth.

He could eat as much of this meat as he wanted. The taste of the buttered potatoes, filled with golden butter, was also special.

The fluffy potatoes were gently mashed in his mouth. The simple taste harmonized with the rich meat and began to dance in his mouth.

“Hoo-ah!”

The dwarf, who had devoured two chunks of buttered potatoes and a large piece of pork belly in an instant, shouted cheerfully.

“Give me another serving!”

If he could eat such delicious food every day, he could go to hell with a smile.

Then the dwarf sitting next to him nodded.

“What is hell! I can even go to a dragon’s lair!”

@

In the center of Ironforge, there is a place that other races cannot even approach.

The furnace where the essence of the fire spirit resides.

Because of it, the dwarves can refine any metal to the highest strength.

However, the furnace was a double-edged sword.

If it ever overflowed, the entire Ironforge would be engulfed in flames.

Bluemauntain, who was checking the condition of the furnace, narrowed his eyes.

“The spirit concentration of the furnace is definitely normal, but I have a strange feeling of unease. Even though the firepower has weakened for a while, I should return about half of it to the spirit realm at this opportunity.”

That would drastically reduce the amount of metal that could be refined at once.

However, the safety of the dwarves working here was the top priority.

“Hehe, Briam’s face will be quite a sight when he hears that production will be halved.”

Crack-

Bluemauntain tilted his head at the sudden sound.

“Hmm? I think I heard something breaking…”

With a sense of foreboding, he quickened his pace.

And he found a very small crack in one corner of the furnace.

At first, it was about the size of a pinky finger. But it was gradually getting bigger.

What it meant was one thing.

“…Oh, no! It’s a meltdown!”

The spirit concentration was definitely normal, no matter how closely he looked.

The face of Bluemauntain, who was always calm, contorted in an instant.

The furnace contained the essence of a fire spirit with a temperature of thousands of degrees.

If even a small amount leaked out, the entire Ironforge would be engulfed in flames.

The furnace, once cracked, began to break down rapidly.

“At this rate, it’ll be in an hour!”

He had to stop it. He had to stop it by any means possible.

At that moment, someone’s image flashed through Bluemauntain’s mind.

A man with amazing cooking skills.

A man with a fire resistance that was hard to believe for a human.

Moreover, he had witnessed him emitting Aura mixed with fire several times.

He needed his help to stop the fire spirit that had leaked from the collapsed furnace.

In front of delicious food, #3