The rest of the day, the three men used the time to get more cores (and even more meat as a result). Finn was now drowning in meat.
Anyway, the kids were focused on getting the cores so they could absorb them later. They knew this would have to be their last day, so the plan was to maximize the time before a late dinner, and they’d leave the first thing in the morning after resting the night.
Ren and Zach would even go out and lure monsters to their area. Interestingly, Ren even got a few gugu birds! How far did he go, exactly?
Gugu birds were ugly birds with sharp beaks and about as big as an ostrich. They also had one leg, so they were bouncing around. It was also quite swift despite its one leg. Its center of gravity must be really balanced. How muscular would that leg be?!
Anyway, just to be sure, he used [Ingredient Scan] to see. He walked right next to Aaron, who was stabbing at a monster, since details would only appear if the item was very near.
[Gugu Bird (Awakened)]
[Information: Large one-legged avian that uses its heavily-muscled leg to hop in swift, precise bursts that close distance quickly. An agile predator and a superior source of poultry.]
This confirmed it. His chicken !!
"HYAAA!" he yelled, stabbing straight at the chickens. The two were a bit surprised at his passion, considering he had been relatively cool the whole time before this.
"WE CAN MAKE SOMETHING SO GOOD FROM THIS," he said, and this was enough to make the boys sparkle.
Granted, he hadn’t tried to cook this exact ingredient before, but he believed in his cooking soul!
Anyway, his words fired up the three, and they somewhat moved faster.
Like this, yet another mountain of meat was created.
...
For dinner, he went ahead inside while the boys continued with their hunt. They were definitely not wasting a single hour. Anyway, even if they consumed all their stats and left single digits behind, the inn would recover them well enough to travel another day.
He butchered the carcasses himself, and the way was relatively similar to earth chicken, except it only had a leg.
Remove the feathers, skin, et cetera. He took out the head and the feet first. And then gutted.
It was the division that was different because there was no symmetry anymore. The skeleton was different, and the rib cage and wing span were altered to compensate for balance.
The breast meat was much larger, which was awesome.
First, he rubbed the poultry with the herb mix and let it sit to absorb. The mashed thornroot was something he had been doing for a while, so he prepared that while the meat was absorbing.
The meat didn’t have to be softened with sap like pork or beef. It was great on its own. Further, he wasn’t wrong when he thought the chicken was muscular in some parts, and was even meatier by proportion.
The leg and the core areas were a bit tougher and would require slow cooking, so he put them in his space. The rest of the meat was fine and was delicious for this dish.
The glaze was made of roasted matis fruit added with herbs, citrusy gel, purplestep salt, and then simmered until thick.
Then, he served it to everyone who was drooling even while he was cooking. At some point, it seemed like the boys had gotten tired and went to watch him cook instead.
He barely even noticed them arriving, but judging by Zachary and Aaron’s drooling looks, it must’ve been a while.
This would’ve been great with rice, but he didn’t have one yet. His clue was that bindergrain thing East, and he took a mental note to explore that area after the guests left.
For now, the usual mashed thornroots for carb was partnered with the poultry, though the herbs mixed in were more in line with the meat.
Since his guests were really eager for the dish, he ignored some of the system notifications for now (he just confirmed it was edible and was essence food), and plated the dish well before serving.
They literally dug in, even Ren, and they made satisfied sounds as they ate.
They bit the poultry, and the meat pulled, resisting just enough that it felt like the flavor and the glaze exploded in their mouths. The mash served as the perfect counter, mild, creamy, and a bit sweet, grounding the meat’s intensity.
He took a few bites himself, very satisfied with the taste. Poultry could be said to be his favorite meat type because he liked how soft and light the fibers were.
The flavor was mild and subtle, and it absorbed seasonings easily. The meat was soft, melted easily, and gave silkier mouthfeel when cooked right.
It was also the dish his mother and Grandma Hans cooked the most, perhaps because chicken was the most affordable meat type on Earth back in his time, so they both developed a lot of flavors from it.
He smiled fondly at the memories and then looked at the lines of text at the side, including the results of [Dish Analysis].
[Seared herbed Gugu Bird with thornroot mash with Matis glaze (D)]
[Information: Tender cuts of gugu bird meat seared until the skin is crisp. Basted with basilume and ivara vines, and plated over thornroot mash. Finished with glossy matis glaze. Increases mana recovery by 15% for 15 minutes.
[New Recipe Detected! 1% Permanent increase in mana recovery.]
The effect was Increased Mana recovery, and he even received permanent boosts for it. Did chicken have more propensity to mana than the pork and beef source?
He knew it was his favorite for a reason.
Anyway, this would also be a best seller in the market later~
And to his surprise, after one meal was cleared out (Zachary was, unsurprisingly, the fastest eater), another notification arrived.
[Active Mission: Offer 10 Unique Dishes in your restaurant – Completed!]
[Received 5000 Hearth Points!]