Chapter 203

Albert, despite his firm resolve, hesitated to touch Kurt’s dish the moment he saw it.

The surface of the meat was completely blackened and hardened, as if it had been burnt to a crisp.

The suspicious appearance of the dish, regardless of his determination, made him hesitate to even touch it.

‘But such a hideous-looking dish. The culinary culture of the Lizardmen is truly terrifying. What is this black meat? Did they burn it completely to make it like charcoal?’

“Oh! What kind of dish is this?”

However, Louis, seemingly unfazed by the dish’s suspicious appearance, asked with curiosity about its identity.

Kurt, smiling as if it was a good question, answered.

“It’s smoked brisket. I had some decent beef brisket, so I made it.”

“Smoked brisket?”

Brisket refers to the combination of the beef brisket and the chuck.

Lexically, it simply refers to a part of beef, but just as the word “samgyeopsal” not only refers to the belly of a pig but also represents a series of Korean barbecue, brisket also refers to a part of beef while simultaneously representing a genre of barbecue.

Perhaps because he was conscious of Kurt’s answer?

When he looked at the dish again, a pungent aroma began to waft out, a mix of various spices intertwined in their hearts.

Upon smelling it, Louis swallowed dryly, unable to resist.

“This aroma is certainly…”

“Here. Let’s talk while eating.”

With that, Kurt skillfully sliced the meat.

Then, contrary to the seemingly burnt exterior, the inside revealed a vivid pink color.

And simultaneously, the aroma of the brisket intensified as the meat was cut.

The scent of spices like pepper and thyme, along with the deep and smooth aroma of the smoking wood, and even a hint of whiskey, spread across the Adventurer Guild’s hall.

The aroma was so intense that even adventurers not sitting at Kurt’s table turned their heads involuntarily, swallowing their saliva.

Seeing this, Albert’s eyes shook in disbelief.

‘Is this really a brisket barbecue made by a Lizardman…?’

Thinking this, Albert recalled all the barbecue dishes he had eaten before.

As the eldest son of a count, grilled meat dishes to Albert basically meant steak or variations thereof.

Thus, barbecue dishes to him were merely special meals during outdoor training with the knights.

While there was a certain charm in grilling meat outdoors and sharing it with the knights, the taste was hardly exceptional.

After all, barbecue to him was simply cooking hunted animals on the spot and sharing them with the knights.

It wasn’t a leisure activity but training, so how much preparation could there be? And how well could knights cook?

Naturally, the meat was poorly prepared, the smell wasn’t removed, the smoking wood and spices were amateurish, and the heat was uneven.

That meat was far from being called delicious.

It was merely a memory of sharing meat with the knights during a sweet break in the midst of hard training.

At the time, they laughed and chatted while eating, but looking back, it was only enjoyable because of the atmosphere; the meat itself was insignificant compared to the dishes he had at the count’s estate.

But the dish Kurt presented was more appetizing than any barbecue he had eaten in the field…

No, perhaps even more so than the steaks he had at home.

Gulp.

While Albert was thinking this, Kurt had already placed finely sliced brisket pieces on his plate.

“Eat as much as you want. If it’s not enough, just say so.”

“Ah. Thank you. I will eat gratefully.”

Albert reflexively bowed his head in gratitude.

Thus, Albert skillfully cut the smoked brisket barbecue on his plate into bite-sized pieces using a fork and knife.

‘Well, at least it’s decent food. No, this is beyond expectations. In fact, it smells even better than the dishes I had at home.’

Startled.

Thinking this, Albert soon realized what he was thinking and shook his head.

‘What am I thinking…? There’s no way a Beastkin, especially a Lizardman, could make a dish more delicious than humans, the most superior race in this world!’

At that moment, the human supremacist ideology instilled in him by the empire throughout his life surfaced.

They say humans are creatures who want to lie down when sitting and sleep when lying down.

Just as he thought dealing with Kurt might be easier than he thought, the narrow-minded ideology repeatedly instilled in him over decades began to creep in.

It was similar to the inferiority complex a racist white person feels when seeing a socially successful black or Asian person.

‘No. That can’t be. This is just a fancy appearance! The actual taste must be terrible!’

Thus, Albert, who had initially prayed the food would be delicious, now denied reality and put the brisket into his mouth, forgetting the need to build a friendly relationship with Kurt.

Chew chew.

‘Hmph. Thinking about it, the strong aroma isn’t strange. The spices used in barbecue could have been recommended by a skilled shop…’

Chew chew.

‘The important thing isn’t the aroma but the taste of the meat. Brisket is a popular part for barbecue, but it’s also one of the most difficult parts to prepare. If not cooked properly, it’s better to use other parts…’

Yes.

The brisket, especially the part corresponding to the brisket point, is rich in collagen, so if not cooked for a long time, it inevitably becomes tough. Conversely, the meat itself has very little fat, so even a slight mistake in heat control makes it extremely dry.

Thus, brisket serves as a divider between beginners and experts among barbecue enthusiasts.

How many times had he suffered during the knights’ outdoor training, knowing only that brisket was delicious but not realizing how difficult it was to prepare, and recklessly eating brisket?

Chew chew.

‘So this brisket must be dry or tough… Huh?’

Thus, Albert quietly searched for faults as he chewed the meat in his mouth.

Ironically, Albert’s narrow-minded attitude became an opportunity for him to slowly savor the taste.

Last time, he couldn’t properly taste it due to the psychological pressure of fearing for his life, but this time, the psychological pressure disappeared, allowing him to feel a clearer taste.

The taste of Kurt’s smoked sous-vide brisket.

At this point, Albert felt something strange.

‘Why is the meat so tender?’

The moment he realized it, he felt the tender texture of the meat.

There was no unpleasant chewiness from undercooked collagen, indicating the meat had been cooked for a long time, yet it wasn’t dry.

The texture of the brisket was closer to that of a well-prepared steak at home than the ones he had during outdoor training.

‘Ah, no…! No! It’s different even from the ones at home…!’

And again.

Not just the tender texture of the meat, but something more.

The juiciness that seeped out with each chew, the moistness inside the meat.

‘How!? How can brisket be this moist?’

It was, of course, the power of the sous-vide cooking method Kurt used with an artifact found in ancient ruins.

But Albert, unaware of this, was confused.

‘To make proper brisket, you need to cook it for a long time. And cooking it for a long time means the moisture inside the meat escapes. That’s common sense.’

Yet, it was as if magic was used to trap the moisture inside, making it moist and tender.

And then, Albert, who had been focusing only on the texture of the meat, was shocked again.

‘What, what is this!? This aroma…!’

And then, the aroma exploded in Albert’s mouth.

It was the rough, pungent smokiness that could be called the flower of smoking.