First, put the sausage casing onto the meat outlet of the machine, then put the seasoned minced meat into the machine. As the machine rotates, the sausage casing is filled with minced meat.
Tie the sausage with thread every 15 centimeters or so, and finally poke a few holes in the stuffed sausage with a toothpick.
It was already noon when all the meat filling was done. Li Jingjing politely declined Xu Lin's offer to help and took the sausage casings and machine home, saying that she and Grandma Wu could manage on their own.
Zhou Pin didn't come back at noon, so Xu Lin ate a simple boxed lunch and lay down on the bed to rest.
In the afternoon, Xu Lin prepared to make ham and smoked meat.
The pig leg weighs about 30 pounds. First, remove any remaining pig hair and blood, then rub it repeatedly with coarse salt. Knead the whole ham until it becomes soft and fluffy, then put it in a bowl, pour in salt, and wait a few days before turning it over and sprinkling salt on it again.
Set the ham aside and start making the smoked meat. First, cut it into pieces and soak it in water. Scrape off the hair from the pork skin, cut it into pieces, and soak it in cold water to clean it.
Previously, Zhou Pin set up an earthen stove outside the container, and Xu Lin boiled water. After the water boiled, she put the pork into the boiling water.
After the pot boils, skim off the foam. Put the ingredients, packaged in a small cloth bag, into the pot along with salt, scallions, ginger, and garlic. Cover the pot and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender.
There's not much else on the mountain, but there are plenty of trees, especially cypress. Xu Lin took advantage of the time while the meat was stewing to cut some cypress branches.
Finally, place the stewed meat in a smoking basket and smoke it with cypress wood until it turns golden brown.
The smoked meat was ready, but Zhou Pin hadn't returned yet. Li Jingjing came over and took the sausage-making tools.
Most of the meat in their household was used to make sausages, and the rest was used to make smoked meat. Making ham would use too much salt, so they couldn't bear to waste it.
Li Jingjing had just exchanged a few words with Xu Lin when Zhou Pin returned. She quickly said goodbye and went home, as she and Sun Wei had a very good relationship.
Zhou Pin brought back a deer, two pheasants, a nest of rabbits (estimated to be six), and a snake—another bumper harvest day.
"Let's make snake soup tonight!" Xu Lin said, noting that the other animals were alive and could be kept alive, but the snake was already dead, so it would be a good addition to the menu.
“Let’s do it tomorrow. There are a lot of ferocious animals in the mountains. If we keep cooking delicious food here, we’ll inevitably attract them. Sun Wei and I discussed not going hunting tomorrow, but instead putting up a fence and setting up a few traps.”
"Okay, now that you mention it, I'm scared out of my wits. I just made the smoked meat this afternoon, the aroma must have wafted far and wide."
“Sun Wei and I have been looking around this afternoon to see if any large animals are coming near. If you can attract them, we can stock up on more meat.”
"Do you have the materials to make a fence? I can't conveniently take out what I have in my space."
"Everything is ready. Sun Wei and I spent a whole day cutting down trees, and the branches are all stored at Sun Wei's house."
Xu Lin always trusted Zhou Pin's work, so she didn't ask any more questions and went to the earthen stove to prepare a meal.
Xu Lin started cooking, while Zhou Pin took the ingredients and tools to build a rabbit hutch and a sheep pen. Now that there was an extra deer, they needed to build another shed.
The next morning, Zhou Pin ate two steamed buns and then took an axe and saw to Sun Wei's house. The two planned to spend a day building a fence and making traps, as time was tight and the task was heavy.
Xu Lin was drying the mushrooms and wood ear fungus she had picked earlier at home. After drying them, she had nothing else to do, so she planned to invite Li Jingjing to pick wild grapes. They had found a patch of wild grapevines when they picked mushrooms last time, and now it was the season for the grapes to ripen.
"There's no use in picking wild grapes, they're so sour you can't eat them." Unexpectedly, Li Jingjing didn't want to pick them.
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