King of the Wilderness

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Processing Beavers

Lin Yu’an didn’t immediately handle the beaver, instead, he restored the lasso of the first trap, carefully checking the condition of the steel wire and the anchor stake.

After confirming there was no damage, he skillfully set it back to its original position. Beavers are social animals, so this lodge definitely does not house just one beaver.

Although the other beavers might have already fled, he still held on to a sliver of hope.

Then, with a hint of anticipation, Lin Yu’an walked towards the location of the second trap.

Arriving at the second trap, the same scenario occurred again! The steel wire connecting the anchor stake was pulled taut, and there was indeed another beaver underwater!

But this one was slightly smaller, approximately sixteen to seventeen pounds, clearly drowned.

”Two traps, two beavers!”

”Looks like the reconnaissance the day before yesterday and the hard work yesterday didn’t go to waste! The steel wire lasso trap has a 100% success rate! Now, the fat source is not a problem at all!”

Lin Yu’an bundled the two beavers together, lifted them with a wooden stick, and carried the two heavy adult beavers to a riverside area away from the shelter.

The terrain there was open, convenient for operation, and could prevent the scent of blood from attracting unnecessary trouble too soon.

Facing the camera, he couldn’t suppress his excitement, tossing the larger beaver in his hand.

”Look at this guy! It’s at least over twenty pounds! This is not just a feast, the whole body is a treasure! The fur, the meat, and even its glands have special uses.”

”However, before enjoying it, we must conduct very meticulous and professional processing, especially pay attention to hygiene and safety to avoid parasitic infections.”

He took out a sharp high-carbon steel multifunctional knife and a sharpening stone from his backpack.

Carefully sharpening the blade on the water-dipped sharpening stone with a ”shing, shing” sound, ensuring its sharpness as good as new.

”When dealing with animals with thick fur like this, a sharp knife is essential, otherwise it would be very laborious and could damage the fur.”

Lin Yu’an laid the drowned beaver flat on a pre-cleared large stone, belly up, needing to handle it first.

”The first step in dealing with a beaver, also a very crucial step, is to prevent bacteria growth in the organs by promptly removing the intestines.”

”When opening the belly, be very careful not to pierce the intestines or bladder, otherwise, the contents could contaminate the meat, which would be a loss.”

He carefully used the tip of the knife to make a small incision at the junction of the beaver’s chest and abdominal cavity.

Then he inserted two fingers, lifting up the abdominal wall, using the knife tip along his fingers, cutting upwards to open the chest cavity and downwards to open the abdominal cavity.

This helps avoid cutting into the internal organs directly.

With the organs exposed, Lin Yu’an first carefully separated and removed the beaver’s intestines, stomach, and bladder, throwing them far into the flowing stream to prevent the smell from attracting scavengers.

”When discarding those inedible parts, it must be handled properly, avoiding attracting other predators.”

Then he began carefully separating and removing the edible organs like the heart and liver.

”The beaver’s liver is very large, rich in vitamin A, making it a great nutritional supplement, the heart is also edible.”

He carefully removed these organs, placing them on clean pre-prepared leaves to take back to the shelter for cooking.

While handling the organs, Lin Yu’an specifically pointed out the two pear-shaped, yellowish gland sacs near the base of the beaver’s tail.

”Look, this is the famous ’Beaver Musk’. In Europe over the past few centuries, beaver musk was a precious spice highly sought after and could be used to make perfumes.”

”During the 16th to 19th century, humans were fanatical about beaver fur for hat-making, and the profit from the gland sacs resulted in massive hunting of beavers.”

”Of course we don’t use this gland now, but it’s interesting to know about it.”

He cut off the two musk glands intact, threw them into the lake water, and said to the camera:

”With the organs dealt with, the next small project is skinning!”

While talking, he used the multifunction knife’s tip, started carefully cutting a slit from the beaver’s jaw along the belly midline, extending it gently all the way to the base of the tail.

”Beaver pelts are very thick and warm; if handled properly, they can make hats, gloves, or be used as bedding, all being excellent insulation materials.”

After cutting open the belly skin, he then respectively cut along the inside of the beaver’s four limbs from the ankle to the belly midline cut, so that the whole skin can peel off relatively completely.

Lin Yu’an grasped the cut skin’s edge with one hand, using the knife’s back or his fingers with the other, carefully separating the skin from the subcutaneous fat and muscle tissue.

He tried to avoid directly using the knife blade to cut, to prevent damaging the hide or cutting off excessive fat.

”While skinning, follow the muscle’s texture, moving from top to bottom, or from outside to inside, slowly separating. At fascia junctions, use the knife tip to lightly cut through.”

”The beaver’s subcutaneous fat layer is quite thick, and this layer of fat is also a valuable energy source, try to leave it on the meat during skinning, it can be scraped later for oil.”

In the sunlight, the reddish-brown beaver pelt was completely peeled off, with some bits of flesh and fat clinging to the inner side, needing further cleaning.

Lin Yu’an unfolded the peeled pelt, showing it to the camera: ”Look, a quite complete beaver pelt.”

”We need to quickly clean it, scrape off the remaining fat and meat, then tan it, or it will rot quickly.”

After finishing skinning, Lin Yu’an began cutting the beaver meat, first removing the limbs from the body, then slicing along the spine into several large pieces, the beaver’s meat appeared dark red and quite firm.

”Beaver meat has relatively coarse fibers but is high in fat, making it very suitable for grilling or stewing.”

Lin Yu’an’s tone took on a very serious note.

”If you’re lucky enough to catch a beaver in the wild, be sure to focus on: consuming beaver meat safely to avoid parasitic infections.”

”Wild animals, especially mammals like beavers who frequently swim, can easily carry different parasites, like trichina worm, liver fluke, Giardia lamblia, etc.”

”This is the source of the beaver curse! Be exceedingly cautious!”

”If eaten raw or undercooked, it poses extreme harm to the human body, so remember it’s vital to ensure that it’s fully cooked before eating!”

He lifted a piece of sectioned beaver meat: ”Firstly, during cutting and washing, closely inspect the meat’s surface and internal area for visible worms, cysts, or abnormal spots.”

”If suspicious traces are found, dispose of the entire beaver, taking no chances at all!”

”Secondly, no matter the cooking method, ensure the meat’s center reaches at least 75 degrees Celsius and sustains it for some time.”

”Personally, I recommend boiling, as high temperatures can kill most parasite eggs and larvae.”

”For today’s beaver meat, I plan to boil some and then smoke it to make jerky.”

”High-temperature boiling thoroughly disinfects, combined with smoking provides additional sterilization, achieving double insurance!”

”Especially for organs like the liver, extra caution is needed! The liver is prone to parasite gatherings.”

”Hence, apart from thorough washing, make sure beaver liver is fully cooked and closely check for diseases before consuming.”

Earlier, Lin Yu’an discreetly stored the beaver briefly in the Golden Finger Space, theorizing based on the space’s inability to store living things that it should eliminate parasites too.

While speaking, Lin Yu’an continuously washed the sectioned beaver meat in stream water to remove blood and impurities.

Even though the beaver underwent a stint in space, he meticulously inspected the muscle slices and found no clear parasite signs, allowing him to relax slightly.

Upon finishing handling the larger beaver, Lin Yu’an painstakingly processed the second one using the same method, the whole operation almost took him three hours.

Ultimately, he accumulated two large piles of cleanly processed beaver meat chunks, two sets of edible organs, and two complete beaver pelts.

Turning to the camera, Lin Yu’an wore a satisfied smile and said: ”Today’s harvest is truly big!”

”Next, we can prepare a delightful beaver meat feast! I can’t wait!”