Chapter 38: Barbecue

Heath pursed his lips, tempted to ask Jana if she was serious about teaching him to drive, but considering Maple standing nearby, he held back his words.

After the TV crew and Silph Co. representatives left, Heath was dragged into the truck by the Jennies. They noisily set up tables and chairs around him and brought out all the ingredients from the cafeteria.

"Here we go again. Farfetch'd, come out and help!" Heath smiled at the laughing Jennies. He was used to scenes like this.

"Trainer, what are you all doing?" Zorua, transformed into a Caterpie, curiously looked outside and asked.

"A barbecue party—fun for them, exhausting for me," Heath summarized succinctly. As the best cook in the area, he was always the busiest during these parties.

Whenever the Jennies celebrated something with a barbecue party, Heath had to cut ingredients, grill the food, and keep track of their orders. After each party, he was so tired he wished he could just collapse on the ground and sleep.

But now, Heath found it a bit easier since he had his partners, Farfetch'd and Zorua.

A good barbecue requires well-matched ingredients. Many people think barbecuing is simple, but it actually has its own challenges.

"Farfetch'd, look, this is a piece of pork. Your task is to slice it thinly and separate the lean meat from the fat. Got it?" Heath asked Farfetch'd.

Farfetch'd might not be able to help with many things yet, but its knife skills were a great aid to Heath.

"Leek!" Farfetch'd confidently nodded. Heath glanced at the leek Farfetch'd was holding and handed it a kitchen knife instead. Cutting meat with a leek would make it taste like onions.

Meanwhile, Heath busied himself with preparing various seasonings. The soul of barbecue lies in the seasonings; good seasoning can enhance the flavor of the barbecue.

Each ingredient has its best pairing, and everyone's taste is different. So, Heath usually placed various seasonings on the table for the Jennies to mix and match as they liked.

Of course, if a Jenny asked him to prepare a dipping sauce, Heath would personally make a portion for her.

"Leek~" Farfetch'd proudly poked Heath's waist. Heath turned to see that the pork had been perfectly sliced into lean and fat pieces, all evenly cut.

Heath nodded in satisfaction. When he was alone, cutting ingredients took a long time.

"Now, cut the lamb the same way," Heath instructed, pointing at the lamb and picking up skewers he had made himself.

There was barbecue in the Pokémon world, but the Jenny's barbecue parties were Heath's idea. Every time he thought about it, he felt like he was shooting himself in the foot.

However, thinking of the money he could earn from the barbecue party made Heath feel much better.

"Trainer, why do you skewer it like that?" Zorua, back in her true form, stood nearby and curiously asked Heath.

Heath looked at the skewer in his hand, alternating between a piece of lean meat and a piece of fat.

"Because this way, we don't need oil. The pork fat makes the lean meat taste better. But it means we need to sprinkle cumin and chili powder on it," Heath explained while quickly skewering the meat.

Oil is a great aid to chefs. Heath once saw a TV show where Chinese chefs competed against foreign chefs. In one episode, a foreign chef took away the Chinese chef's oil, thinking it would cause big trouble. The Chinese chef immediately started rendering lard from fatty pork, astonishing the foreign chef, who accused him of cheating.

Lard and vegetable oil taste different. Fried rice cooked with lard tastes better and more fragrant.

After skewering the pork, Heath took the skewers to the grill on his food truck. He had already placed burning charcoal inside, so he placed the fattier pieces of pork on the grill.

Barbecuing has its techniques. Heath believed fruitwood charcoal was better than regular charcoal, which was better than coal, and coal was better than a smokeless grill.

Although modern healthy eating promotes smokeless, charcoal-free, and electric grilling, barbecued food often tasted worse without charcoal. Heath thought it was due to the lack of smoke flavor.

As the charcoal heated the pork, it slowly changed color, and fat bubbles emerged from the meat, coating the lean meat with a glossy sheen.

A rich pork aroma filled the air.

Heath quickly flipped the skewers and sprinkled them with his prepared barbecue powder.

The moment the powder hit the meat, a strong spice aroma spread, making Zorua and Farfetch'd swallow their saliva.

Heath smiled, looking at the barbecue powder in his hand. It was his special blend, unavailable outside, but it worked best with fatty barbecued meat.

"There's a tangy smell," Zorua, perched on Heath's shoulder, stared hungrily at the skewers.

Heath glanced at Zorua, impressed by her keen nose. Farfetch'd had already placed the sliced lamb beside Heath, eagerly waiting.

Heath sighed but didn't stop, flipping the skewers to ensure even cooking.

When they were done, he placed the skewers on a tray and divided them among the Jennys' tables.

"These are for you and Farfetch'd. One each. I'll make more later," Heath handed two pork skewers to Zorua and Farfetch'd, then continued skewering lamb.

He didn't have time to eat, but he could at least let his little partners have a taste.

What's your favorite barbecue?

(End of this chapter)