The first sentence in the Shanxi folk song "Kwa TuChan" is: "Pingyao beef Taigu cake", the first treasure of Pingyao specialty is "Pingyao beef".
Ordinary beef is the same, delicious beef is one of the best! Pingyao beef, selected as a chinese time-honored brand in 1993, has also become a national geographical indication product of China!
The raw materials are free-range cattle that have been raised for more than three years, eating wild grasses in the mountains, drinking mountain spring water, and not adding any feed.
According to historical records, after Empress Dowager Cixi passed through Pingyao and enjoyed Pingyao beef, she smelled its fragrance and lifted its spirit, tasted its taste and relieved its difficulties, and set it as a tribute to the imperial palace.
Of course, if you want to make authentic Pingyao beef, the process is also extremely complicated! It takes five major processes to complete nearly a hundred processes! The production process comes in waves...
Pingyao beef making process
Step 1 – Phase
When selecting cattle, it is also necessary to visually test that the beef cattle are disease-free, injured, not less than four years old, and no cubs. Hand pressure on the back, waist, ribs, elbows have a sense of thickness, can be selected.
Step 2 – Slaughter
When slaughtering, emphasize purity, stillness, and stability. Before slaughter, the cattle are fasted for three days and bathed. The slaughterer needs to be quick with his eyes and hands, and the knife in his hand falls! Nariso is really like the rebirth of the ancient famous chef Ku Ding.
According to the traditional technique: each cow cuts 16 pieces in winter, and 20 pieces in spring, summer and autumn.
Step 3 – Pickle
Cut a few knife marks on each piece of meat, sprinkle the seam with the salt of Pingyao's local production, and rub it on the case, so as to better taste and make the meat softer.
It is then placed in a large vat, soaked in lye water from a local well, and covered with a cow's stomach. The duration of the soak also varies depending on the season: the heat is short, the cold is long! Generally speaking, winter is January, spring and autumn are two seasons and a half months, and summer is 5 to 7 days.
Step 4 – Halogen
Remove the soaked beef, wash it in cold water, place it in a large barrel pot and cook it with local lye water and salt without any condiments.
Boil for 2 hours, simmer for 8 hours, and finally turn off the heat and simmer for 2 hours, the time and heat must be strictly in accordance with the traditional craft rules.
Step 5 – Repair
The last and most important process is "repair", which is to remove the dross, leave the essence, and shape through the renovation. Delineate the price according to the location, advantages and disadvantages.
It can be said that every process of Pingyao beef, the main ingredients, accessories and even the use of salt and water must be meticulous, in strict accordance with traditional skills for processing.
Pingyao beef also relies on its unique craftsmanship, profound culture and rich nutrition to become the first choice of tourists to Visit Pingyao Ancient City.
So how exactly can you identify authentic Pingyao beef?
Today, the natives of Pingyao will talk to everyone and teach everyone to distinguish between true and false Pingyao beef in four steps!
One look
Look at the color: Pingyao beef is ruddy in color and bright in crystal. The color of fake beef is lighter, and even if it is processed and colored by special means, it will not be as natural as real beef.
Look at the skin of the meat: there are no red dots, no red dots are good meat, and those with red dots are bad meat;
Look at fat: the fat of fresh meat is white or yellowish, the fat of defective meat lacks luster, and the fat of spoiled meat is green.
Look at the texture: the beef tendons of real beef are tightly embedded in the meat, which is a relatively normal pattern, while fake beef does not necessarily have such a pattern.
Two smells
Beef has a smell, although it is not as strong as lamb, but there is a slight smell of it when you smell it carefully. Fresh Pingyao beef has a normal smell, and the inferior meat has an ammonia or sour taste.
Three touches
The surface of fresh meat is slightly dry or air-dried, and it does not stick to the hand when touched. Spoiled meat is heavily sticky to the hand, but some heavily water-injected meat is also completely unbondy to the hand, but it can be seen that the appearance is wet and not strong.
Four products
Taste: Pingyao beef meat is tender, soft and delicious to eat, fat but not greasy, salty and moderate.
Have you all learned?
Remember to take a small notebook and write it down
The next time you buy Pingyao beef, you can use it
Mid-Autumn Festival small long holiday to Shanxi Pingyao ancient city tourism friends, buy specialty Pingyao beef, absolutely use the method, welcome to leave a comment below.