Min-jae secretly clenched his fist.
A silent cheer.
Yes-!
Father also had a surprised expression at Chef Park’s proposal.
“Good. However…”
“However?”
“I will only supply meat that I have personally selected. Please trust me and leave it to me.”
Chef Park reached out his hand.
It was a handshake with a completely different feeling than before.
“I should be the one thanking you. I realized today that I don’t have an eye for choosing meat. Oh, and…”
Chef Park said as if he were embarrassed.
“About my dismissive attitude 14 days ago… I’m sorry.”
“It is fine.”
“No. Thinking about it now, I was being a condescending old man. I am reflecting on it.”
Chef Park bowed with politeness at a 45-degree angle.
An attitude that quickly admitted his own rashness.
Manners that respected someone even younger than himself.
He was not someone who had gained fame for nothing.
At the very least, he was a more humble person than I was in the year 2157.
My future self—no, my past self—flashed through my mind.
The days when I walked with my shoulders held high, calling myself the world’s best meat designer.
Chef Park looked back at his employees.
“You guys greet him too. He is the person who will be supplying our meat from now on.”
The pretty boy bowed hurriedly.
He still had an expression as if he had not yet grasped the situation.
Chef Park bowed once more.
“I look forward to working with you, President Jung Jun-ho.”
“I am the one who should be grateful. I will repay you with the best meat.”
It was recognition from a Michelin two-star chef with 20 years of experience.
And it was also a reflection on my past self.
*****
To fight a proper battle, one must first fill the armory.
Today is the day to go get the core strength, the pork belly.
Inside the truck on the way to Majang-dong.
Min-jae began to show a curious expression.
“Hyung, how do you distinguish between good pork belly and bad pork belly?”
“What? Out of the blue? By the way, how many places did you submit your resume to?”
“Why are you changing the subject?”
Min-jae glared at me with sharp eyes, looking flustered.
“No, why does the topic of employment suddenly come up while we are talking about pork belly? I am already stressed enough as it is.”
“Just curious. You are working hard on your job search, right?”
“Hyung! Is that important right now? We are talking about pork belly.”
Min-jae grumbled.
“Ah, seriously. You go off on a tangent every time. So, what is good pork belly?”
I replied with a smirk.
“Good pork belly is the pork belly I choose. You do not need to worry about it.”
“Hyung, do not joke around and tell me properly. When I get a girlfriend later, I need to show off a bit while grilling pork belly. I am technically from a butcher shop, after all.”
“Girlfriend? Su-jin?”
“Not the Su-jin I broke up with, but a future girlfriend! The future one!”
Min-jae’s face turned red as he got annoyed.
I wanted to tease him more, but I held back.
“Alright, alright. Listen.”
I explained while turning the steering wheel here and there.
“First, the color should not be too light.”
“Really? Isn’t it always better if the color is light?”
“A lot of people are mistaken, but a pink color that is too light is not good. It is called PSE meat, which means it is from a pig that was severely stressed before slaughter.”
“PSE?”
“Pale, Soft, Exudative. It means it is pale, soft, and leaks a lot of moisture.”
PSE meat looks clean and pretty, but in reality, much of the moisture has leaked out, so it tastes dry and bland when grilled.
It often occurs when there is high stress during the processing at the slaughterhouse or during transportation.
Min-jae looked as if he were diligently taking mental notes.
“Oh, I will look pretty cool if I pretend to know something like that.”
When the car stopped at a traffic light, Min-jae asked again.
He is a guy whose curiosity gushes out endlessly like a fountain.
“Hyung, but why is Mega Meat’s pork belly so cheap? Can’t we do that?”
“Mega Meat? I do not know for sure, but it is probably mass production. You know? To use a fancy term, economies of scale.”
“It is the same meat anyway, so why is mass production a problem? Is it something like animal welfare?”
“More than that, because they try to raise pigs quickly and in large numbers, they end up confining them in narrow spaces. Then they get stressed, and the taste of the meat drops. The color of the meat worsens, and it can become dry.”
“Hmm…”
“And the feed is also a problem. To produce in bulk, they have to grow them quickly, so they feed them mostly corn.”
“Does a problem occur if you only feed them corn?”
“If they only eat corn, they get too much fat. Plus, they cannot exercise, so the meat is soft.”
Corn is effective for increasing growth speed, but if biased toward a single feed, the fat ratio rises sharply.
Instead of being balanced and muscular, it becomes soft meat with a lot of fat.
“Ah…”
“A good pig should be fed various grains and given a moderate amount of exercise. That way, the meat comes out firm and elastic.”
If they are fed a variety of feeds like barley, wheat, soybean meal, and rice bran, and given enough space to move, the texture and flavor of the meat definitely change.
Whether it is a person or a pig, a balanced diet and exercise are important.
Min-jae nodded as if he now understood.
“So is that why Mega Meat’s pork belly is a bit mushy?”
“That could be it. When you try to raise a lot of them cheaply, the quality inevitably drops. No, but wait, do you eat Mega Meat’s pork belly?”
“There is a Mega Meat in our neighborhood too. I went home over the weekend, and my mom had bought some.”
“Hmm… When you leave work today, take some of our shop’s pork belly to her. Even someone who does not know the taste of meat well will definitely feel the difference if they compare it directly with Mega Meat.”
The Majang-dong market began to appear in the distance.
However, it seemed Min-jae’s curiosity had not ended yet.
“Hyung, but how much pork belly comes out of one pig?”
“Usually about 14kg?”
“Eh? What, that much?”
Min-jae tilted his head as if he were hearing this for the first time.
That is because pork belly is the second most produced part of a pig.
Well, that is a fact that is not important to most people.
As long as the meat is delicious, that is enough.
But for Min-jae, who has to woo a future girlfriend with pork belly, it is important knowledge.
“It is more than you thought, right? The hind leg comes out the most at about 20kg, and this is the second most.”
“And yet it is still that expensive?”
“Because people in our country only look for pork belly. The problem is that other parts are relatively unpopular.”
“That is true. I also only eat pork belly or pork ribs and rarely eat anything else.”
“But they say that until the 1970s, pork belly was only used for export, and Koreans hardly ate it. They said it was too greasy.”
Min-jae’s eyes widened as he asked.
“When it is this expensive now?”
“That is the plot twist of pork belly. In the 1980s, commoners started grilling and eating it for the cheap taste, but the addictiveness was no joke.”
In fact, the history of pork belly is as dramatic as the history of our country’s economic development.
Even in the 1960s and 70s, pork belly was a non-preferred part.
It was only used for export to Japan or for bacon processing; Koreans preferred lean meat with little fat.
At that time, it was called lard and was not liked much.
Then, in the early 1980s, the government implemented a policy to promote pork consumption.
When the price of beef soared, they pushed pork as a substitute.
In particular, they released the unsold pork belly cheaply.
“At that time, Korean people made a genius discovery simultaneously across the country.”
“What was it?”
“That if you slice pork belly a bit thick and grill it, the fat melts and it becomes crispy.”
“Oh…”
“And even the fact that it tastes better when grilled over briquette fires.”
The timing was incredible.
Korea already had a lettuce wrap culture, and garlic, soybean paste, and chili peppers were the basic seasonings.
The combination of greasy pork belly and lettuce was perfect.
The lettuce caught the greasiness, and the soybean paste and garlic added flavor.
Just as a movie must have the main and supporting roles in perfect harmony to be a proper film.
“But that is not the end.”
“What else is there?”
On top of that, a super supporting role that could devour the lead appeared like a comet, so pork belly had no choice but to go straight to the Academy.
That super supporting role was none other than.
“And with soju added to that…”
“Ah, this!! Soju!!!!”
Min-jae slapped his own forehead like the character Mapak-i.
Soju gave a super ultra booster to the popularity of pork belly.
The 1980s was also a period when diluted soju became popular.
Until just before then, types of makgeolli, called takju, accounted for 80% of all liquor.
The pairing of greasy pork belly and clean soju was incomparable to takju.
A drink for commoners on the way home from work soon began to solidify into the absolute formula of ‘soju with pork belly.’
“So, moving into the 1990s, it completely reversed.”
“Reversed?”
“Korea became the country that grills and eats the most pig belly in the world.”
Parts that Americans processed into bacon and Japanese simmered into kakuni (Japanese-style dongpo pork), Koreans sliced thickly and put on a grill.
“In the 2000s, it became a national food.”
“Seriously, even now, if we have a company dinner, pork belly is definitely the number one choice.”
A part that no one looked at 50 years ago has now become the soul food of Koreans.
History is ironic like this.
“Wow, pork belly had this kind of history. But hyung, how do you know all this? Do you study it separately?”
“YouTube, Googling, ChatG…….”
“……Forget it. You’re a con artist.”
Min-jae did not believe me, but my words were true.
I was just a bit faster at acquiring knowledge based on the information I already had.
While chatting about this and that, the truck had already arrived at Majang-dong.
Today, too, it was bustling with people who came to buy meat.
*****
“Jun-ho! Over here!”
President Choi waved his hand.
“I will show you a few places today. Each company has its own characteristics, so choose carefully.”
Min-jae, a heaven of curiosity, was excited beside me.
“Wow, I’m really learning how to choose pork belly properly.”
The first shop.
“This is President Kim’s place. To be honest, it is a place that competes with cost-effectiveness.”
“Cost-effectiveness?”
“Many cost-effective restaurants or butcher shops in Seoul use this place. Since you have to compete with Mega Meat, price is also important. Just take a look around for now.”
Pork belly was piled up like a mountain in a place that looked like a warehouse.
Styrofoam boxes were stacked almost to the ceiling, and employees moved busily.
Forklifts passed in front of us without rest.
Min-jae’s jaw dropped when he saw the warehouse.
“I guess Koreans really do eat a lot of pork belly. This is enormous.”
Actually, the annual pork consumption per person in Korea is about 28-30kg.
A significant portion of that is pork belly.
There are no exact statistics, but the industry estimates that pork belly accounts for more than one-third of pork consumption.
It is the only country in the world that overwhelmingly eats pig belly.
“Welcome, President Choi!”
A fat president with a good impression welcomed us.
“This is President Jung’s son. You know President Jung from Gayeong-dong, right? He came to look at some pork belly.”
“Ah, really? In this neighborhood, our volume is the best. Even 1 ton a day is possible.”
President Kim proudly opened the refrigerator.
The smell of meat spread along with the cold air.
“Now, this is our main product.”
President Kim took out the pork belly and placed it on the table.
Min-jae could not even wait that short moment before starting his questions.
“In your opinion, President, what is good pork belly?”
“Good pork belly? Naturally, one where the fat layers are uniform.”
President Kim held up the pork belly and shone it under a bright light.
The shape of the ideal pork belly we imagined in our heads was clear.
“Look, this is the standard. The meat-fat-meat 3-layer structure is clear, right?”
“Oh, the layers really are clearly visible!”
1:1:1 is the ideal golden ratio.
But why do we not easily encounter this golden ratio pork belly?
It is because large-scale breeding farms create irregular fat layers while trying to raise pigs quickly.
Some parts have clumps of fat, and some parts only have lean meat.
I stepped closer and lightly touched it.
Information flowed into my mind along with the cold sensation.
[Pork – Pork Belly]
Time elapsed since slaughter: 28 hours
Current freshness: 90/100
Meat color: Pale pink
Fat color: Pure white
Location: Abdomen
Intramuscular fat: ★★★☆☆
Water-holding capacity: ★★☆☆☆
Tenderness: ★★☆☆☆
Meat aroma: ★★☆☆☆
pH measurement: 6.1
Possibility of PSE meat: Medium
Special notes: Rapid breeding, high stress index, 30% shrinkage when grilled
‘It is mediocre. Similar level to Mega Meat.’
Generally, it takes 6-7 months for a pig to reach market weight (110-115kg).
However, large-scale farms shorten this to 5 months, or even 4 and a half months in extreme cases.
The secret is simple.
High-calorie feed and restricted movement.
If you put many pigs in a narrow pigsty, there is no room to move.
The legal minimum area per pig is 0.9㎡.
The size of a single bathroom stall.
They spend their entire lives eating, sleeping, and excreting in this space.
Since they cannot exercise, their muscles do not develop properly.
Add to that feed that has overwhelmingly more carbohydrates than protein.
For a human, it is like eating only ramen every day while staying in bed.
They gain weight quickly, but it is not a healthy body.
Meat from pigs raised like this has characteristics.
The muscle tissue is loose and has high moisture content.
It shrinks by more than 30% when grilled, and all the juices leak out.
It is soft when chewed, but the savory taste is lacking.
The shadow of modern animal husbandry pursuing only speed and efficiency.
It is the grateful reason we can eat meat at a cheap price.
It is also the price paid for giving up taste and quality.
President Kim explained proudly.
“Our turnover is fast, so it is always fresh. Even large shops all get their supplies from us.”
President Kim showed the price tag.
“The cost-effectiveness is the best, right?”
President Choi said with a smile.
“Jun-ho, how about this level?”
“The cost-effectiveness is good, but I am not so sure about using this.”
“Why? Just because it is cheap does not mean it is necessarily bad.”
“I know that, but we have to sell something different from Mega Meat.”
President Kim said as if he were disappointed.
“Hey, you should look a bit more. Anyway, contact me whenever you need volume!”
When we came outside, Min-jae whispered in my ear.
“Hyung, why? Is it not good?”
“Yeah. It is similar to Mega Meat’s pork belly.”
“How do you know?”
“The fat layers are too haphazard. It is thick here and thin there.”
President Choi said as we walked outside.