Once both sides of the meat were browned, Miina took it from the pan to taste. It did melt in our mouths, but it just felt like eating scraps of premium meat and it was hard not to feel disappointed. The sight of all the melted fat left behind in the pan was especially frustrating.
“I think it needs to be fluffier somehow if it’s going to appeal to kids,” Miina said.
“Is there a way to trap the juice inside, I wonder?” I said, feeling greedy. The moment I said it, I realized we’d come upon two problems.
Maybe if I use Appraisal, I can find a hint?
I picked up the plate with the last bit of sautéed minced meat and wandered to the shelves where we kept our kitchen supplies.
Onion
Classification: Food
Quality: Normal
Rarity: Common
Status: Sharp when raw but sweet when sautéed. It might make you cry, though!
Feeling: Cook me up and add me to that meat, and I’ll make it nice and tender! Just be sure to cool me down first!
Hmm, that could work. I spotted a loaf of bread that hadn’t sold the day before.
Bread
Classification: Food
Quality: Low
Rarity: Common
Status: Day-old bread that’s dried out.
Feeling: If you grind me up into breadcrumbs, I’ll trap all that juicy goodness inside!
That’s it! But was day-old bread okay to use?
Egg
Classification: Food
Quality: Good
Rarity: Common
Status: A fresh egg laid this morning.
Feeling: Add me into the mix, and I’ll give everything a soft texture to bind the meat together!
I had a good feeling about this!
“If we mix in an egg, I think it’ll hold together better,” I said to Miina. “If we sauté some onions too, it’ll be sweeter, which kids will love. And we can crumble dry bread into breadcrumbs to soak up the extra juices.” I hadn’t told Miina about Appraisal yet, so if she asked how I knew all this, I wouldn’t have a good answer. I tried to act casual as I suggested everything.
“Dry bread…” Miina said thoughtfully. “You mean the loaf from yesterday? Well, technically that is how you make breadcrumbs, but you’re suggesting we mix them into the meat instead of using them as a coating?” She started preparing it as I suggested despite looking skeptical, probably because I was her employer.
First, Miina grated the bread into fine crumbs. “If we don’t mince the onions really well, the patties will probably fall apart, right?” She chopped them into tiny pieces and sautéed them until golden brown.
“Be sure to let them cool before adding them in,” I said.
“Right, or they’ll melt all the fat out of the meat,” she agreed, nodding.
We went back to the counter and started over. Miina seasoned the minced beef with salt and pepper, then kneaded it once again until it became sticky. Next, she mixed in the egg, chopped onions, and breadcrumbs.
“If we just roll them into balls like before, they end up with little air pockets inside that pop open,” she said. “Let’s get the air out first.” She picked up the meat mixture and began to slap it back and forth between her palms with a steady rhythm.
Then, she set it in the oiled frying pan where it started to sizzle, filling the kitchen with the delicious aroma of cooking beef.
“The patties are puffing up more than I expected,” she said. “I don’t want them undercooked, though, so once I flip them, I’ll put a lid on and let them steam until cooked through.” She was just about to turn them over when Marcus poked his head into the kitchen; it looked like there were no customers at the counter for a moment.
“Hey! You two have been back here forever, and suddenly I smell something amazing!” he said. Growing boys were helpless against the scent of frying meat.
“It really does smell delicious,” I said, sniffing the air.
“We made three to try, so don’t worry,” Miina said with a grin. “There’s one for you too!” She lifted the lid off the pan, revealing the perfectly browned, plump patties as the delicious smell of cooking meat wafted toward us.
“Looks like they’re holding their juices in better this time,” Miina said with satisfaction. She speared one with a skewer to check if the juices were running clear. “Yep, cooked in the middle! Let’s taste!”
Marcus fetched three plates along with tongs and forks, then lined them up on the table. Miina used the tongs to gently set one steaming patty on each plate.
“Let’s eat!” we all said together.
I cut off a bite-sized piece with the side of my fork, and as soon as I pressed down, juice gushed out. Oh, what a waste! I quickly picked it up with my fork and popped it into my mouth. The savory flavor was delicious, and the juices were rich and smooth. The minced meat was so tender it practically melted in my mouth, but this time it had a light, fluffy texture too.
“It’s delicious!” we all said together (again).
“You know, we came up with this ourselves,” I said, savoring my last bite. “What should we call it?”
“How about tender steak?” Miina suggested.
“Perfect!” I agreed, then paused when I frowned at my plate.
The leftover juices had cooled into a white, grainy layer. It wasn’t very ladylike of me, but I swiped a little with my finger and tasted it. The texture was unpleasantly gritty. I explained what I noticed to the others.
“In that case, for bread we sell to take home, we might be better off using chicken or pork instead,” Miina said. “Something like crazy chicken or mad pig would probably be less grainy when it cools.”
It seemed we would still have to make some adjustments before we could sell this to go.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hi, Miina!” A pair of adventurers, a man and a woman, walked into the bakery. They were the regulars who had given us the meat the other day.
“We have some brand-new bread today; would you like to try it?” Miina asked with a bright smile after she thanked them again for the gift.
“Sure, we’ll try it,” said the man. “And I’ll have some iced tea too.”
“I’ll have the same,” the woman said.
“Great. That’ll be just a moment,” Miina said, bowing politely before disappearing into the kitchen.
A short while later, she returned with two plates and two glasses of chilled tea. The latest bread was a soft roll sliced open and stuffed with a freshly cooked tender steak patty and thick slices of tomato.
“Make sure you open wide and take a bite of everything together!” Miina said, demonstrating with her hands.
The adventurers followed her instructions and leaned forward to take a big bite.
“Wait, is this meat?” asked the man.
“It melts right in your mouth!” said the woman.
“I made this from the bloodcow you brought,” Miina said. “I call it tender steak. It’s minced beef mixed with a few other ingredients, then shaped and cooked. How do you like it?”
“It’s delicious!” they said in unison with a grin.
They polished off their sandwiches in no time, and Miina observed them happily before stepping away.
“Shadow, we have to bring some of this home for everyone,” one of them said.
“Yeah. We’ll get scolded if we don’t, Bird!” the other agreed.
The man raised his voice again and said, “Miina, can I get four to go?”
“We have a version made with another meat that stays soft even after it cools, for takeout,” Miina offered. “Which would you prefer?”
“We’ll take the same ones you just gave us!” the man said.
Miina nodded and went back into the kitchen to prepare a fresh batch.
“Make sure to warm them up a little before eating,” she said when she returned. She loosely wrapped the still-warm sandwiches before handing them over.
“See you next time!” they said and left the bakery.
“All right, I’ll head out. You keep watch here, Shadow,” the woman said.
“Got it, Bird,” the man replied.
The next instant, Bird vanished, having teleported straight to the royal family’s residence in the castle. There, she pulled on a mask to conceal her face.
“Your Majesty,” she said in greeting.
“Oh, it’s you, Bird,” said the king.
“I’m sorry to appear so suddenly, but Miss Daisy’s shop started selling a delicious new item and I thought Your Majesty would appreciate trying it while it was still warm. They call it a tender steak, a meat patty between two pieces of bread.”
“Wonderful!” the king said. “Summon the family at once!” He ordered the servants to gather everyone together so they could all enjoy Daisy’s creation.
Yes, the man and woman were the same elite agents who, during the face powder crisis, had gathered intelligence on the neighboring kingdom in just a day at the prime minister’s command. That feat had only been possible because of Bird’s unique teleportation skill. But of course, Daisy hadn’t the slightest idea that Shadow and Bird, who she admired like characters in a story, were secretly monitoring her as regular customers. It was truly a kingdom at peace. After all, here were intelligence agents using a rare teleportation skill to run sandwich deliveries.
Bird smiled contently as the king hurried off to summon his family.