Chapter 305: The Big Quinn Barbecue
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As the evening drew closer, more vehicles arrived at camp. There were pickup trucks, cars, and SUVs. They were Rose"s police colleagues.
Police officer Alison was the earliest to arrive. She also brought a large, freshly baked pizza.
Li Du knew Officer Alison: they experienced a shoot-out together before and both parties had had a good first impression of each other. Li thought better of her when he saw she had brought over a small gift—the pizza—even though she was supposed to be their guest.
"Alison"s pepperoni pizza is one of the best around," Rose introduced. "It’s my colleagues’ favorite food. If there’s a party, her pizza will always steal the show."
Li Du laughed, "That’s great, I happen to need a star dish for tonight."
Alison waved and laughed in an honest manner, indicating a direct personality.
"Ha! Li, don"t be so polite, I know you can cook very well. Rose praises your cooking every day."
Li Du looked at Rose with surprise. Rose said, "Your cooking is really good. I don’t praise you, just telling my partner the truth."
"What does it feel like to have a partner?"
Rose showed him a sincere smile and responded, "Very good."
The police officers arrived one by one. Li Du was surprised to see the second guest arrive. It was Rose’s Police Chief, whom he met when he volunteered to catch the criminals in a thunderstorm.
"You remember my boss, Officer Greg," Rose said. "And you remember my good friend, Li."
Li Du said, "Just call me Li, Officer Greg. Welcome to the party. I did not expect Rose to invite a VIP. You’ve graced us with your presence."
Officer Greg always knitted his brows together, exhibiting a solemn expression. It seemed to have become a habit.
However, hearing Li Du’s compliment, he gave him a stiff smile and said, "h.e.l.lo Li, I’m glad to see you again. You were a great help last time. I’ve not expressed my thanks to you."
"The thanks should go to Officer Rose."
Greg nodded his head and said, "Yes, Officer Rose is doing a great job. She and Alison are the best police-women team in Flagstaff."
Fifteen to sixteen police officers arrive intermittently. Li Du knew one of them: Officer Capote, who had tried to create trouble for them when they got hold of the mammoth’s tusks.
Capote had also brought a present: a dozen German Guinness stouts.
Capote got along with Rose and Alison. They cracked jokes with each other when they met at the party. Although he had an uneasy expression when he saw Li Du, both of them nodded at each other in greeting.
Rose noticed the odd atmosphere and asked, "You don’t seem to get along with Capote?"
"What about you?" Li Du asked in turn.
Rose shrugged her shoulders and said, "We’re on good terms. He’s provided much support to me and Alison."
"When did this start? Can you remember?
Rose pondered for a moment and said, "I think after the incident where he detained you because of the mammoth’s tusks. Not sure why, but he’s been friendlier ever since then."
Li Du laughed, for he knew the reason why: He had some dirt on this fellow—Capote would not dare offend Li nor Rose.
Ever since the arrival of Alison, Li Du had placed chilled watermelon, apples, cuc.u.mbers, and many other fruits on the table.
When all their guests arrived, he replaced the fruits with finger food and salads. Plates of main dishes started to make their way to the dining table.
Big Quinn had excellent culinary skills, especially noticeable in his barbecued food. He was mainly in charge of grilling the meat in a barbecue pit; the roast deer meat and grilled rabbit meat had been prepared by him.
This might have been the oldest barbecuing method. When Big Quinn had arrived at the cabin that morning, he dug a shallow pit and put some wood and coal inside for burning.
When the wood and coal were almost burned out, he extinguished the flames, dug up a hole in the middle of the coal and wood, and buried all kinds of meat and vegetables.
All this food was covered with broad leaves. The main purpose was to bake it all. The process was similar to the baked sweet potatoes of Li Du’s hometown.
Big Quinn also cooked up a special roast featuring the cactus. There were a lot of wild cacti all around Arizona. He had picked the fat cacti, hollowed them out, and stuffed marinated meat paste inside.
The final step was to seal the cactus so the meat paste did not fall out. Then they were also put inside the hole for baking. Li Du had never seen such a special way of making a roast. Most police officers who attended the party had not seen it before either.
When it was time to serve the specially baked food, Big Quinn got G.o.dzilla to help him tend and barbecue some meat on the grill. He took out the meat and vegetables wrapped in leaves that had been buried since afternoon.
A few police officers got curious and squatted by the pit; at the same time, they were talking:
"It"s a pit oven. People from North Carolina and Texas like to do this."
"No Chris, it’s not the same—pit ovens are used for smoking. Look, this pal is baking everything—not exactly the same."
"Hawaiian barbecues are like this right? I’ve seen people do them before. The meat and oil don’t leak out. The smell is too good."
"Wow, this is Mexican-style barbecue. Look, the roasted cacti are out! But they look so ugly."
Big Quinn laughed and pulled out a sharp knife. Alison, who was chatting with Li Du, unconsciously stood up at that sight. She glared at Big Quinn nervously.
Li Du asked, "Anything wrong?"
Embarra.s.sed, Alison laughed. "Oh, nothing. It’s my occupational reflex. Your friend over there, to be frank, has a face that could cause a lot of misunderstandings."
Police Chief Greg had his usual stern face and said, "O’Quinn Alonzo may have a challenging appearance. But he"s a law-abiding and good citizen."
Another police officer beside them laughed. "Alison, you don’t know him? This fellow is pretty well-known in Flagstaff."
Alison shook her head and said, "Not in my precinct. I don"t know. What happened?"
"It’s nothing, just that his angry appearance and body size are too overbearing to some. When he first moved to Flagstaff, we received a lot of calls from the public that foreign gangs had entered Flagstaff."
"There’s also this guy who was returning home at night and happened to meet O’Quinn, who was clearing up the garbage. He was so scared he called the police, saying that he felt threatened."
Police Chief Greg sipped his beer, turned to look at Li Du and said, "You have two exceptional men working for you."
Li Du had a humorless half-smile and clarified, "Yes, Chief. You know it’s not always easy for an Asian man like me to do treasure-hunting business in America. If I have men like this, I can have it easier."
"If you go to the other states bringing them with you, I estimate more people will report to the police," laughed Louis. "They’ll say that they’ve encountered a foreign gang. And you will be treated as a gang leader."
Li Du replied jokingly, "It’s okay, we’ll carry our tax records with us."
Big Quinn used the sharp knife to slice the outer layer of the blackened cactus; the now-baked marinated meat paste emitted warm vapor as it slid down to a bowl. He sprinkled it with some seasoning and paprika—everyone could smell the aroma coming from it!
Besides the pit barbecue, Big Quinn was also making other barbecued meat with different styles and flavors.
The steps were c.u.mbersome and a wide array of seasonings were used. When the delicacy was completed, it was aromatic and scrumptious, despite the fact that he had used an oven to make it.