Hippogriff Soup

 How are your sinuses treating you, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs? I have to admit, the weather on my side of the dungeon is starting to get to me. So much pollen in the air. Freezing cold in the morning but uncomfortably warm in the evening. I can only change clothes so many times a day, DMMs!  You're not here to listen to me complain about my dull headaches though. You're here to eat! And what better to eat when you're feeling a little under the weather than soup?  Hippogriff Soup anyone?

DMMs with steel trap minds will wonder what's up with the Hippogriff Soup. Didn't the gang spend two chapters trying to murder a Griffin?  Ding Ding! You're a winner, DMMs!  Well, the ones who remembered anyway.  And yes, they did kill a griffin last time so how are they eating a hippogriff? What can I say, the dungeon is a weird place! A better answer lays in the story Senshi tells about his past and how he came to live in the dungeon.

I'm going to be straight with you, DMMs. This is the best single chapter in the entire Dungeon Meshi story. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it or seen that episode of the anime yet beyond the highest of the high points. Long story short, Senshi was party of a dwarven mining crew when he was young. Good job but the group was beset by a griffin.

I love this dude's design. I'm such a sucker for cool eyewear.  I bet it also works as a jewelers magnifying glass! Anyway, the griffin is eventually killed and a soup made from it's meat. That's what Senshi eats.

Senshi gained a fear of griffins because of this encounter to the point that he avoided them. So he has never had that soup since.  I've read that taste and smell are your two senses highest tied to memory which means the soup became integral part of Senshi's past. Laios wants to help Senshi overcome a darker part of his history so Laios gets to cooking.

 The soup is very basic, boiling water and meat.  Senshi takes a bite and...

Crushing. There's nothing worse than trying to replicate an important recipe from your past only for it to turn out wrong. They write books about this, DMMs!  Laios, however, can't keep his monster loving mind from working things out.  There was something weird about that griffin, the way it acted and fought.  What if...stay with me here...what if it wasn't a griffin at all but a hippogriff!?

A hippogriff has the same eagle top part as a griffin but it has a horse's backside, not a lions.  They act and eat different.  For starters, the hippogriff is a herbivore that mainly eats berries. In our world the hippogriff is actually a "newer" mythical beast having been created in a poem from the 16th Century. Hey, your Saracen wizard has to own something cool!  Conversely the griffin is one of our oldest fantastic creatures dating as far back as 3000 BC. That still isn't answering how Laios will get his hands on some hippogriff to test his theory.  Stick with me here, DMMs, we'll talk about what Laios does next week, I swear.  For now just now that he uses literal magic mushrooms to change the "griffin" meat to hippogriff.

Shooby Dooby Doo, instant meat change!  If only we all had access to magic mushrooms, DMMs. Who hasn't wanted beef when all they had was pork? Laios takes the new hippogriff meat and gives the soup a second try. And this time?

Success!  Also, Senshi is one handsome dwarf.  I'm well aware that you already knew that, DMMs. I just like bringing it up every time I can.  The crew ate hippogriff so what does that mean for us?  As we've talked in the past I draw the line at eating horse. And this won't be any different.  Eagle is out since that would be a felony. How about we lean into the meat you weren't expecting aspect of the story? Take a look at what I'm making the stew out of.

Just stew meat, right DMMs?  Afraid not!  You see this is actually American Bison!

Expecting cow but you get served some sort of land cow instead!  Talk about unexpected. Okay, okay. It's not that far out. Bison has been commercially available for a while now.  In fact the bison I bought was raised and farmed a few counties over.  The history of the bison is a cautionary tale, however.  They went from around 60 million before the late 1800's to near extinction in about a decade.  Overhunting for their pelt nearly killed off the American Bison.  If it wasn't for both Government and private intervention they would have literally gone the way of the dodo. Starting with only 100 bison in the 1890's careful protection and planning have gotten the bison back to around 500,000 today. Nowhere near their heights but they are doing way better.  This also means their meat is VERY EXPENSIVE! This may be the most expensive meal I make for you all but it is well worth it. Laios' soup may have just been boiling water and meat but we can do better than that. And stew is best cooked slowly. Which means a slow cooker!

Ah, the mighty slow cooker. One of the major workhorses in my house. I love my Crock Pot, DMMs. Set it and forget it cooking is the way for me!  It works best for stews because you don't have to worry about watching a stove for hours on end.  Put the bison meat into the pot along with a half cup of flour. This helps thicken the stew and bring out some of the flavor.

Looking weird and goopy. Just like me!  We have our meat and our cooking implement, what else can we add to the stew?  How about we stick to the basics?

Carrots, onion, garlic, and mushrooms.  Pretty stewtacular!  Just chop all of these into chunks.  They don't need to be diced since they will need to stand up to heat and water for a few hours. You don't want them to turn to mush! Throw them into the pot.

Top all of this with a cup of vegetable stock and a cup of beef stock. Add around a teaspoon of salt and as much pepper as you want.  Other spices are up to you!  I've recommend going easy on anything you use. Bison meat is pretty light in flavor, not like beef.  You don't want to overpower the main event, DMMs!  Set the slow cooker to 4 hours on High or 6 to 7 on Low.  And that's all you have to do!  That's  Come back when the time is up and you'll have this.

So good!  This is a stew worth trying to remember, DMMs.  It also looks great in a bowl.

I eventually added a little cheese and hot sauce to mine. It reminded me of a French Onion Soup, to be honest.  And the bison wasn't tough or gamey. Just a nice light beef flavor. I can see why people really talk about it becoming a substitute for cow.  Give it a try...but save up a little first. Bison has a great taste, it's not great to your pocket book. That's it for this week, DMMs! Thanks for taking a trip through unexpected meat with me!  Be sure to come back next week when we talk all things magic mushrooms!