For Ningxia people, they can’t get enough of mutton.

Not only does he love to eat, but he also eats meticulously and "trickily".

For example, some diners are no longer satisfied with the hearty chewing of lamb ribs or lamb legs, but prefer the delicate and tender taste of lamb neck.

Especially in winter, a plate of lamb neck meat, dipped in vinegar and garlic sauce, and a bowl of noodles are both nourishing and satisfying.

It tastes delicate and smooth in the mouth. Master Ye picked up the knife, first cut the meat with light force, and when he got to the bone, he raised the knife and chopped hard.

The lamb neck slices cut out with this knife are smooth and flat, and they are spread out in circles on the plate, like petals blooming and stretching.

Sprinkle some salt at the end and serve.

Speaking of eating lamb neck, the most common way to eat it in Yinchuan is to stew it with hands.

Xiaoyeliang Shouzhou is one of several well-known mutton brand restaurants in Yinchuan. The mutton neck in this restaurant is served cold and has a very authentic Wuzhong taste.

"I heard from our shop owner that at first the hands were eaten hot, and then the leftovers that were not sold were cooled and tasted very good, so we developed the cold hands," said Jin Yanlin, the head chef of Xiaoye Liang's hands.

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He took the reporter to the back kitchen, where each stewed lamb neck was placed in the refrigerator. Each lamb neck had a layer of snow-white fat on it.

Master Ye Zhengbing took out one, shaved off some excess fat, placed the lamb neck on the chopping board, picked up the knife and started cutting.

The back of this knife is relatively thick, and the weight of the entire knife is about twice that of an ordinary kitchen knife.

The cut lamb neck is evenly thick. Pick up a piece and put it in your mouth. The delicate and smooth texture is completely different from the lamb ribs and lamb legs.

"The meat on the lamb neck itself is very thin and tender. There is still some fat in it, which becomes like paste after cooling, so it tastes very thin and smooth." Jin Yanlin explained.

To have good meat, you need to cook it carefully. When making hand-caught meat, the quality of the meat is the key.

Ningxia mutton itself is of good quality, and the hand-picked mutton neck should be selected from the best.

"Sheep that are too small are not used, sheep that are too old are not used, and rams are not used either." Jin Yanlin said that the sheep's neck itself is just that long. It shrinks after stewing, and it has to be peeled and oiled, so it becomes even smaller.

There wasn't much to eat in the end.

In addition, the soft and tender texture of lamb neck is mainly important. If the lamb is too old, the meat will be old and not elastic.

The meat of the ram is too firm and the taste is not the best.

Therefore, ewe necks weighing at least three or four pounds are best.

The processing of lamb neck before cooking is also different from other parts of meat.

"The meat generally needs to be soaked first. There is a lot of blood in the lamb neck, so the soaking time is longer." Jin Yanlin said that the lamb neck in the store usually needs to be soaked for more than an hour. When cooking the meat, it is also stewed in a separate pot.

The time cannot be too long.

The cooked lamb neck is left to cool naturally. When drying, it is covered with a layer of gauze to slow down the loss of heat and water. The meat does not change color easily. The color of the outer layer and the inside are kept relatively uniform, making it more appetizing.

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If you eat meat but don’t eat garlic, the deliciousness will be reduced by half. When eating mutton in Ningxia, you have to pay attention to pairing it with garlic.

There is a saying: If you eat meat without garlic, the taste will be reduced by half.

The dipping sauce made of garlic and vinegar is a perfect match for mutton. Fatty meat will not feel greasy after this dipping sauce.

Home-made dipping sauce basically consists of mashing garlic, adding mature vinegar and mixing well. Some people also like to add soy sauce, chili and other seasonings for seasoning, while the dipping sauce at banquets is more particular.

Jin Yanlin said that when making garlic paste, it is best to use single-head garlic. Although the price is more expensive than multi-clove garlic, its juice content is high, and the taste of garlic paste and vinegar can be better integrated.

Vinegar also needs to be processed. The freshly bought mature vinegar is boiled in a pot to make it thicker, and seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers are added to make the vinegar sauce richer in flavor.

Next, comes the most wonderful part of making the dipping sauce.

"The vinegar should be poured down at a height of more than one meter away from the garlic paste, so that it can 'rush' into the garlic paste." Jin Yanlin said while gesturing. If you stand next to him at this moment, you can feel the vinegar and garlic blending together.

At that moment of subtle change, the garlic paste slowly foamed in the vinegar, and the original single aromas of garlic and vinegar merged together and then dispersed, "I feel like my mouth is going to flow out just by telling you now.

"Jin Yanlin said.

With the authentic Ningxia flavor of pasta, everyone knows that Ningxia's mutton is good, but there is also a "chain of contempt" for different parts of a good sheep. From a price point of view, mutton ribs and mutton legs are the best, and haggis is the best.

It's pretty average, and the sheep neck is somewhere in between.

However, in Jin Yanlin's eyes, he did not completely agree with this.

"This is mainly based on our eating habits. We all like to eat lamb ribs and lamb legs. They are the best and the most expensive, but it does not mean that other parts of the meat are not good." Jin Yanlin said, in Ningxia

, real gourmets (those who are particularly good at eating and know a lot about food culture and traditions) love to eat lamb necks.

As an "Internet celebrity" of Yinchuan food, Xiaoyeliang Shoupao welcomes many diners every day, and in winter, it is mainly local diners.

Sometimes two or three people come in, and each one wants a bowl of noodles, and then orders a hand-caught lamb neck and a salad with scallions, a combination of meat and vegetables, which is delicious, filling and affordable.

"Most of us locals eat this way," Jin Yanlin said.