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Janis Putelis

Janis Putelis
Janis Putelis is the Director and Executive Producer of the Netflix Original series MeatEater and co-host of The MeatEater Podcast. Before joining MeatEater in 2012, Putelis spent over a decade guiding hunting and fishing trips in Colorado, Arizona, and Mexico and three years in a professional kitchen.

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Firearm Hunting

Ask MeatEater: What Do You Need to Know About Flying with Guns?
I’ve flown with firearms over 60 times in the last few decades. Let me start by telling you this: It’s OK. Airports are accustomed to it and ready for you. Although some terminals are easier to work with than others and policies vary among airlines, it’s actually pretty simple. Here’s what you need to know about flying with guns.
Guns are only allowed as checked baggage. Up to 11 pounds of ammunition are acceptable. Ammunition must be in the...

Big Game

Ask MeatEater: How Do You Break in Hunting Boots?
You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers (and if we don’t, we’ll make them up). Every day, fellow MeatEaters send us more than 100 emails regarding hunting, fishing, cooking, conservation, and more. So, we decided to publish a series dedicated to our favorite FAQs. This is Ask MeatEater.
My feet are so adapted to wearing boots that I don’t even think about breaking boots in. I might in the case of an extremely stiff, mountaineering-style sheep...

Butchering & Processing

Video: How to Debone a Venison Hindquarter
The hindquarters, or hams, contain many of the choicest cuts of meat on a deer, so you want to process it with as much care and attention to detail as possible to get the most out of it.  In the rear quarter you’ll find the sirloins and rounds, both of which are great for cooking whole or slicing into steaks.
Deboning these back legs is relatively simple and only requires a few well-placed cuts. Watch this video first to see how to remove the...

Firearm Hunting

Video: How to Clean a Rifle Barrel
Whether your rifle is brand new or passed down through several generations, regular and proper cleaning is imperative to keep it in good shape and shooting accurately for hunting seasons to come. It all starts with the right tools and a solid understanding of what you’re trying to accomplish.
When you fire a rifle, burnt gunpowder and residue from the bullet will accumulate in spiral grooves in the barrel called the rifling. These grooves make...

Butchering & Processing

Video: How to Prepare Venison Skirt Steak
The skirt steaks on smaller big game like whitetail deer and pronghorn aren’t very substantial cuts, but that doesn’t mean you should discard or ignore them. They’re a bit thin to cook whole and have too much silverskin to grind, but our friend Jesse Griffiths, owner of the renowned restaurant Dai Due in Austin, Texas, gave us a hot tip. Chunk up your venison skirts to make a silky, smooth, delicious stew.
By braising for a long time at a low...

Firearm Hunting

Video: How to Sight in a Rifle
Getting a new gun zeroed in or on target is not as complicated as some folks might believe. But it is easy to get a few crucial steps wrong. The proper equipment will make the process easier and more reliable.
First, there’s your rifle and your scope. You can mount the scope yourself and use a laser bore-sighter to get the reticle near where it needs to be. At the range though, you’ll need a box or two of the same ammunition, a fresh target, a...

Butchering & Processing

Video: How to Remove a Venison Hindquarter
The hindquarters of a deer, also known as hams, contain a large proportion of the total meat and some of the choicest cuts. It’s here where you’ll find the sirloin, round roasts, eye of round, and others. The more attention you can pay to your technique as you’re removing the back legs, the more meat will wind up in pretty little white packages in your freezer.
In this video, I’m showing how you’d remove the hindquarter from a deer that was...

Butchering & Processing

Video: How to Remove Silverskin
Getting rid of tendons, ligaments, and sinew—known collectively as silverskin—is a fact of life for those of us who like to process and cook our own wild game. It’s usually pretty obvious where and how to cut off these white and/or silver portions, but good technique and attention to detail will leave you with more meat and in better shape than if you just hack away at it.
Silverskin is fine to eat, but it will cause the meat to contract when...

Butchering & Processing

Video: How to Remove Backstraps from a Deer
Every week for the next month or so, we’ll be bringing you in-depth butchering videos and articles to help you make the most of your kills and catches. Janis Putelis, Ryan Callaghan, and other accomplished butchers and cooks will share knife tips and techniques they’ve learned over decades of handling wild game. This week, the Latvian Eagle demonstrates how to remove a whitetail deer backstrap.
The backstraps, or loins, are many people’s...

Big Game

Ask the Eagle: What Power Binoculars Are Best?
This is Ask the Eagle, where I’ll be answering your questions about everything from hunting to butchering to marriage. This week, I cover my favorite binocular range and how an eager individual can land an apprenticeship in the outdoors.
Have a question of your own? You can write to me asktheeagle@themeateater.com.