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    Steven Rinella
    Steven Rinella
    Steven Rinella is the host of the Netflix Original series MeatEater and The MeatEater Podcast. He's also the author of six books dealing with wildlife, hunting, fishing and wild game cooking, including the bestselling MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Every Hunter and Angler.

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    Butchering & Processing

    Video: A Butchering Knife Actually Designed for Hunters

    Video: A Butchering Knife Actually Designed for Hunters

    3m5s

    Say there’s a deer hanging in your garage. It might be in quarters or just missing its guts, but you know you’ve got a solid afternoon—minimum—to get all that venison in shape for the freezer and a year’s worth of meals to come. Triple that time and effort with an elk. Quadruple it with a moose.
    Some people loathe this work and end up hacking up their kill in a hurry and grind it all or just give it over to a butcher shop to deal with. Some of...

    Butchering & Processing

    The Small Game Field Dressing Guide
    You should gut furred small game as soon as possible. Especially rabbits and hares, because there’s something about their innards that allows them to sour very quickly.
    In warm weather, it only takes an hour or so for the thin abdominal muscles to start turning greenish blue. It’s easier to skin rabbits or squirrels before they’re gutted, as the hide comes off more easily if the animal is completely intact. But leaving the hide in place is a...

    Butchering & Processing

    Rendering Wild Lard for Cooking
    Sportsman that are lucky enough to harvest a black bear should try rendering the fat from the animal.  Once rendered, this lard will become a staple in the house hold for cooking many different meals.
    When butchering black bears or wild pigs, if you get a fatty one, it’s very important that you trim away all fat before freezing the meat. The fat will gradually spoil in the freezer and create off-flavors or downright inedible meat.
    Rather than...

    Butchering & Processing

    What You Need to Know About Aging Game Meat
    Meat is aged for two reasons, to tenderize it and to enhance flavor.  When possible, this should be done with the hide on and the bone in.  The hide protects the meat and prevents excessive drying. The bone keeps the muscles elongated, which helps prevent contraction and subsequent toughness.
    Aging meat properly requires a period of 7-14 days, depending on the condition of the animal. Ideal temperatures for aging are between 34-37 degrees.  This...

    Butchering & Processing

    Grinding Big Game Meat
    After the main cuts of meat are off of an animal it is time to decide what to do with the rest of the meat.  Most of time grinding is the best option.  This makes up a great majority of the meat you get from the animal you harvest, so it is important to know how to grind big game meat correctly.
    When making ground meat from the flesh of horned and antlered game, it’s a good idea to add in some pork fat or beef fat. You can omit the fat, but you...

    Butchering & Processing

    How to Butcher a Turkey
    Preparation for a turkey is key, if the bird is prepped correctly the options are endless, when it comes to recipes. Once a turkey has been plucked, the turkey can be used for any whole preparations such as stuffed and roasted Thanksgiving-style turkey.
    What I generally like to do,  is split the bird in half so that I’ve got two manageable-sized pieces. This lets me enjoy the turkey in parts, rather than all at once, and it takes up a lot less...

    Butchering & Processing

    Tips for Gutting Feathered Small Game
    You might not expect it, but gutting small game is a controversial subject. Many guys like to hang, or age, their small game with the guts inside.
    I’ve never heard a good argument for this, beyond the fact that it saves time in the field. This is the usual perspective of hunters who simply “breast-out” their game birds, a term for just filleting away the breast meat and discarding the smaller, more difficult to use wings, legs, and thighs. That’s...

    Butchering & Processing

    Tips for Freezing Game Meat
    Once the meat is cleaned and butchered, it is time to store it.  Freezing game meat protects it from spoiling and allows the hunter to use throughout the coming months.  Use this as a guide to ensure your game meat lasts while in the freezer.
    There are two acceptable methods to use when wrapping whole-muscle red meat for the freezer, vacuum-sealed bags and double-wrapping with plastic wrap and waxed freezer paper. Both will keep meat for well...