The Huntavore

On this Episode of Huntavore, Nick is joined by homesteading guru, Jonah Curtis. The two chat about the close of whitetail season here in Michigan and how Jonah is in mid season form when it comes to chasing small game. They play good, better, best when it comes to making a stew, and what goes into a quality wildgame stock.  All this coming up on the next episode of Huntavore.

Back again on the show is Jonah Curtis; homesteader in Southern Michigan, radical small game nut, and writer for Hunt to Eat magazine.  Jonah has an extensive garden that produces a bounty that he and family are able to enjoy all year long.  He talents not only go from being able to raise a few plants and keep a few animals around, but it's a constant chore list that goes from planting a mistaken double order of garlic in October, predator and pest control in his sheds and hen house, to taking his young son along with him on the daily happenings around the property.  Something Nick admires about Jonah is using his harvest to the fullest.  “Waste not want to” has been a phrase Nick has grown up with and has tried to apply that to his wildgame.  Jonah displays that through his use of making stock.  Stock is a beautiful way to use discarded meat/bones/animal parts and veg scraps into a wonderful base for soup, stews, sauces.  Homemade is WAY better than anything store bought.  Dog people , pro tip!  If you plan on giving stock to your dogs, don’t add onions.

In our game, good better best, Nick and Jonah breaks down a stew.  Good, toss it all in a crock pot, give it a couple hours.  Better,  full sear of the meat, brown the veg, if the ingredients are homegrown even better.  Best, hard working, collagen filled meat, browned. Browned veggies, added last hour of cook.  Nick likes Parsnips added last 20 minutes.

MEAT!

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On this Episode of Huntavore, Nick welcomes back Shane Ball; former professional chef, Hunter, and all around stud in making pasta.  First on the plate, taking spaghetti from good to better, without a whole lot of effort, An easy “how to” make a quality tomato sauce, and a deep dive into a pet project Nick is doing; Whitetail Liver and Leek ravioli with a mushroom cream sauce.  If all this sounds incredible, buckle up and get your notes ready for this next episode of Huntavore.

Shane Ball is a former professional chef and native to Alberta, Canada.  Nick catches up with Shane about his big game season this year.  Shane chased both Elk and Moose this year and was able to bring home a couple hundred pounds of glorious venison.  

First up, a game of “Good, Better, Best” Spaghetti with meat sauce.  A staple in most homes.  Take a pound of ground, cook it, add it to tomato pasta sauce, scoop and serve over cooked spaghetti.  Good.  Whip out some frozen garlic bread to make it “special.”

To go Better, Shane offers us a go to easy tomato sauce that will have you forgetting the ease of canned bland from the store.

Nick adds in how he prepares the ground meat.  Dry the meat on paper towels, salt, and let come up to room temp.  The ground gets a way better sear.  When it comes time to add the sauce, both agreed, hit the pan with a stock or a red wine, or something to deglaze the bottom of the pan and lift the fond.  A quick dice of an onion works well for bringing up those brown bits.  Now add the sauce and find your good dish now way better.

Now into some deep talk on stuffed pasta.  A whole episode could be dedicated entirely to just making the pasta.  While a science, it is almost an art with the fine tuning that has to happen.  Nick laid out his plan of using his archery doe liver in a ravioli.  Shane offered up some great advice on pairing with a second flavor, along with making it into a mousse and piping the filling for a consistent noodle.  Lots of first time tasks going on, but with Shane’s help Nick feels that if he can stay organized, some homemade raviolis will be in his future.

Tappecue Meat Probes

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On this episode of Huntavore, Nick is joined by Eric Gunn; outdoorsman, chef, and creator of @wayofthehunt.  Eric loves to use wildgame in his dishes, getting inspiration from his Sicilian heritage.  Nick and Eric talk about the season of wild harvest going on right now with hunters, also,as a Maryland resident, was denied picking up a roadkill deer.  Eric gets into some high level cooking and using some unique parts in your stock.  Stay tuned for an exciting new episode of Huntavore.

Eric Gunn is a native of Maryland.  Growing up in and around some of the best hunting grounds in the country.  Waterfowl, seafood, whitetails, bears, and crazy tiny elk called Sika deer.  Lots of opportunities for sportsmen.  However, one aspect is not open to venison loves, roadkill.  Eric goes into a tale of being told he couldn’t pick up a fresh deer because a salvage permit is needed.  These permit holders travel the roads and pick up carcasses only to be incinerated and dumped into the landfill.  

     Hard days of hunting and chasing animals and for some of us the celebration of butchering our game.  The two guys reflect on their thankfulness for the opportunity and the gifts they were able to harvest and use into the upcoming year.  Nick’s favorite holiday is fast approaching as Thanksgiving is just around the corner. This season always is a great time to reflect on the bounty we’ve been given or opportunity to chase and take.

  Eric shares about his heritage coming from Sicily, and about a few of the dishes that translate well into venison.  A couple with the new cool cut on the block, the shanks, and even getting into keep trotters (the hoof section) for enriching stock.  In old world cooking, nothing goes to waste,  “Waste not, want not” and using more from our deer is something to be thankful for. 

Tappecue Meat Probes

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On this episode of Huntavore.  Nick steps into some deep thoughts.  Do Sportsmen have a responsibility to salvage roadkill?  He gives some explanation and his own opinion on the question.  He also switches gears and jumps into his archery doe celebration meal, venison tenderloin tartare.  How this preparation brought some excitement to an already celebratory meal.

Roadkill Responsibilities:  A week or so ago, Nick was tipped off to a killed button buck near the family farm.  Without hesitation, he picked it up, gutted the animal, and hung it up to age appropriately.  While most people who know Nick were not surprised by this action, a few folks raised eyebrows, and concern.  “Why do you need to pick up roadkill?”  While it is basically a free veni grab, it also hits home to the relationship I have with these deer.  I put these animals in high esteem, and to see their end at the hands of humans who after the collision, leave the deer to waste away, saddens me.  Nick’s personal belief of these deer is that they are a beautiful example of creation.  Their existence with us doesn't deserve to be cast aside and a mere inconvenience to us.  Nick pledges to himself to try and salvage what is wholesome and bring some sort of homage to this animal.

Celebration Meal, Venison Tenderloin Tartare:  A working definition of a celebration meal could be; a meal made for or by a successful hunter, that celebrates the hunt and usually involves the first taste of that particular animal.  A few choices that are popular are organs like heart or liver, backstrap, and tenderloin.  The route that Nick went on his own celebration meal was tenderloin, but with it also being served raw (say what?!?)  In making a raw tartare some preparation specifics need to be taken.  Meat has to be fresh and cold, and served immediately after being prepared.  First an aioli has to be whipped up.  The base contains; sherry vinegar, ground mustard, egg yolks, salt, and drizzle in olive oil to emulsify.  When it gets to the desired thickness.  Fold in; capers, chopped parsley, pepper, and hand chopped tenderloin.  Dress with egg yolk and toasted french bread.

Tappecue Meat Probes

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On this episode of Huntavore, Nick was able to take a healthy sized doe in the early part of October.  Now the preparation comes into play.  Nick sits down with Paul Phodes, author and creator of Sizzlin Arrow.  Together talk about the things you will need for an effective field kit, the skilled art of field dressing, and to embrace this powerful moment with your harvest. No need to skip corners here. The guys also touch on some cut up and preservation ideas that will have you making some notes before getting your harvest.  All this and more on the next episode of Huntavore.

Paul Rhodes, creator of Sizzlin Arrow, is an advocate for taking more control of your food.  Whether it's making choices on where to source quality farm produce or actually heading to the woods to kill for your own meat.  Paul also is involved with talking college students afield to  hunt for deer and turkey in his home state of North Carolina.  Couldn’t think of a better person to chat with about field dressing.

Field dressing is a powerful moment.  It's the moment where the once living creature is transformed into a carcass for food.  For several reasons folks skim over this process; its gross, its bloody, its intimidating, and not a lot of people have been taught the whole process.  Paul walks us through his method.  True tip here is using your fingers as guides cutting the underbelly from the inside out. Protecting that gut from knicks and tears.  Second would be to get the anus out.  Nothing to be worried about cutting inside the pelvic cavity.  Run your blade along the pelvic bone, on the inside and it will free the colon enough to pull free.

Paul and Nick go back and forth on steps of chilling the carcass, breaking it down into whole muscle or into pre-portioned meals, and how both guys appreciate the vac seal style of bagging the cuts.  You can find more about what Paul is up to at: sizzlinarrow.com or @sizzlinarrow on instagram.

Tappecue Meat Probes

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Coupon Code 10% off: HUNT10    

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On this episode of the Huntavore, Nick calls up Sophie May, author of the website wifeofahunter.  Sophie finds herself as the solo cook in her house.  While her husband, father, and even herself go hunting, when game enters the kitchen, she has taken it upon herself to transform it into meals.  Sophie explains that for her family a big hurdle is picky eaters who are not fans of the wild funk many of us enjoy.  If this sounds like your household, than stay tuned, we got some good picky palate pleaser and weekday wildgame talk on the way.

Sophie May is a native to Texas.  Growing up working outside, and enjoying the outdoors, Sophie is no stranger to being behind the gun.  Chasing many types of game that Texas has to offer, from a whole number of deer species, wild hog, waterfowl, and even gators.  Her niche in her household formed procrastinating in her college studies at Auburn, into pleasing her family with a spread of wild game dishes that they would enjoy.

Sophie, like many of us has a full time job that can suck the energy from ya.  Sometimes coming home to prepare a meal can be more of a chore, even for the most hardy kitchen lovers.  Sophie enjoys using tools like a crockpot or instapot in her cooking.  For example, from a box, two alarm chili mix can be whipped up and put on low in a crockpot.  Or the shanks from her axis deer put on simmer all day to be stacked high on an axis french dip in a matter of minutes.

When time is available, a good home cook will put meals up in the freezer.  Be it burritos, freeze a stew, or a good lasagna can last a long time, and be ready for the table with minimum effort.  Sophie drops a recipe from her book with a White Gator Lasagna that sounds fantastic.  We discuss that here in the Midwest we might not be able to get gator easily, but can transition this recipe to use wild turkey.

Sophie can be found on facebook and instagram, @wifeofahuntercooks and on her website, www.wifeofahunter.com   

Tappecue Meat Probes

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On this Episode of Huntavore, Nick is joined by Steven Athay, author of Live Wild Eat Wild.  Self proclaimed good cook and terrible hunter, Steven writes about his hunts, and then follows up with recipes and write ups about the dishes he and his wife make from that animal.  Steven has a true passion for being connected to his food and the process it takes.  We go deep on a bare bones home butchery set up, contaminating wild ground with domestic fat, and an incredible story of a once in a lifetime Utah Bison hunt.

Steven Athay runs the blog, Live Wild Eat Wild.  His whole mission with his platform is to be an educational tool for hunters and anglers who take pride in their harvest and want to celebrate the hunt and the animal through more ways than antlers on a wall.  In fact, I had to ask for Steven’s name because its not written on his page.  He told me that was purposeful, the focus here is the wild game, and the butchery.  He was afraid of trending into the “instagram influencer” territory.  I appreciate that mindset.  Ironically, maybe more hunters and anglers should be influenced by Steven.  

Living out in Utah has offered a bountiful amount of game for Steven along with a wealth of adventures to write about.  We start with a bare bones home butchery set up:  a utilitarian 6” boning knife, plastic wrap and butcher paper, and a hand grinder.  Many decades, if not centuries of animals were processed this way.  Recently home setups have expanded to near cut shop size and quality (including my own), but there is no need to drop a fortune on equipment to get into the home butchery game.  Steve has taken animals to the processor, and knows that the professionals do a good job.  His hang up was he was giving up why he wanted to hunt for food in the first place, the connection.  

We take a deep tangent on ground meat.  Our conclusion on grinders, a hand grinder is a great way to start.  If you want to go electric, forget the cheapies, budget friendly, base models.  This is one area where bigger is better. Stay away from plastic parts, cast and steel are essential.  Mixing domestic fats into wild burger sparks opinions.  Some are purists and want only lean wild.  Others, including myself, cut in domestic fat for a number of reasons related to cooking.  Steven goes for an “all around ground” of 80/20 with pork or beef fat.  Sausage is more of a 70/30 with pork.  For griddle-enthusiasts  I challenge you to try a 60/40 round of smashburgers.

To finish out the episode, Steven takes us on an epic saga of his father’s journey to bag a Utah Bison.  “20 years applying, tons of planning, and a successful hunt.”  Be sure to follow Steven @livewildeatwild  

Tappecue Meat Probes

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On this episode of Huntavore, Nick calls up Travis Stockstill, member of team USA butchering team and host of The Meat Block Podcast, to talk about field care, and prepping your carcass for better quality meat.  Using his expertise from over a decade in the butchers trade, he gives some tips and tricks hunters can use whether it's taking your animal to the processor or the DIY butcher job.  If you are a fan of geeking out over meat, this is the episode for you.

Travis Stockstill lives in California, but has spent over a decade mastering the craft of animal butchery.  Getting his start on the slaughter floor, knocking a holstine on the first day, holding just about every position on the cut floor, and hosting a podcast about butchering and meat cutting.  While having not a lot of experience as a hunter, Travis had his fair share of time butchering venison.  He explains that bringing your venison to the processor in pristine order should be a concern of yours.  Not just for your peace of mind, but for the other hunters as well.  When cutting at home, taking good care at the start will help with your final product.  Travis says hide off to get any contaminants in the hair away, and to spritze the carcass with vinegar to stop bacterial growth.  He also touches on surface and knife cleanliness, using 180 degree water to sterilize.  Cleaning with soup is a start but now adding a sterilizing process to your home butchering is a good idea.  Travis also claims that when people ask what is his favorite cut of meat, that it's ground.  Versatile, no meat loss, delicious, hard to screw it up.  A good argument for full animal utilization.    

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On this episode of the Huntavore, we talk about adventure, and spiritual reflection while on the hunt.  It's hard to separate ourselves from wild creation and the majesty of it all without opening up those big questions while glassing from a peak, or hunkering into the stand.  Hunter shares some of past experience that has lead to the making of The Hunter’s Quest and opens up about his family in the kitchen, making some wild exotic dishes that has this midwest foodie wide eyed and wanting a taste.  Join Nick and Hunter on this walkabout style episode comin’ atcha’.

Hunter McWaters is a native to Virginia.  However he isn't one to stay still for long.  Hunter’s drive for adventure had him shooting footage in lots of amazing places.  Being a Christ-follower, Hunter also sees our backcountry wilderness, not as any random chance, but a glorious display from an intelligent designer.  When chasing caribou, elk, or even whitetail he explains that adventures like these can have you working on filling your soul along with pursuing your game.

Hunter does provide wholesome natural game for his family, but takes a back seat when it gets to the kitchen.  His mother-in-law, raised in the middle east, grew up with quarters and halves of animals coming into the kitchen.  Her experience at breaking quarters, and butchering animals for meals has Hunter watching attentively.  Her sure handed knife skills rival any butcher shop.  In addition, Hunter shares some traditional dishes that utilize every scrap.  His description of simmering the butchered bones, including the spine has Nick’s culinary wheels spinning.  While the concerns of CWD makes him nervous, utilizing the last bits attached to the bones to make a delicious meal is something Nick can get behind.

Tappecue Meat Probes

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Coupon Code 10% off: HUNT10

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On this episode of the Huntavore, Mahting Putelis, CEO of Hunt to Eat joins Nick for a chat about a wild foodie’s favorite fashion wear.  Hunt to Eat started as just a t-shirt company that has blossomed into an organization whose mission encompasses community, real food, and conservation.  Mahting opens up about his start in the outdoors as a kid, how the phrase “food for fuel” relates to his upbringing, a love for photography lead to getting behind a rifle, and reveals some incredible new content coming from Hunt to Eat.

Mahting Putelis comes from humble beginnings.  Living within their means and having a perspective of “food is fuel”, Mahting and his siblings had a unique upbringing with food.  Which makes hunting for sustenance a reality.  Only fitting that Mahting and his brother started the company Hunt to Eat.  First just a t-shirt company that created tasteful wears for hunters and anglers, expands to an organization that brought together a community of folks who showed what they can do with their harvest, introducing new people to our passion of acquiring real food, and teaching others the importance of conservation.

Mahting does admit that he may not find his home in the kitchen, but he does take his place as the grill master.  Mahting likes to keep things simple which given his choice of wild protein will ultimately end up delicious.  A marinated turkey breast grilled up nicely into carnitas is a goto from Mahting.  Or a beautiful elk burger with straight ground.  Letting the game take the driver seat in the dish.

Hunt to Eat also is announcing that they are growing from just a website and clothing, but breaking into the media realm.  With a few of their own podcasts, a show, and a magazine launching soon.  I myself, am excited to soak up the content from folks who hunt to eat.

Tappecue Meat Probes

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Website: https://bit.ly/2NIr0Xj

Coupon Code 10% off: HUNT10

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