Steve Rinella is, for many, the face of modern hunting. Born in Michigan he has hunted every type of game imaginable. An accomplished author he has published several different books on cooking wild game. His television show ‘Meateater’ (available on Netflix) has been around for 8 seasons and continues to gain in popularity. The animals he hunts are treated with a great deal of respect which is just one of the many great things about the show.
After harvesting the animals every effort is made to use as much of the meat as possible. From deer head tacos to tongue appetizers very little goes to waste with the Meateater crew.
Spring turkey season is less than a week away in Michigan. Traditionally many hunters will take the breasts from the turkey and maybe the legs, but the rest of the bird goes to waste. This tends to be a recurrent theme with lots of bird hunting.
What I like about this video is Steve plucks the whole bird so that it can be used. After it is cleaned and he has finished it can be parted out and frozen or roasted whole just like Thanksgiving dinner (my favorite meal of the year). I know if I am lucky enough to get my Michigan Tom next week I will be following this method to clean the bird.
For some bonus ideas of how to use your turkey, the ‘Meateater Fish and Game Cookbook’ features a delicious recipe for Slow Cooker Turkey Posole which makes a great and tender meal of the legs and wings.