The Huntavore

On this episode of Huntavore, Nick is joined by Lee Kleinow, fellow podcast host of Freshwater bite and MI Life Outdoors on Sportsmen’s Nation and avid angler.  Lee hails for the east side of Michigan enjoying the amazing opportunities that the Great Lakes provide.  Together these two unpack the challenges the Great Lakes face with environmental impacts and the impact of evasive, non-native specie...

On this episode of Huntavore, Cast Iron Steve is back again to chat about heavy metal cookware and specifically camp kitchen setups.  We talk about making kitchens portable,  a whole range of equipment we use or wished we used, how calories at the campsite don’t count, and our favorite camp meals and extra fancy desserts to be served fireside. Steve and Nick first break into what makes cast iron s...

On this episode of Huntavore, Nick goes over some of his summer wildgame plans. Taking on a Middle East style of marinade, yogurt based.  Being slightly acidic and yet creamy it offers a great way to impart seasonings along with tenderizing.  Coupled with some homemade flat bread should be a perfect meal for a warm summer's night.  A new addition to his cooking fleet might be a smokeless fire pit...

Greg Tubbs and Eric Clark are hosts of the Where2Hunt podcast and creators of Okayest Hunter.  Okayest Hunter is an online brand that promotes celebrating every deer taken and promoting a positive message around hunting.  A message I can get behind.  As a self proclaimed “meat hunter” my trophy lies in the harvest, not necessarily what's on its head (not really a surprise).     Having the opportun...

This episode of Huntavore highlights Annie Weisz, author of Peak to Plate.  Peak to Plate is a website all dedicated to things using wildgame.  Annie began her adventure by being along side her mother in the kitchen.  Developing a love and passion for food, even her day job has her looking at nutrition being a Dietitian.  Annie has been surrounded by hunting and fishing, her step father teaching h...

Jared Gortsema and James Zandstra are hunting partners and creators of the Bowga Hunting Podcast.  The two are native Michiganders who enjoy the thrill of exploring public land and pursuing game.  Their passion for being sportsmen has led them to Wisconsin for public land whitetails.  Jared takes a real liking to scouting and working the chess match for mature bucks.  Another adventure of theirs,...

Jason Thornton hails for Lafayette, Louisiana.  In his own words, the Bayou is a sportsman’s paradise.  He chases just about everything down there; deer, hogs, turkey, small game, fish, and also tends an extensive garden.  His harvest is pride of his, but his passion is presenting that harvest in a pleasing, creative way.  Tossing a bird or rabbit into a crockpot with a can of cream of mushroom or...

Jeff Benda loves food.  Growing up as a kid on an AirForce Base,  he and his parents enjoyed their time at home in the kitchen.  Whether it was making their own, or hearing about a great new restaurant to try, food was a common event.  Jeff however couldn't realize his second dream of being an outdoors man until becoming an adult.  As a kid, he watched fishing and sport shows Sunday morning before...

Focus today is on the Wild Turkey Breast.  Large cut of meat, Thick at one end, that narrows to a point, and hides an inner tenderloin.  The whole thing in nature is lean.  Quick,fast, and powerful, the breast is the power muscle for flight for these birds.  Not having the stamina for extended flight, the breast gets its light color from quick bursts of work, unlike the legs and thighs that do the...

Kevin Vistisen hails from the east side of Michigan, near Detroit.  Kevin is like a lot of us,  He has a passion for deer hunting.  He puts in long hours at work, spends time with his family, and daydreams about what is strolling past his soaking trail camera.  He and crew have in addition to just loving deer hunting, have put a foot forward in creating and strengthening the hunting culture.  Thro...

Nate Judice, or @therecreationalchef is a sportsman who enjoys the game as much on the plate as chasing them in the field.  Waterfowl and whitetails are his gotos and being in south Louisiana, fish is a mainstay.  Being a guy who has put some time in behind the knife, I wanted to get a grasp of what are some of his quick draw tools in the kitchen.  Nate likes to have his cast iron at the ready all...

Dave came into the hunting lifestyle later in life, standing in the grocery store, and thinking about how many hands have touched this piece of meat.  He came to real conscious awareness of the fuel he was putting in his body.  He now lives out west playing the tag game, procuring his meat either direct from the farmer/rancher or chasing mule deer and pronghorn. Along with approaching his meat dif...

Gina and Jacob Bourrett own Tappecue, a Missouri based company who produce the original cloud based, wifi enabled, meat thermometers.  Seeing a niche for a hardware unit with a heart of software that could connect to the cloud and be on any smart device,  Tappecue was launched.  Their first unit is a 4 stereo port that can handle 8 probes or 4 dual probes (internal and chamber thermometers in one...

Justin Townsend is the Editor-in-Chief of the website and podcast, Harvesting Nature.  Since 2011, Harvesting Nature has been sharing stories and recipes all surrounding our wild game.  Justin has a passion for the outdoors and being a trained chef, has a deep respect for harvesting foods.  The episode breaks into chatting about the basis around Harvesting Nature, a hunting and wildgame website th...

John Wallace, @wildgamecook, hails from Ohio, and works for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.  John starts out by sharing how he and his sons at one point had 5 whitetails hanging in his garage.  He goes into detail how he approaches the idea of processing your own deer and  how he got into butchering his own game.  He makes the correlation that a self hunted, self processed animal always taste...

Nick elaborates on his archery season and upto the dreaded “deer season shutdown” for thanksgiving.  Nick made the big purchase of a saddle and sticks this year.  Choosing to be more mobile and adaptable.  The Saddle is a Tethrd Phantom, with some borrowed Marine dump pouches, used to hold ammo for the SAW.  The sticks are full length Hawk Helium Sticks, with the stock straps and buckles.  To help...

Shane Ball, former professional chef, took his trade to a very high level.  Starting as a kid who wanted to make money and found a dishwashing position,  and worked his way to making food for one of the most notorious chefs in the world.  His travels and training opened his horizons to a world of mixing flavors and preparing high level dishes.   Shane isn’t all foodie, but also hunts and forages i...

Dan Born, former board member of BHA and still active member, writer, and outdoor enthusiast resides in Southern Minnesota.  His experience from his upbringing and joining the military has shaped Dan for how he approaches the outdoors.  Dan isn't a gear junky, he isn't chasing new equipment from year to year, but his approach is what i'm guessing, a lot like many of us.  “I want equipment that wor...

Hailing from Harrison, New York, AJ Fusco fights fires and  handles emergencies as a professional first responder.  When hes not battling flames, AJ has a found a niche in the fire company as the resident cook.  Taking night course at the International Culinary Institute, AJ got an understanding about food prep, flavor profile, knifework, and making delicious out of ordinary.  Something as wildgam...

Liver.  An organ we have all encountered along the way.  For some of us, it's a familiar sight and brought into home and enjoyed as a delicacy.  For others, it's something in the way of getting to the prime cuts, and either something that turns our nose or something we have not taken advantage of.  Nick begins the discussion by first explaining “5th quarter” or as the Romans called it “quinto quar...

Nick called up Jonah Curtis; a local homesteader, Hunt to Eat Ambassador, and care-taker of an extensive garden.  Jonah gives a look into how through years of working the land, he has been able to pull a large harvest and be able to preserve harvest year round.  He gives some tips for starting a garden, and make it productive.  We also dive into his new partnership with Hunt to Eat and how his val...

Located just outside of Freeport Michigan, Alex Fox is a second generation meat processor.  Owner and operator of Fox Farms Processing.  Their outfit handles custom exempt domestic slaughter and butchering, along with processing deer in the fall.  Alex has a background in animal sciences from MSU along with growing up at a processing facility,  his processing job is as much a passion as a professi...

The boys are back together!  Co-host Dustin, and Public Land Warrior, Brock join Nick for a summer catch up.  They talk about archery set up and summer projects getting ready for the fast upcoming Whitetail season in Michigan.  Nick is sticking with his setup from last year that proved to be very effective.  “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it”.  Brock added a new sight to the mix as he and Dustin ar...

Kent Rollins is a true blue cowboy hailing from Oklahoma.  Growing up rustling cattle, Kent had an opportunity to work alongside his family.  Both riding range, and staging a pop-up kitchen, he has seen it all.  His culinary education was chopping wood, fueling fires, and making grub to make feed hungry cowboys. Kent and Nick open up chatting about Kent’s experience competing on the t.v. show Chop...

Shane Mahoney is the CEO of Conservation Visions Inc.  An organization that partners with other like minded organizations and individuals that spurs on conservation for wildlife and wildplaces.  As a scientist, activist, and storyteller, Shane has spent a great deal of his life interacting, observing, and connecting with the wild landscape.  His childhood was spent in the northeastern woodlands, a...