The MeatEater Podcast - Ep. 645: MeatEater Radio (Not) Live! Happy New Year

Episode Date: January 3, 2025

Welcome to MeatEater Radio Live! Join Steve Rinella and the rest of the crew as they go LIVE from MeatEater HQ every Thursday at 11am MT! They’ll have segments, call-in guests, and real-time interaction with the audience. You can watch the stream on the MeatEater Podcast Network YouTube channel, or catch the audio version of the show on Fridays. Today's episode is hosted by Spencer Neuharth, Janis Putelis, Ryan Callaghan, Randall Williams, Cory Calkins, and Phil Taylor.  Connect with The MeatEater Podcast Network MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to Meat Eater Radio Live, we're coming to you from Meat Eater HQ in Bozeman, Montana, but we're not live today. I'm your host Spencer Neuharth, joined by Ryan Callahan, Yanis Poutelis, Randall Williams, and Corey Kalkins. This is a pre-recorded episode because we're on Christmas break. On today's episode, we're answering your questions from how to pick the perfect puppy to unique ways to prepare ground meat.

This entire show is Q&A. But boys, it is dang near 2025. You got any New Year's resolutions? We're gonna be working on that. I think we should tackle the fact that us adult men on this room are on Christmas break, much like your children. And? Well I think it's important to note that in order to go on Christmas break

you have to do three times the amount of work ahead of time in order to then have the break which is fine. The past two weeks have convinced me that I don't really want a Christmas break moving forward just too much stuff plus You know Less time at home with family. Yeah, well you do without kids obviously don't understand it Kids get about 16 days off coming up here. Oh, we're in the midst of it, right? Mm-hmm as we're live here. Am I right Phil? Oh yeah,

preaching to the choir bud. Alright, the question was, does anybody have any New Year's resolutions? It's January 2nd when the show comes out. Yeah, I'm gonna start drinking at work. Okay, Cal has an Edmund Fitzgerald lager. Yeah, Great Lakes Brewing Company. It's a porter. Okay. Very tasty. Six percent? She's a doozy. Thirty-seven ideas. Six percent is pretty tough for me these days. He's gonna start talking like a Michigander here pretty soon. I don't know if it's a resolution, but I did get lucky enough to sign up and get onto the roster to run the Crazy Mountain 100.

Oh, sweet. And so that's pretty exciting. What is it? It's July 25th, okay? So I have roughly six months of heavy-duty training and that started by now Yes, we should backpack in there and just set up a checkpoint. That is a great great idea we did my family and I did that last year at That is a great idea. My family and I did that last year at Sunlight Lake and watched all the runners come through. We stayed up until like midnight. Is that what lit the fire for you?

No. I should be out there. I paced the year prior to that and that got me pretty excited to do it. Yeah, I feel like I could pack in there with the old steel chainsaws and help out a lot of the runners there because there's a lot of blow down in that race. Really? Yeah. 100 miles through that country. Oh, I think they have it. Well, I haven't heard that,

but it might be a thing. Well, Randall's brother did a pre-run and he did like 60 miles like a couple weeks before the race to just check out part of the course. Because he was running it? Yeah, but then he got into a horrific bicycle accident and destroyed his arm. But he did run into a lot of blowdown on that shakeout run. Okay. So I can't say if he was officially on the course at that point in time, his navigation skills are questionable at best, but he did encounter

blowdowns on that run. I did sit with him on the couch while he just destroyed like four pizzas by himself. Yeah. Which was cool to see. Yeah. We just got back from the rodeo. Yeah. He was being, I mean, yeah, he was having a great time. Yeah, which was cool to see. Yeah, we just got back from the rodeo. Yeah. He was being, I mean, yeah, he was having a great time.

Yeah. Any other resolutions in the room besides the on he's making a big old run up a mountain. Corey. I mean, I'm hoping to help deplete the predator population in region one of Montana.

Hopefully when this podcast comes out on the second, I'll have a couple down a couple wolves down Yeah, not reaching too far into 2025 hopefully by the first week. I have my first wolf In the back of the truck. Yeah, I want to start creating a history with a place that I haunt ever since I moved to Montana I don't have a place that I've went back to more than two consecutive years to hunt. And that kinda disappoints me. That looking back at like when I'd hunt the same property,

when I lived in South Dakota, like for five or six straight years, sometimes a decade in some cases, you'd like it to know bucks and spots, and you'd like really create a relationship with a place. And I haven't had that since I moved out here. So I need to start finding a place that's like, that my spot. That's a spot. I go to every year And I think next year it begins is like when I find the place that I go to for the third

consecutive year And then that all of a sudden becomes a place in a decade from now that I'm still going to to haunt So to clarify are you still looking for that spot or might you go back to one of the spot? I have some spots in mind, but I'd also like love to start You know a new spot and find a place this coming year that I think could be that kind of spot So I'm just like missing missing a thing in my fall where I really deeply know a place And I want that back. It's lovely I hear you I hear ya, I hear ya.

Cause it's good to have both, cause I think there's a lot of credit to give to someone that doesn't hunt more than a year or two in the same spot because you're forced to learn new places and be successful in new places. But. You can have both. Yeah, yeah, you can definitely have both.

And I love going back to a spot that I've been to and I know it's more casual, takes away some of the stress for me. Big time. No, that's true. But it is a crutch though too. So like if you're the person who's like, well, our family hunting camp is this

and that's my week of hunting. There's, it puts some limitations on your effectiveness as a hunter because like you just, you gotta be challenged with, you know, the figuring stuff out as you go. Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I think it made me a better hunter, but I want a spot that's my spot now.

And I haven't had that living in Montana yet, but next year it starts. Randall Cowell, any resolutions before we start tackling these questions Well, I you want to jump back to the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter here There's a tremendous amount of oxidation around the I would I want to know like Oh, I think this would be like the best gimmick in the world. Mm-hmm So for folks who don't know the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk Okay be like the best gimmick in the world. So for folks who don't know the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk. Okay. And it's a big rusty Hulk and the cap on the beer bottle rusted all the way around. And that was like part of the flavor profile. We got those beers a couple

years ago, I think. Really? Yeah. Oh, yeah. They came in a freighter from the Great Lakes. Yeah, they have to spend a year underwater in order to be sold. I'm in. I'm in. So like hunting related things, I need to... Kind of came to the conclusion this year that my Montana mule deer spot is just like, it needs to be burned. The, the habitat is wrong, uh, at this point to where it used to be. You know, it was, it was hard to intercept mule deer in there, but when you did, they were big now it's like, kind of like, Oh, oh my God, there's a deer in here.

Um, and it's, it's a hard place. So I need to start expanding and doing some, some summertime exploration of some other spots, which I just, um, when I was going to say you'd burn it. Well, I know a lot of wildland firefighters. I would appreciate that. Hands on habitat management there. Um, and so that, that would be one thing. I need to go find a new, a new good Mule Deer zone.

And then, uh, man, just going through cases of shells on the shotgun side of things over the summer, just shooting more, um, in general, on center fire as well. But, um, that's just gotta be a part of the program and you know, schedules get so jacked up, it's hard to prioritize this stuff, but man does it pay dividends. So, um, and then getting back on just like a

really consistent dog training schedule. These dogs benefit so much from that consistency. And that's a hard thing to pull off, um, with the type of travel that we do too, but I can still do better. You know, it is going well in your life. It's going to turn this thing around. The dog training. I wear the same clothing like three days a week.

I can make that four days a week. There you go. And get more dog training in. You know, sacrifices. I'm getting to be that way with age. Easy, like don't wash pants now for weeks on end. I'm like this shirt. You're not supposed to wash jeans very often.

I don't know when the last time this shirt was washed Yeah, yeah, why beat it up throw on some pit stick. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I swapped out the interior shirt here Yeah, that I do more often. Yeah, Rando. What do you have dad? I Don't know I just I need to stop lying Starts with myself actually in all honesty, I need to I need to shoot my rifle a lot more. I used to be in the habit of shooting, you know, a couple thousand rounds, center fire in a year, and this past year was probably the worst year for shooting that I've had, just in terms of volume. And, you know, there's nothing like just in terms of volume and you know there's

nothing like just good old practice to make you feel like you're ready when the fall rolls around. 2025. Did the lack of practice affect your hunt? Did you have a miss this year? Yes but I don't know that practice would have it was a very bad situation just to rush. But yeah I just like I got in I was like getting all my stuff ready and I you know putting my rifle in the truck, I'm like man I I Should shoot more I used to shoot a lot like literally burning out barrels and

reburying rifles, but You know work just gets in the way family And reburying rifles, but you know work just gets in the way family Commitments yeah the dogs you know they're just always trying to get my attention, and they don't like shooting rifles So it's tough, but I'm gonna be more selfish this year. I guess what I'm saying. Can you shoot at your house now? Yes, oh nice Shoot on his property, but not at his house. Yeah, it's gonna get awfully drafty if you shoot too often cute All right, we're gonna tackle some listening questions here. We got about ten of these first one is from James

I'm in my 40s. I live in Northeast, Ohio welcome by having a dad who haunted I never took an interest until recently What would be your advice for the first thing someone should do to take their first step towards hunting whitetail deer? I've shot guns for many years as a hobby and recently took my first archery lesson. I'm open to gun hunting or bow hunting.

To answer this question first, here is Mark Kenyon. Why must Mark get to answer this? This is a great question and one that we hear from folks frequently, people that are intrigued by whitetail deer hunting but just don't know where to start. And my number one piece of advice is to seek out a mentor. There's so much to learn to get started as a deer hunter. There are so many different things about deer behavior, deer habitat, hunting strategy. You can get some of that from podcasts and videos

of which we have plenty of meat to do. You can read about these things in magazines and web articles, but the single best way you can learn is to actually find a real life person who can answer your questions, who can maybe take you out there in the field with them and show you some of these things firsthand. And there is a terrific program to help you find a mentor.

And that is called the Field to Fork Program. It's put on by the National Deer Association. You can sign up to be connected with mentors like this through their program and to possibly go through this incredible educational experience. If you go to deerassociation.com slash field to fork, that's F-I-E-L-D dash T-O dash fork. Go to that website, do the new hunter survey,

see who they connect you with, be a part of that program if you can. There's also a deer hunting 101 online course you can participate in through that program that'll definitely give you some of those building blocks to get started. Good luck. That thorough answer is why Mark Kenyon got to go first first Yanni, but what would you like to add? It's pretty solid

It's pretty solid now that I heard it I might have to retract my earlier statement the seriousness of tone and that in that short clip. I think Really is that odds with the mood in this room right now, so I'm just feeling a little Conflicted about mark doesn't want you to have fun when you're out there white till a hunt. Yeah. Seriously. Well, I tell this folk, I mean,

Northeast Ohio is a great place. I mean, you have a short, it's a short range weapon state, right? So it's a straight wall cartridge if you want to shoot center fire, but you can, there's a shotgun season, muzzleloader season, um, man. Yeah.

I suppose you want to own a shotgun. You got spring Turkey, let's big Turkey state, uh, lots of grouse and you can shoot a deer with, with a shotgun there. So, um, barrier to entry is pretty low. Um, lots of, lots of of cool cool stuff in Northeast, Ohio I got two pieces advice for James first one would be Randall Williams is from Ohio So reach out to him. He'll tell you all his spots give you all his connections Opposite corners of the state though. Yeah, it doesn't matter

Spaghetti I think I think if you if you want to kill a deer in, Ohio I think if you want to kill a deer in Ohio, find a place where you are allowed to hunt, and at least when I was growing up, buy a crossbow. You'll buy a Barnett Rhino or whatever the entry level crossbow is these days, and that's how we figured things out. It's a lot of deer in Ohio. Yeah. Yeah, I just saw a giant 200 plus inch buck just got whacked on public land in Ohio. It's a good state.

I like, I've never hunted Ohio. I've always wanted to hunt Ohio, but the public land in that part of the country hunts a lot bigger than other places because you have these rolling hills that are really timbered. So there's a lot of opportunity in Ohio. Oh, explain hunts big.

That's a great hunting phrase. Hunting big would be like, if you had two 80 acre parcels, one of them was 70 acres of corn with 10 acres of timber and slewgrass that are flat, that hunt small. Whereas if you had 80 acres of rolling hills with creek bottoms, that would hunt big.

You feel like you don't see everything when you're hunting that 80 acres versus if you're hunting the 80 acres, that's all cornfield and a little bit of slew and timber. So Ohio, I think a lot of the public land there hunts bigger than other parts of the Midwest. Here's the other thing I'd say to James, as someone who picked up a new hobby during the pandemic, which was rock hunting, I've learned so much of what I know now or like gained a foundation

level of knowledge just through watching YouTube videos, a lot and a lot of YouTube videos. And deer hunting is no different. You're not going to be. Yeah, because like you couldn't identify a rock before you could find the Internet.

Hell no. YouTube. You're like, well, you're like well I mean it sure got a lot easier the barrier to entry is Much are always running away from you. You couldn't figure out how to find them. Uh-huh. So James YouTube is gonna help you out. It's probably not going to be the reason you kill a deer But you'll find a lot of relatable content there from meat eater and others. Anybody else have any advice for James? I mean finding a mentor is

huge but if you're struggling to find a mentor or you know schedules don't align just go out go hunting you'll make mistakes but you'll learn from them. That's right. You've got to put yourself out there. That's right. You find a spot, it sounds like there's deer everywhere, find a spot. Sounds like there's deer everywhere. Find a spot, you know, you can hunt legally and learn it. Learn that landscape, learn that property, whatever it is. Maybe go knock on some doors, you can get yourself a spot where you don't have to have any competition. But yeah, I

think learning the landscape really helps people be successful. And don't think that you need to dedicate whole days. Like whole days and multiple days in a row are fantastic, but those are hard to come by. So if you can find a spot that's close to you where you can kind of eliminate that, like, oh, it's not worth going out type of mentality, like, man, you can learn so much by those 15-minute, Like oh, it's not worth going out type of mentality like man

You can learn so much by those 15 minute 20 minute hour long sessions where you know, it's like sure you got a you know, it could be home washing clothes or something, but We know you don't need to do that very often. Yeah, we already covered that All right, James is gonna kill a big old buck in 2025. Here's the next question This is from Joe for those with kids What are your go-to places to getting quality youth hunting baselayers and outerwear for cold weather hunts? We put our two fathers on this side of the table. They even dress the same today They just got back from an audition to be the next brawny paper towel, man

Great dad jokes, too Yanni Corey, how do you outfit your kids when you're going out hunting or just doing anything in cold letters? You know, I'll be honest in that you know, I get a pretty steep discount with the old first light and even one of my girls were discount with the old first light and even one of my girls were They make an extra extra small and women to X small. Hmm, I believe so Oh, and so even when they were super small we could fit them into that, you know And then we just did the hand-me-down thing as we

Grew up into them So that's one way to do it. I mean, obviously you're getting the highest quality of youth, but that's, you know, it can be expensive. I think you can do an REI. I mean, these days synthetic base layers, I mean, let's be honest. Like if it's polyester, it's polyester, right? You can go get some knockoff stuff at Target probably.

If it's not cotton you're probably gonna get pretty close to similar benefits from buying super expensive synthetic base layers and it's gonna get the job done for you then when your kids trash it or grow out of it you're not out a bunch of money. Yeah. Cory I don't know if Marshall's been on too many haunts yet but I assume he's done some skiing with you. How do you get him dressed for those? Yeah, you kind of took the answer right out of my mouth. That's a weird way of saying skiing. What was you not like skiing? What's your deal?

Like I didn't think I said it weird. Oh, it's been so good skier some With you. No, no a skier. Anyway, I'm a competent I'm not I don't feel like I'm gonna go out there and do a green and break my arm So that's that's the sweet spot for me. I mean my kids only six We've gone on one spring turkey hunt and multiple fall and winter squirrel hunts. So actually yeah wearing ski gear Is what we've been doing. I mean just stay in warm is so crucial and then having two if not three backup pairs of clothes because inevitably they're getting wet and Uncomfortable so having backup boots socks gloves

Just to keep them out there as long as you can Is is what I do and then for like base layers, man We just go to Costco and get the good solid synthetic stuff for nine dollars I've ran into Cory twice at Costco if I was trying to pattern him To assassinate him. I just go to Costco and then Winco He's I know he goes to Winco as well meet me in the food court line at about 1145 on And I assume with ski gear they make that for kids of like all sizes just like little tykes. Oh, yeah Oh, yeah, teens. Yep little guys

Yeah, so warm and comfy anything else to add from the fatherless People in the room goodwill well I have a father. Thank you very much Oh, I'm sorry the child this the childless people you of course you have a father What do you think Cal if you're gonna dress up a little kid? Well remember the question is where? Where do you find them? Well good? Yeah? Thank you Randall So a ton of my hunting stuff Came from the st. Vincent de Paul Church thrift store and my grandma worked at

And so you know she cherry-p picked the 50 cent wool items for us. Um, I mean, yeah, I mean, that's, that's the stuff to, to grab, especially if folks are going to, um, if they're really hard on stuff or if they're going to grow out of it. Right. I mean, go recycled. And I just say, find a, a well-to-do family with kids slightly older than yours and get their hand-me-downs. And pattern them.

Kids are always getting made, you know? And it's just like, you find an age class slightly above yours and position yourself to benefit from that. That works. That's a great strategy. We've gotten a lot of hand-me-downs from families. How's that for some advice from the childless side of the room here, or just don't have kids like me Cal and Randall

Here's the next question This is from Adam What qualities should I look for when picking boots to hunt elk in Wyoming? What are your go-to boots for a Western elk hunt? To answer this question here is Jason Phelps. He's probably going to say big ones. What quality should I look for when picking boots to elk hunt in Wyoming and then what are my go-to boots on a Western elk hunt? So the qualities I'm looking for, it really depends on where you're hunting, what type of hunt you've gotten and really how tough your feet are. Everybody's a little bit different and everybody's

foot shape's a little bit different. So a boot that may work perfect for me may not work for you may not work for somebody else So you need to try all these boots on number one. They need to fit so that's one quality You need to have you need to fit your heel pocket based on what insoles you have You need to make sure you don't get hot spots on steep stuff down and uphill But then as far as where are you hunting? If you're above tree line and the steep stuff, you know, hunting above the goats and, you know, mountain goats and sheep, then you're going to want a boot that's typically stiffer. You're going to want a boot that's typically taller as you put more stress on your feet. You're going to, and then if I'm hunting in the sage brush,

maybe flatter stuff from Wyoming, I'm going to go for a boot that's more flexible, something that, you know, my foot won't fatigue as quickly in even though I'm in a more flexible boot versus if you take that flexible boot up high and the steep stuff, your foot may fatigue throughout the hunt. And then as far as what are my specific go-to boots on a Western elk hunt, I found that the Crispy Brick Stall line of boots works best. So they've got like a four flex rating, uninsulated boot. I wear on a lot of my September hunts. You know, I went on a sheep hunt this year. I chose their pro, which is two inches taller

and a stiffer sole on that boot. So it didn't flex as much for the steep stuff. So for me, Crispy Brickstall and all those boots work really well. But really you gotta go try boots on, make sure they fit your foot, make sure they're comfortable. And that's my recommendation on Western Elk hunting boots.

Yanni, you tackled this one after Jason. What do you have to add about finding the right boots for an elk hunt? Yeah, I mean, Jason covered it very well there. The only thing I would add is that oftentimes like an archery season when I know I'm gonna have to be sneaky because I want to get in close for a archery shot is that the boots need to perform both in hiking you know climbing across mountains but then also in those last 50 yards when you're getting in close and so I'll often go with a boot that is kind of under,

not under size, but it's not what you would consider like a big mountain boot, right? Because I need it to be soft enough so that at the end, when it's go time, I can maybe run a little bit very comfortably and I can be very sneaky and quiet. Usually the bigger the boots get, the bur burler They get the sole gets stiffer the stiffer a boot is the noisier the boot is There's nothing like sneaking through the woods in a pair of running shoes like the elk cannot hear you coming So that's something to consider but otherwise, I think Jason covered it pretty good

Yeah, I mean, it's not even mountain like even like right now Yeah, I mean, it's not even mountain, like even like right now or yesterday, now with our current warming trend, what we're going through, which is so annoying. Um, walking through, uh, fields that are frozen with a full shank, stiff mountain boot is very unpleasant because there's just no flex in that boot, but you take that boot onto steep terrain, uh, shale rock, and it's the best flex in that boot, but you take that boot onto steep terrain, uh, shale rock and it's the best. It's your, it's your best friend. Um, so you do have a little bit of a quiver, uh, some options

throughout your season is great. And yeah, I would say it be Don't automatically assume that you need like a fully lined boot like a Gore-Tex liner Because that's gonna be a more expensive boot or an insulated boot is gonna You know, it's gonna perform well only in a specific range of temperatures so uh if you're hunting in a warm day then you're going to sweat that boot out from the inside and it's it's not going to perform well for you so i i would really caution folks to um folks to really analyze their season before they go into an insulated boot. I sure do. And then, yeah, you know, there's a... everybody's like, what is the boot?

And people have very different feet, just like your fingerprints. So there's a gajillion boot companies out there for a reason. They all have different lasts, which is like the footbed form of the boot. And that's because people have different feet. So don't think that just because you need a hunting boot, you need to look at hunting boot companies. If you're not finding success in hunting boot companies, you know, go look at the Loas and the Scarpas and that mountaineering world too. Um, you know, these companies exist for a reason. So.

Randall Corey, anything to add? Foot beds. I mean, yeah, get you a good boot, but do not skimp on solid foot beds. They got insoles I have some Jerry that's not a real expensive upgrade either to me No, I mean you could spend 50 to 100 bucks Easily with some over-the-counter stuff or just go to your local REI or whatever you could get some custom ones it might run You a couple hundred dollars, but anything is gonna be better than what you buy It's pretty sad you spend 500 bucks on a boot

and the footbed is garbage. So make sure you get a better footbed. I would only add that I think the more I, I guess like over time I've come to prefer a lighter and lighter boot. Just cause heavy boots wear you out and you like can't wait to get them off.

So if you don't need something like super high and super stiff, I think like things on the lighter end of, you know, there's, I have like a spectrum of boots but I often find myself if I can get away from it going with like lighter option, just because it's more comfortable and and you never want to take them off. Only thing I'd add to this is I've had really bad luck ordering hunting boots online as far as sizing goes. Seems that more than casual footwear or tennis shoes or dress shoes hunting hunting shoes. Or bath slides.

Yeah, any of that. The sizing is much more variable. And so if you can find a boot that you can go try on in person, it'll make your life easier than having to order something online and be prepared to then make a couple returns. Yeah, to piggyback on Randall's point there,

and Jason even mentioned it, if you're hunting elk above the mountain goats that happens to like 0.5% of the elk hunters in our country annually it's just not a thing usually where you're hunting above the mountain goats so you don't need boots that are made for that alpine shale super rocky landscape because you're just not there that much. The elk are usually in the timber. Moving on, next question is from Krista. My family eats a lot of ground venison with burgers, tacos, and chili firmly in our rotation. What are some other weeknight meals with ground meat that are easy, tasty, and outside of the norm? with ground meat that are easy, tasty, and outside of the norm.

Cal, what could you recommend to Krista? Uh, larb. Hmm. That's good stuff. What? Larb is really outside of the norm. I mean, it's just finely chopped or ground meat. Um, and what is it?

Tile? Is it Thai? Thai. Yeah. So, you know, make like lettuce wrap tacos, make a little sauce. That's totally a winner. And it's, you know, it's a little sweet ginger, garlicky little red chili in there. That's great. I'm going to do some larb tomorrow night.

I need some ground pulled out. I needed an idea. There we go. Okay. Someone else make some recommendations for Krista and Yanni. We We have a delightful North African meatball recipe from the New York Times. Oh, we just had it last night Well couscous, but they're like these little meatballs and kind of a Almost like a I don't know. It's almost like a you've had those haven't you? No. Oh

I put a lot of trust into the New York Times recipe. Oh like a, I don't know, it's almost like a, you've had those, haven't you? No. Oh, well. I put a lot of trust into the New York Times recipes. Oh yeah. I haven't been let down yet. Oh, they're solid. The New York Times recipes will not, they will not lead you astray. But yeah, this North African meatball thing.

And to be clear, if you're new to Cooking Wild Game, if you find a recipe from the New York Times, you can just, you know, use venison, Yeahison Yeah place of ground beef. Yeah, and and basically anything will make Like whole sheet like cookie sheets of these meatballs and then make the sauce and then fill up gallon baggies with meatballs and sauce and freeze Them yeah, and so oil the meatballs to cook them. Yes, you know But yeah, it's like last night We had people over for dinner and we didn't tell them that we'd pulled these out of the freezer and just simply

reheated them, but we did and they loved it. On a similar note, we make a lot of pot stickers at my house. A few times a year we'll set aside a Saturday. We'll just get the wonton wrappers that we get from Albertsons, but I think they sell the same exact ones at Walmart and Hy-Vee, whatever your grocery store is. And that makes ground venison go a really long ways. We'll do a one-to-one from Albertsons, but I think they sell the same exact ones at Walmart and Hy-Vee, whatever your grocery store is. And that makes ground venison go a really long ways. We'll do a one-to-one ratio of ground meat and vegetables slash mushrooms.

And I think this last time we made 300 pot stickers in one going. And then that's a super easy freezer meal to get out. You freeze them in whatever portion makes sense for your family size. You get those out and you can be serving them within 15 minutes and they're just really easy to make both like prepping them for the freezer and coming out of the freezer. So pot stickers, highly recommend. Yep. And you can make them to your liking if there's like a certain vegetable or flavor

profile that you really like or really dislike Your pot stickers can be unique to your taste. Basically every culture has a pot sticker too so like if you want to put like Marinara sauce and mozzarella in there like sure it's not that crazy wonton wrappers are a great vessel Yeah, just like any meats and veggies. We've filmed stand and stir with Chef Linda here in town. Is that Hummingbird? Yeah, Hummingbird kitchen, yeah. I've been looking to go to some of her meals. You should do it.

It's super, super cool. And Linda's a hoot. She's super fun. But that should be on the Meteor YouTube channel and we do do, we do do wontons.ons January 14th that should be on the oh really son of a gun there you go here yeah Johnny Corey unique ground venison meals besides burgers tacos and chili man it's not unique but y'all ever had hamburger helper but I do it without the box. Homemade hamburger helper. Meat, little can of like cream of

mushroom and then your favorite vegetable, can of corn, can of green beans, peas, whatever. And then some noodles on top of that. And you can call it a goulash. You mix it all together. And how runny it turns out. Yep, one pot meal. Just say depending on how runny it turns out, you can call it good lunch. Correct. I love it. You know, we do a lot of meatballs too,

usually Italian flavor profile, but we do the same thing that Randall does and we make hundreds and then freeze them and usually around 20 ish is what you can get into a liter Vacuum seal bag, but those are great and eat city you put sauce in there. No no no no dry Did do we cover meatloaf? Yeah, I mean I assume people was part of this Was part of this program if it I mean if I just if it wasn't explicitly mentioned there

I think we should just point out meatloaf should be celebrated stuffed and different styles of burger, you know Oftentimes my kids like we don't like burgers anymore. I'll be like what about smash burgers? You know, okay, I'm gonna make a real thin The topic of meatloaf though, I think when I think of meatloaf, there's like the meatloaf my mom made Which I don't like and then there's like I'd like an elevated version of meatloaf recipes You can find online and yeah, which is just using more bacon. Yeah, it's like, you know using some cheese and sauteed spinach and just some other herbs and spices and and that's like That's a unique weeknight meal

that anybody could make at home. Great leftovers. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, there's no end, like pocket food, right? Like, so like we're talking, so wontons, pierogies, pasties, empanadas, I mean, yeah, pirogi. Yes. Yes. And The MeatEater.com posts new recipes every week. I bet the most common protein in those recipes is probably ground meat. So The MeatEater.com backslash recipes. You'll get all kinds of good recommendations there. Next

question. This is from Cole. I was wondering what you think the most doable DIY big game hunt would be out West. Some considerations would be tag attainment and public land access. I imagine you guys are gonna have the same answer, but I would say an antelope hunt. It takes like the least amount of gear,

least amount of time, the least amount of physical fitness. If you're coming from the Midwest or the East or the South and this is your first Western hunt, the tags are like the same price or cheaper than deer tags in a lot of these states. Public land access. I feel like these days, I mean, it used to be a thing where you could get a bunch of pronghorn tags and now it's like there's some winter kill issues. I mean, unless you have some private access.

What I would say to Cole is this is a hunt you could plan for 2027 or 2028, but you're probably not doing a good rifle antelope hunt this coming fall. I'm going to go with another big game option that starts with the letter A and that is antlerless. Find a cow tag, find a doe tag. Often cheaper. You're gonna have the same experience. You're gonna take home meat. You're not gonna feel like things are as competitive as if you're gunning for a big buck or bull. So yeah if you just want to go make some memories and check out a new part of the country I'd look into those options and oftentimes those tags are cheaper as well in addition to being more available. And Antelope and Analyst have a lot

higher success rate for hunters out there. What do you guys got to add to this? black bear No over the counter at a different time of year. Yep. Yeah, it's just made a face Yes, though. Some of us don't know how to kill him Or at least have a curse and are somehow allowed to kill him. Yeah, there's more of a learning curve to it though I would say it's not coming out for the first time a lot of states have two seasons for them some regions have over abundant numbers of black bears so Save a couple deer go shoot a black bear You honest

Yeah, I was gonna go on what Randall said I was gonna just say go get a doe tag You know very doable very attainable You can just drive around looking for a dough Yeah, but you can you can hunt your butt off too if you want to do it Yeah, right. Yeah, so there's a bunch of ways to go back country Cal any other advice for col on uh how to plan his first doable diy big game haunt out west Boy the biggest limitation people put on themselves is time.

Give yourself time. And that's the hardest thing to acquire in my opinion. But boy, give yourself like a full week, no matter what you do or more. Like if you want to do your first big game hunt and you're like, I'm going gonna take a long weekend you're just Setting yourself up for not Having a great experience you know, but you can have a surprisingly good experience, but it's just gonna be

You're gonna have that clock ticking in the back of your brain the whole time it seems like when you're short on time you end up thinking about like work or whole time. It seems like when you're short on time you end up thinking about like work or family stuff that's going on. If you've got a full week you'll have some extra time built in on the beginning and end of that. Yep. And if the trip starts out poorly you can just totally reset and you still have another three-day hunt on the back half. Yep. Next question is from Kevin. This is a short one. What's your go-to hunting and fishing snack? To answer this one here is Brent Reeves.

My go-to hunting snack, I usually keep it in my side-by-side and I keep it in an arm can like this right here. And here it is. Plotted meat. Beanie weenies. Cheese crackers. Now if you want to get bold and make a meal out of it this is what I do. I also like Viennese but I don't eat them when it's cold because you get a little salve on them when that gel kind of sticks to the weenies. But this right here potted meat and cheese crackers. My brother Tim and I ate this just the other day. We were running the nets on the river. We needed a little snack because all them fish was sapping all the wind out of us while we were out there pulling them in. Here it is right here. Cheese crackers, potted meat.

It's good. It's good. It's good. I believe him. What a treat. You should go watch this on YouTube because you'd get to see Brent preparing his little lunch there. And this is how organic that was for Brent.

I sent an email last night at like 9 p.m. asking everyone to make these videos by noon. So that was just what Brent had on hand. This is, that's truly like his favorite hunting and fishing snack He didn't go out and then you know produce this content. We just had to go to the old army can that's right Randall favorite hunting and fishing First I want to know if anybody in this room has had that meat that he just pulled out Well potted meat like there's a wide variety of canned meats okay cuz that almost looked like a paté it did yeah I mean I

enjoyed paté right but I don't really know what that would eat oh I think the other thing he was referencing was what Vienna sausages thought that was the go-to in that part of the country was they say by enies by Randall go to hunting and fishing snack man this past year I just ate a lot of peanut butter and jellies like a lot of times a lot of times I'd I like get a gallon but Ziploc bag and fill it up we'll have some nuts I'll have some jerky I'll have some jerky. I'll have some Like a power bar. I'll have this and that and then I like just don't eat it and I just this year is like I'm gonna make four peanut butter and jellies and At any point in the day if I get hungry I have one and it's perfectly satiating and I will

I'll consume all the calories I need and I won't have to think about what I'm picking out of the bag and whether or not I'll wanna eat it because I always wanna eat a peanut butter and jelly. How about you Cal? Obviously, it's all dependent on situation but Randall got to experience a little bit of hunting camp with some of the crew that I grew up horsepacking with this year and no matter what's happening there's at some point the

little smokies that we scald in a pan and eat little little smokies out of a pan and that was always like an awesome deal Is that just a miniature hot dog? Yeah. Yeah exactly, you know, they're cocktail weenies. Yeah, like for making pigs in a blanket. Yeah and then smoked oysters She I mean there were just like a thing when I was growing up and I still love them. And occasionally, I'll just have that for dinner by myself here in a home, in an actual home. I love a smoked oyster, but man, in the woods,

it's just such a mess maker. And then you got that greasy can left over. You almost need a vessel to get the can and your backpacking out of the woods. I don't do it backpacking anymore because of that. And it's just like, you know, you end up like packing dirt in there to try to like soak it up and then you're like, well, then I dumped the dirt out and it's all a mess. You're, you're correct.

But yeah, so I do, um, pro bars is like a staple and it's not something that I really enjoy at all. And the refrigerator bars, what are those ones? They're supposed to be refrigerated. Yeah, there's a few of them out there. There's a Bozeman local company. Is that the one you're thinking of? They make that that product it's like called Jack and Jane or maybe I should know because I picked up those packages from your front door and put them in your refrigerator yeah but it's like almond butter or whatever like in a bar peanut butter in a bar and and those are a big deal and then yeah at this point I just don't even mess around with like trail mixes and stuff like that.

I've actually gone back towards trail mix a little bit more, but custom making it. Yeah. Like going to Costco, I get the big bag of cashews, the big bag of cranberries, some mango slices. And that way when I go in there, I'm like, oh, this is all stuff that I like that I want to consume. Cause there's nothing worse than looking at that trail mix and're like, yeah, you're like white chocolate. Yeah F you

My favorite hunt and fish and snack Always has been I think always will be our apples because it's good at any temperature whether it's 80 degrees or 20 degrees And it also keeps me regular When you're like, you know on a five-day hunt or something like that me regular when you're like you know on a five-day haunt or something like that that's an awful feeling when you just can't go to the bathroom and if you're eating apples that's never the case it's a natural diuretic at least for me so apples are a go-to and then also this year it's the first time I had honey stinger stuff and I had to have a bad product from honey sting their waffles

their they're like energy gels Some of them have caffeine in them. I'm a really big fan of those so apples honey stinger stuff I seem to add to some apples to as you can get those Justin's peanut butter packets or hazelnut butter packets and little squirt if you need just a little more protein Yeah, it's good like at 5 a.m. and it's good at 5 p.m. in Apple. And they keep. That's right, like I said, 80 degrees or 20 degrees. All this stuff applies to peanut butter and jellies too.

Well, like the dark chocolate Justin's peanut butter cups. Oh yeah. You know, all like. It's an expensive item but they are good. It is, but like when I'm at night, I'm heating up my meal or whatever. I always boil enough water for my meal and like a cup of tea Which could just be you know, like one of those salt packet deals Or liquid IV or something thrown in water

But it's you know, hot flavored drink and then we'll have my like dark chocolate peanut butter cup that's like my whole whole backpack and dinner right there. Cory is there a universal snack you could bring guiding that anybody would eat and enjoy? Jerky. Yeah and also every bite reminds you why you're out there Major hmm, and I don't know the store-bought stuff's okay, man. It's expensive these days though So some homemade venison jerky Sam jerky to it's all these damn diet trends getting into the jerky world the whole carnivore I've been souping up the PB&J a little bit the last few years and Jess Johnson, you know from Artemis down there in Wyoming She turned me on to it and just do it on a tortilla Instead. Yeah, maybe you need a little less bread in your life. Maybe not maybe just different flavor

But then I also have been putting in like a slice or two of bacon And then peanut butter jelly bacon bacon mmm and then peanut butter jelly bacon mmm it's a real canvas that'll set you free brother mmm I'll buy Jack links every now and then just hoping that there's gonna be like a little note inside saying I can come hunt their property like I want an award they own like 20,000 acres of badass ground in western South Dakota where they raise the cattle that turn into the beef that you eat so someday someday I'm gonna open up that package and it's gonna say to where they raise the cattle that turn into the beef that you eat. So someday, someday I'm going to open up that package and it's going to say, congratulations, you won a mule

deer hunt. I think you're very sneakily right now. Just like throwing. That's absolutely what I'm doing. Absolutely what I'm doing. Just in case Jack links are big fans of Mr. Link. It's not even sneaky. He's not even seeing his dreams into the world. Link. It's not even sneaky. He's seeding his dreams into the world. Yeah, it's not even sneaky and their names are the Links. Oh, by the way. Oh, you're kidding me! No, it's L-I-N-K, the Links. They make their own sausage too?

That's amazing. All right, their next question is from Sy. My family has always owned dogs, but now we're ready to own THE dog. The was all capitalized. A dog that hunts and is great with the family, the kind of dog you remember long after they're gone. Does the crew have any recommendations for how to pick the right breeder or pup? And to answer this question, here is Tony Peterson. We should always be looking for the dog that's like the best dog ever, I think anyway.

But you know, a lot of people focus on the off switch, which is sort of a minor thing, even though it doesn't seem like it, you just train that in. Like you can train any dog to be a good dog in your house. You can't train a dog to have extra drive out in the field. So for me, that's my focus when I'm picking a pup or I have somebody looking for a litter for me. And so I forget about the individual dog and look at the blood. Like you wanna check out the pedigrees.

And for me to get a lot of drive, I like to have some hunt tests and some field trial, competitors, champions in the mix somewhere in there. At the very least, you know you're gonna get a dog that really likes to work, is intelligent, it's gonna be an athlete, and there's gonna be a lot of good health checks that come along with that.

And that's the way you're gonna get the drive that you're gonna have to work with. And then you're gonna have to take that pup home and just train that off switch. Cal, how did you select Snork? What the hell? Well, I liked a lot of what Tony just said because yeah, the drive is what you need and it's hard to like encourage more drive if that's what you're looking for.

It's way better to try to train for the off switch. So folks can't see it, but Snort here, here, come on, up, up. Snort's been here the whole time. Good Snort. And this dog's got an incredible amount of drive and runs like a bat out of hell and has all the things, sometimes too much of them in the field, but

she's just been crashed here on, on the floor for, I mean, hours and, uh, she's four, which, you know, is plenty old for some folks, but I know a lot of people listening probably have that dog. You're like, you know, that dog's eight and everybody still thinks it's a puppy. Um, and I think hunting is, is a great way to take dogs that have a ton of drive.

And these dogs understand they're like, Oh, here's where all of my energy and neuroticism go into this thing that like really clicks with, with that little doggie soul. And I think there's a lot of knucklehead, uh, Labrador retrievers out there. Hey. Are that way because they don't, they don't get a hunt. Um, I picked snort exactly like Tony said. So I said, Hey, I want a dog that is a little hardheaded and, uh, has some independence. Um, and when I went and picked her up, I still have a video of it.

She had a pink collar. A lot of these breeders, they're like, yeah, they tie ribbons around them or color coat them somehow, some way. These breeders, they're like, yeah, they tie ribbons around them or color coat them somehow, some way. And, um, she was the only puppy that was not like up at the gate, paying attention to what's going on. But when I walked in, all the puppies got up on the gate and they're like, Oh, something interesting is happening.

And then the pink collar girl turned around and all the puppies just spread out of the way And snort came up to the to the fence and was like, hmm and at that point I was like, oh man Maybe I shouldn't have done this spiritual at that point Well, I I was I interpreted it more as like oh, that's the alpha female in this thing And she's like all the puppy litter was like, get out of her way. She's picking you. You're not picking her.

I don't think she was picking me. I think she's just like sizing things up. So, uh, but the, uh, plane ride home and everything. She was like, Oh, I am, I need, I need a friend here. Cause this is scary, scary stuff. And, uh, and that's where the bond was, I am. I need, I need a friend here because this is scary, scary stuff. And, uh, and that's where the bond was, was formed initially. So, but yeah, I like, I like that. I like, um, higher drive, um, more competitiveness, um, stuff like that.

You know, you can train out some bad behaviors. It's just hard to build them in. I feel bad. You can hear Tony talk about more of those things on a foundations right now on Cal's Weekend Review. Which I think is a very unique dog podcast. In the world of dog podcasts out there, I think this is a unique take. So Tony's doing an awesome job.

I feel bad for all the dogs that this family has had prior to this moment Because they're not remembered. They're just like cast off forgotten Hmm, and you know, I don't even know if they got a proper burial but deep down when those They said in the email it's time to quit messing around when those dogs look in the mirror. They know what they're looking at Do you think they're really a dog not the dog not the dog yanni How many trips did you make to the pound before you found Mingus? I? Only made one okay Because you have an inside source there no no because at the time

What had happened is I had? Been researching dogs way too long like over a year Maybe I'm coming on too. And it got to the point where my family said, F this, we're just ready for anything with fur and at least a couple of legs and we'll be good. We just need something to rub on. And so I just got a phone call that said,

hey, we're heading down to the Stafford shelter in Livingston, they've got a bunch of blue tick coon hounds. You know if you want any input on this you better come down too. So on the way there I'm like calling my buddy Jake who runs hounds. I'm like hey what do you know about blue tick coon hounds? You know because looks like we got a chance. So the way we picked out a dog is that basically by the time I got there I got there just in time to see the guy from the shelter basically shoving my kids Into the cage with the puppies and just locking the latch behind them and then they just had a ball in there and

Yeah, they picked out the mild-mannered one. Oh Hmm. So there were you had other options there besides Mingus. Yeah, there were two others that were definitely At that moment in time. it's hard to tell because Mingus looked emaciated and I think that he probably if I had to guess the other two males were just stronger tougher And when there was any food around Mingus was not getting a bite, right because the other two were pushing him out of the way maybe He was literally a bag of bones and

so Yes, we could have picked what seemed to be more, you know aggressive more energetic Definitely healthier looking in the moment dogs, but we went with the mellow one Mingus was Mingus is huge. Or I mean, he's not as, he's probably not as big as he is. If you let him, he will easily hit a hundred pounds. Big boy. And I brought Snort home, you know,

at like seven and a half weeks. Little tiny puppy and Mingus is the first dog, because we were watching Mingus at the time. So I got brought a Snort home and put her down in her kennel and just opened the door and was like, don't drag her out of there, let her have her space. And then eventually she crept out and crawled into bed with Mingus. I mean, you want to, I mean, just cute, cute. Mingus is giant dog, like real hunting dog, like gentle old soul, man. Good dog.

Randall, you think you own as many dogs as everyone else in here combined. Yes. How did you pick those? Well, our most recent dog was a rescue from a breeding operation. So we got her when she was six and a half and just a delightful animal. Terrified of everything, people mostly, but we didn't really have choices there.

We saw this Facebook post that they were trying to find a new home for this dog. And so that's how we got Lil. Dolly, we, this was like the day, or like we were gonna go to New Orleans for a wedding. The wedding got canceled because of COVID. So we're like, well, we're gonna be home for a little while, it seems.

It seems like a good time to get a puppy. So we called around and tried to find a litter that was available within a five-hour drive and sure enough we drove down to St. Anthony Idaho and there were two puppies left in this litter and the one was like this and then the other one was like this on top of it and I can't remember if Dolly was on the top or the bottom. But we're like how bad I mean they're both doing cute things, plus there aren't any other options.

So we grabbed Dolly and drove home. And then the lockdown order went into effect. Rosie, I don't know what we did to get so lucky to have Rosie, but yeah, none of our dog buying experiences, I probably, if I just started from scratch and sketched out the playbook They it would in no way resemble how we got our dogs, but not applicable. Nope. Nope. I mean asking how to buy a dog Uh, that's a good hunting dog and that is going to make you proud in the field and and is going to be well behaved at home

asking me that question is like I don't know asking someone who's never been in a serious relationship what their marriage advice is or something to that effect. I just, I don't know. I have dogs, but they don't fit that profile. So. They just exist.

Yeah, yeah. Like Dolly doesn't have an off switch. She just carries the tennis ball around and puts it in your lap. But we love her still. Cory, anything to add? Man, I don't really have puts it in your lap. But we love her still. Corey, anything to add? Man, I don't really have a dog in this fight.

Oh, good one. All right. So our next question is, we're going to do our final question. This is from Nancy. What would y'all be doing if you didn't work at MeatEater? What's your dream job? And to answer this, here is Clay Newcomb. I am very interested to hear this. Spencer, you asked me what I would do if I didn't work for MeatEater and I was doing my dream job. Man, I'm really ambitious and that would just shoot for the stars. I would like to raise and train young meals and about every two years sell a crop of really

high dollar finished mules. That would be part one of my entrepreneurial business because I've always valued independence over finances. So part one would be mules. Part two would be, I would raise a few squirrel dogs every year. Now there's not a big, it's not big money in squirrel dogs,

don't get the wrong idea, but you know, it'd be just enough to make it worth it. I probably have to supplement it with some manual labor. I've got a college degree. I mean like I could go work in the business sector or something, maybe, I don't know, but that would just be ridiculous. I'm not gonna do that. So I would probably have to do stonework that's kind of something that I do I do masonry work and lastly I'd commercial fish with Brent Reeds me and Brent Reeds would own the southern fish market that's my dream dream

entrepreneurial package right there. Yanis? Raising mules and catching fish? I think it'd be fun to learn how to train a mule, but not my dream job. You know, I have been thinking about that lately. I've been really getting into the habitat management thing over there in Wisconsin. I could see it be that I sometimes I get jealous of those foresters and those people that are there in Wisconsin. And I could see it be, sometimes I get jealous of those foresters and those people that are doing that work. So I look at them, I go, man, I think they might be spending more time outdoors than I am.

Cause even in the off season, right? They're just out in the woods, working some way or another. And I don't know, I've been digging, going into that rabbit hole and So I could see doing that we had a trivia question before about the happiest profession in America And it's forestry people who work in forestry are the happiest not just by God Like not just happiest of folks in like the outdoor industry or people who work outside just the happiest in the entire country

Cory, how about you a Surf instructor in Costa Rica. Do you know how to surf I can stand up on a surfboard you can oh, yeah Okay, but I don't know if I'm technically you're way better surfer than I like Costa Rica Behind a boat on Whitefish Lake growing up. Oh that don't count. Oh no but it does translate into the ocean. Have you gone in the ocean? In Hawaii. Wow. But if I could afford it I'd drop everything and move my family to Costa Rica and just live in a banana house on the beach. Given your complexion for your long-term health I think it's a good thing that you're not a surf instructor. They call that the widow maker. Yeah or a professional golfer. Golf courses aside Cory is a great golfer. Can I be a magician? I mean come on what are we doing? Cory is genuinely Mead Eater's best golfer

and he does it like once a year sometimes once every two years Did make it out this year, but he played that I went out the one thousand days prior But it thousands for most people golf isn't like that We're like you just don't play for a decade and then you go play and you're still good corey It is like that well most people over think shit. Oh, yeah golfing is a lot of thinking at all Mm-hmm I could work the rest of my life to be as, golfing is a lot of that. I'm out there not thinking at all. I could work the rest of my life to be as good as Cory and it wouldn't happen.

I don't think so. Genuinely. My dream job, I would want to be a fantasy football commissioner for high rollers. Imagine leagues that have like a million dollar purse, where I'm the commissioner for like Michael Jordan and Jerry Seinfeld and Snoop Dogg. And every single week I'm like writing a newsletter for them I'm hosting just an absolute banger draft party at the beginning of the year. I'll be honest with you Spencer I can't

imagine that. It'd be great I would design logos for each team I'd have power rankings I would be so good at that job and I would just be like the fantasy football commissioner. I can't even tell you that I want that for you because I have no idea what you're talking about. Yeah well that's good. The other thing I'd love to be you know like a hunting consultant maybe if like Jack links you know they need that property. Tell me more. Yeah and then I'd go out there and be like well here's how I do it and then they would pay me and I'd also get to hunt there

So that I think I think that's the other one. They'd probably pay you enough that you just be able to buy your own 20,000 acres Randall dream job. Oh Besides playing meteor trivia. I was gonna say playing professional basketball I can shoot a basketball and you're like you're tall enough to be a point guard. Oh, no Yeah, I thought if we were just doing our dream jobs we could arbitrarily change everything about ourselves, so I'd be six eight I don't think we've quite done that I mean Spencer did just kind of that job does exist though Which one your dream job? I mean so the surf instructor in Costa Rica and forestry Geez six eight and I should have small forward. Yeah, I should have thought about this more

Cal dream job will come back to Randall while he thinks about it food truck For part of the year. That'd be great. Have you ever watched the Great American Food Truck Race? No, it's a lot of fun. Tell me more about why that would be a dream job for you. I really like food. I really like people appreciating the food that I cook. And here in Boz Angeles, there's just like this horrible void of the breakfast sandwich market where it's like, man, you want to fork over $14 for just a crappy

breakfast or anything? Yes, I don't. Man, it's here in Bozeman. It's very true. Oh, just ridiculously overcomplicated crap. So yeah, good coffee, breakfast sandwich. Open until we're closed. I saw it. Do you already know the makeup of this breakfast sandwich? Oh, I do, for sure. Do you make it at home? I want to hear.

Well, the sandwich is egg McMuffin okay right just right just like a nice solid egg McMuffin okay and American cheese yeah Canadian bacon no American bacon is it butter leave it Randall is it butter on the muffin or what are we putting on the muffin? Mayonnaise. That's what I do with cream cheese. But don't tell anybody. Because they'll love it.

But if you tell them, they'll be like, So good about this. So that's one part of it. And then, yeah, I want a reasonably sized farm and And yeah, I want like, you know, a reasonably sized, you know, farm and grazing operation. And I wanna live in the middle of it.

Okay. Randall? I wanna be, I wanna be like a property manager, but like, it's not actually like, someone's like, oh, he's got a guy. You wanna be like Magnum PI. Yeah, I wanna be like a property manager, but like it's not actually like, someone's like, oh, he's got a guy. You want to be like Magnum PI. Yeah, I want to be like, oh, he lives in that giant house.

They're like, I don't really know what he does, but he seems to be comfortable and he has access to all of this stuff that he didn't earn. I'd like to be that guy. Lamborghini, helicopter. He's got to get the boat. Oh, you know, so and so is coming in for a fishing trip. He's got to get the boats out, make sure the boats are all running well. And then you tell someone to get the boat. Oh, you know so-and-so is coming in for to for a fishing trip He's got to get the boats out make sure the boats are all running well

And then you tell someone to get the boats. Yeah, exactly I have like a couple like local teenagers that do most of the work for me Yeah, but and you just shower them in wisdom Yeah, yeah, and and but but I'm just sort of grumpy all the time despite this You know where the name Evan rude comes comes from. Embarrassingly comfortable situation that I've stumbled into. I think that would work well for me. Yeah, I don't know about the food truck thing.

It just seems hot in there. Lot of work, too. Doesn't sound like what your dream job entailed. And a regular schedule. Yeah, actually I was at a bar last year and there were two women and They're dressed well and someone asked. Oh, what do you do? And she said? She said yeah, I'm a I'm a I

Manage money. I'm a financial. Yeah manager and her friend said her friends sort of popped her balloon She's like, yeah, she just manages our money. Oh. And so that's what I like to do. Yeah. I'd learned the first year in Bozeman that the question of saying like, what do you do for a living? Can be a little indelicate sometimes.

Yeah. So I've heard folks phrase it, what keeps you busy? Hmm. And that's like an interesting to saying what your career is, or if you don't have a career, what you do instead. Yeah. I'd like to be a dilettante with a Vast portfolio. Yeah, so we've got we've got randall as the starting small forward for the cleveland cavaliers

Cal has the best Food truck in bozeman. I'm the fantasy football commissioner only if you want breakfast sandwiches my way korey's korey's son baked on a beach somewhere Six years showing people Coconut cutting and cutting giant oaks down yeah This is missing a limb Billy engineer. What would be your dream job? Oh, I'm pretty lucky because my dream job would be being a podcast engineer for the ringer.com Somebody help me

Culture sports, I don't give a shit get me out of here We're gonna cut it off right there happy new year good luck We'll see you next week with our regularly scheduled MeatEater Radio Live programming.