The BEST episodes of MeatEater
Every episode of MeatEater ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of MeatEater!
In MeatEater, author hunter and outdoorsman Steve Rinella will walk on the wild side where cliffs, claws and the culinary art all come crashing together in one nail-biting outdoors adventure. He will deconstruct and master any hunting technique; track and pursue prey; and procure his own food, which he will turn into a mouth-watering fireside meal. Far from trophy or sport hinting, Rinella stays true you our ancestral tradition of sustenance hunting- nothing he harvests goes to waste. Whether tracking black tail deer in the remote Alaskan Wilderness, or rooting out Javelina in Texas, Rinella will defer to his back-country roots, challenging himself at every corner while providing nail biting adventure along the way.
#1 - Deer the Hard Way: Prince of Wales Island
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/22/2015
Comedians Joe Rogan and Bryan Callen take a stab at their third species of North American deer as they join Steve on a blacktail hunt on Prince of Wales Island.
#2 - Cooking Special: Giving Thanks
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/18/2012
The Pilgrims didn't get their turkey at the store and neither does Steven Rinella. On this special Holiday episode Steve cooks three enticing dishes: Wild Turkey Galantine, Smoked Black Bear Ham, and his take on the traditional Mincemeat Pie. Appetites will run large as Steve makes a special meal for his family and friends.
#3 - Colorado Elk
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/16/2020
Steve draws a coveted muzzleloader elk tag in the majestic San Juan Mountains of Colorado, but the hunt is harder than expected. More hunters than elk, lung-breaking elevation, and primitive equipment stack the odds against him. The San Juan Mountains in Southwestern Colorado feature steep cliffs, towering firs, and sprawling grasslands covering broad valleys. It’s a breathtaking place full of lots of elk and lots of elk hunters. It’s high elevation and hunting here is a leg- and lung-burning experience.
#4 - Meet the MeatEaters: Montana Crew Muley (2)
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/21/2013
#5 - Meet the MeatEaters: Montana Crew Muley (1)
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/14/2013
The goal on MeatEater has always been to make viewers feel like they’re on a hunt with Steven Rinella, but on this two-part episode Rinella grants his viewers an all-access pass to see just how the MeatEater crew works together to make the show. In this first installment, Steve has promised his crew he will provide them with some high-test venison to share with their families for Thanksgiving Dinner. But can he deliver?
#6 - Primal Cuts: Bone-In Cooking Special
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 10/27/2013
In this cooking special, Steven Rinella shows his fans some of his favorite preparations for big, bone-in cuts of red meat. Interspersed with highlights from his recent caribou, buffalo, and mule deer hunts, the show features recipes that utilize some of the most underappreciated parts of big game animals. This episode is an attractive and delicious tribute to Steve’s gun-to-table ethic.
#7 - Cooking Special: Wild Game for the Big Game
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/2/2013
With a full freezer from a long and successful fall season, any big sporting event is the perfect opportunity to cook up a pile of game meat and invite over some friends to watch the game. Steven Rinella prepares a collection of killer appetizers from animals harvested on recent MeatEater episodes. Featured dishes include tahr chili, Dall sheep sliders, Javelina tacos, and caribou sausage. These recipes are easy to make at home. With Steve’s help, your next party will truly be a wild game.
#8 - The Mud and The Trees
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve joins wildlife biologist Parker Hall as they set lines for flathead catfish on the Missouri River and hunt gray squirrels for a unique recipe.
#9 - Blue Mountain Bugles
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve and Janis hunt the forests of Washington for bull elk, but a bad arrow shot results in a slightly spoiled harvest and Steve feeling remorseful.
#10 - Ghosts of the Chesapeake (1)
Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve and some local experts visit the marshlands of the Chesapeake Bay to hunt non-native sika deer and set a chicken-neck trotline for blue crabs.
#11 - Ghosts of the Chesapeake (2)
Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/18/2019
The sika deer hunt in the marshes of the Chesapeake Bay yields better results -- and some delicious venison -- once muzzleloader-rifle season opens.
#12 - Turkey Troubles
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve and Janis serve turkey pâté and tacos before taking first-time hunters Tracy Crane and Maggie Smith into the hills of Montana for wild turkeys.
#13 - Borderland Bucks (1)
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve heads south of the border into the mountains of Sonora in Mexico to hunt for the elusive Coues deer with buddies Mark Kenyon and Ryan Callaghan.
#14 - Borderland Bucks (2)
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/18/2019
The Coues deer hunt in Mexico continues, and the ranch chef shows the crew how to make fresh chili colorado tamales with venison.
#15 - Walking The Clouds
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/18/2019
Steve flies with his brother Danny to the alpine ridges of Alaska, where they stalk Dall sheep while marveling at the stark beauty of the landscape.
#16 - South Texas Redfish & Flounder
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/2020
Steve joins chef Jesse Griffiths on the Texas coast to target redfish and sea trout with Captain JT Van Zandt and gig for flounder with Captain David Dupnik. An abundance of fish results in a seafood feast.
#17 - South Texas Nilgai
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/16/2020
Steve and Jesse head inland to hunt for an Indian antelope known as Nilgai. An efficient hunt leaves plenty of time for Steve and Jesse to dive into butchering and cooking the wild beast for a nose-to-tail throwdown.
#18 - Wyoming Mule Deer (1)
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/16/2020
With the help of Crooked Sky Outfitters, Steve rides horseback into the backcountry of Wyoming with Janis Putelis and Adam Weatherby in search of mule deer. Steve and Landon find the buck of his dreams, but a sudden snow squall complicates the stalk. The Bridger-Teton National Forest in Western Wyoming has a great reputation for big mule deer but also for tough winters and high winter mortality among the deer. Recently coming out of a cycle of bad winters for that killed a lot of deer, does the region hold up to its reputation for trophy deer?
#19 - Wyoming Mule Deer (2)
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/16/2020
Steve, Janis and Adam continue their mule deer hunt in the Wyoming High Country.
#20 - South Dakota Ducks
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/17/2021
Flooded corn is bad for farmers but good for ducks and duck hunters. Steve and Ryan Callaghan join Sean Weaver in South Dakota for a memorable duck hunt.
#21 - Guyana (3)
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/2/2018
In the fourth and final leg of his Guyana journey, Steve and his party portage their boats around rapids to bow-fish for pacu, an herbivorous piranha.
#22 - Trapped in History: Wyoming Beaver
Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/1/2016
Steve explains what goes into beaver trapping while retelling stories of the mountain men who depended on this animal, for both its surprisingly delicious meat and incredible hide.
#23 - Cooking Special
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 9/8/2016
Steven is a cooking thief, otherwise known as a student of the culinary arts, and this week, he's learning from chef eduardo garcia of charged film and montana mex, a storied chef who loves wild game as much as steve does.
#24 - Mountain Memories: Montana Bear
Season 6 - Episode 14 - Aired 9/22/2016
Steve returns to his black bear roots in southwest montana for a spring black bear hunt. He's hunted these mountains before, it's a special place and he's glad to be back.
#25 - Living off the Water: Kentucky Fish
Season 6 - Episode 15 - Aired 9/29/2016
Set lines, limb lines, trot lines, turtle traps, bows and arrows, they all make it out onto the kentucky water with meateaters steven rinella and kevin murphy.