Ep. 735: Dispatches from Africa - Skinnin’ For A Livin’

Summary

Episode Summary: The MeatEater Podcast – Ep. 735: "Dispatches from Africa - Skinnin’ For A Livin’"

Release Date: July 17, 2025
Host: Steven Rinella
Description: In this episode, Steven Rinella delves into the intricate world of skinning game animals in the African wilderness. He explores the meticulous processes involved in preparing hides and meat, highlights the professionalism of skinners, and provides insights into the sustainable practices that ensure both trophy preservation and meat utilization.

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1. Hunting the Sable Antelope

The episode begins with Steven and his team at the skinning area of their African camp, where they are processing a sable antelope. The sable, noted for its impressive 40-inch U-shaped horns, is described as the first and largest specimen they were targeting after surveying dozens of antelopes.

Host 2 (00:29): "We're in the skinning area at the camp here and we got a big skinning table... they're right now skinning a sable antelope with these big sweeping U-shaped horns."

The hunting took place approximately an hour's drive from the camp, allowing the team to transport the carcass back without the need for extended field processing.

Host 2 (02:01): "We were able to get a truck right into where we killed the sable. What would you say the sable weighs?"

Morgan (02:07): "Yeah, four, five, five. Four, five?"

Host 1 (02:10): "Yeah. Something in that range."

2. Camp Operations: Skinning and Processing

Upon returning to camp, the carcass is moved to a dedicated skinning area equipped with a predator-proof shed. This facility ensures that the hides, meat, and other trophies are protected from wildlife like hyenas.

Host 2 (02:46): "That is a predator proof hyena proof shed where they dry skin. They hang meat in there. They put skulls in there... stuff can't come around at night and easily get in there and steal everything out of there."

3. The Art and Profession of Skinning

Morgan introduces the role of professional skinners, emphasizing their critical importance to the safari team. These individuals are highly trained, often with decades of experience, and play a crucial role in both trophy preservation and meat preparation.

Morgan (03:43): "Like that's professional Skinners. It's an occupation 100. They're an integral part of the team on safari... their job is to completely take care of these hides, horns, skulls, all the associated trophy parts, but also the meat as well."

One skinner, with 35 years of experience, has trained in multiple African countries and at the National Wildlife College, mentoring the next generation of skinners.

Morgan (06:38): "He's been at it for 35 years. He's gone to multiple different countries to learn... trained youth on the process."

4. Skinning Process: Precision and Cleanliness

The skinning process is described as a highly meticulous task where skinners remove every ounce of skin cleanly, ensuring no meat or fat remains. This dedication results in pristine hides suitable for leather and other uses.

Host 2 (05:12): "They're doing what's called clean skinning, meaning it's a slower process... they're taking the hide and they're leaving zero meat, zero fat. It's skinning it. So it's coming off clean leather."

After skinning, the hides are salted and dried thoroughly to prevent decay and odor.

Morgan (06:19): "They salt it and then it gets dry... folded, kind of hammered. So it's a nice flat little package."

5. Meat Processing and Preservation

The episode highlights the efficient use of harvested meat. Fresh meat is consumed by the team, while surplus is processed into dried products like biltong or flat-dried meat strips, which can be stored for extended periods.

Host 2 (14:15): "Every night... we eat some meat that they had had from other hunts... what's not going to get used immediately gets cut into drying strips to make... some is brined and can be made into biltong, and some is just flat out dried."

Dried meat can last up to six months and is rehydrated for consumption by boiling or other cooking methods.

Host 2 (15:13): "They cut meat... hung and dried. And then throughout the year... he'll eat it for six months."

Additionally, various parts of the animal, including the stomach, intestines, and organs like the liver and heart, are utilized to create soups, stews, and even sausages.

Morgan (16:22): "They take the stomach and empty all the grass out... cut that into inch and a half squares... that becomes a soup or a stew."

6. Professionalism and Sustainability

The skinners' expertise ensures that trophies are preserved impeccably and that meat is utilized sustainably, minimizing waste. Their ability to cleanly process the animals also contributes to the camp's operational efficiency and resource management.

Morgan (19:25): "All their trophies come home in impeccable condition. And then all the meat that's used in the camp is in great condition too. So it's a serious job back here."

The team expresses immense respect for the skinners, acknowledging their vital role and the high level of skill required.

Host 2 (19:49): "Knives just keep their gear really sharp, really well looked after and know how to use it."

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Conclusion

Episode 735 of The MeatEater Podcast provides an in-depth look into the specialized profession of skinning in African safari camps. Through engaging discussions and firsthand observations, Steven Rinella and his team shed light on the meticulous processes that ensure both the preservation of animal trophies and the sustainable utilization of meat. The episode underscores the importance of professionalism, skill, and respect for the natural resources that skinners embody, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to "Skinin’ For A Livin’" in the wild.

Transcript

[Host 1]

This is an I heart podcast.

[Host 2]

Foreign welcome to Flop 5 Dispatches from Africa. And today we are in the skinning area of camp. If, if you're listening, it'd be great if you went and watched. If you're watching bear with us while we explain what you're looking at or. No, no, not that. If you're watching bear with us when we explain what we're doing as though you're not watching. That makes sense. So we're in the skinning area at the camp here and we got a big skinning table made out of just rough hewn planks at work and height and allows a bunch of guys to get around a carcass to work on. They're right now skinning a sable antelope with. He's got big sweeping like U shaped horns. If you bent the U kind of open, maybe around 40 inch long horns. We're gonna find out. We looked at how many sable did we look at?

[Morgan]

Dozens and dozens.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Morgan]

Literally dozens.

[Host 2]

And this was the first one that we. The biggest we found. And the first one we found that was like what we were after.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

And so we were out in the field maybe an hour drive, maybe an hour drive from camp because we weren't going to stay out hunting. We were able to drive in a lot of the places you can get a truck too. It's amazing where all you can get a truck if you really want to get a truck.

[Morgan]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Host 2]

Around here. Yeah, yeah.

[Morgan]

We can cut a little makeshift road if we have to.

[Host 2]

So we were able to get a truck right into where we killed the sable. What would you say the sable weighs?

[Morgan]

Yeah, four, five, five. Four, five?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

Something in that range.

[Host 2]

Got it right in the back of the truck whole. Cause we knew we could come back to camp. Now sometimes when these guys are out hunting and maybe they're. Maybe they get way far away from camp because nothing to get 30, 40 miles from camp.

[Morgan]

Oh, it's nothing.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

So if you get something and you want to continue hunting, they might skin it and put it in a big bucket of brine.

[Host 1]

Correct?

[Morgan]

Yep, absolutely.

[Host 2]

But today we were. This is the last thing we were after. Today we came back home and so we bring it home and then we got the guys that are here to skin. So they got their skinning table, they got their gear and they got a shed over here.

[Host 1]

Ready, Rick?

[Host 2]

Rick, Practice this move. See how well he can do it.

[Host 1]

Ready?

[Host 2]

That is a predator proof hyena proof shed where they dry skin. They hang meat in there. They Put skulls in there. And it's just meant to be that it's got great airflow and shade, but stuff can't come around at night and easily get in there and steal everything out of there. So that, that's a super cool building back to over here. Morgan's going to explain a little bit about the skinners. And these guys, like, are Skinners.

[Morgan]

Oh, yeah. Like that's professional Skinners. It's an occupation 100.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

They're an integral part of the team on safari. You know, obviously trophy care and meat prep as well is a core part of what we do. And so there is a profession called the Skinner that we have two of them usually in camp at any given time. And their job is to completely take care of these hides, horns, skulls, all the associated trophy parts, but also the meat as well.

[Host 2]

You can imagine. I don't know, it's got to be like low 80s right now.

[Morgan]

Yeah, something like that. Yeah.

[Host 2]

So 83, 84. The weather would be warmer than like day in, day out. It's much warmer than what most people in the US would consider, like typical hunting weather. Because we do a lot of our hunting October, November, not for everybody, but for a lot of the country, you associate hunting season with temperatures overnight at or near freezing.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Host 2]

Daytime highs maybe in the 50s or 60s, occasionally in the 70s. Here it's much warmer, but very dry. And a thing that surprised me about this climate here is that the heat doesn't really matter that much because it's dry and you can hang meat for long periods. Oh, and it's beautiful.

[Morgan]

Oh, yeah, it's fantastic. Yeah, it's like dry aging. Once that crust forms on the outside of the meat, and we always hang them in a shady, well ventilated place where they're getting some wind and some shade. But you can hang that meat. Once that crust forms on the outside, you can hang it for a remarkably long time, even in this weather.

[Host 2]

Yeah, no, there's like zero smell, no bugs. It tastes wonderful.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

You can just hang it.

[Host 1]

Y.

[Host 2]

But the thing they worry about is because so many people come like, I'm having this made out, like I'm keeping the whole. The whole skin on this thing.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Host 2]

I could do anything I wanted to with this skin. The way I'm getting it taken care of, that the hair would slip.

[Host 1]

Yeah, right.

[Morgan]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Host 2]

So these guys, the way they're working, they're doing what's called, I don't know what they call it. The Skinners are doing what. What I would refer to as clean skinning, meaning it's a slower process. But what they're doing is they're taking the hide and they're leaving zero meat, zero fat. They're skinning it. So it's coming off clean leather.

[Morgan]

That's right. Yep, exactly.

[Host 2]

And they cut like a lot of times, if you're skinning a deer picture, you're skinning a whitetail deer right in your garage. Whatever, you got it hung up and you pull the hide. Peels away sometimes a membrane of muscle.

[Morgan]

Correct.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

You know, and if you were going to turn that to leather, that's got to come off.

[Morgan]

It does.

[Host 2]

They slice. They don't pull. They slice every. Every ounce of. Of skin.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

Is removed. So it's just clean, clean leather.

[Morgan]

Yep, that's correct. And then they'll go through again after. And any tiny little fragments or little bits of blood or any remnants on their gut juice, whatever, will be manually, like, scraped off.

[Host 2]

And once they get it clean like that in that room up there, they. They lay all that stuff out and salt it.

[Morgan]

That's right.

[Host 2]

And it gets dry. Like thin plywood.

[Morgan]

Yep, exactly. And then it'll be folded, kind of hammered. So it's a nice flat little package, almost like it could slide into an envelope.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

It's a really cool process. So can we. I'd like to ask. Can you ask a couple of the. The guys or Skinners, like, how long they've been at.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

How long they've had the profession.

[Morgan]

Absolutely. Samani buena Anasuali Kohusu Kazi ulifanya kazi kamahi kwa miyaka mgapi.

[Host 1]

35.

[Morgan]

35 years.

[Host 1]

Okay. Yeah.

[Morgan]

So he's been at it for 35 years. He's gone to multiple different countries to learn.

[Host 2]

Oh, really?

[Morgan]

South Africa, Namibia. He's also trained people from other places. He's gone to the. The National Wildlife College to train youth on the process. And he's. He's brought up a lot of young people through this profession. And yeah, he's been a teacher and a student of this for 35 years.

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[Host 1]

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[Clay Newcomb]

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[Host 1]

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[Clay Newcomb]

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[Host 2]

In Tanzania, I'm guessing in many other African countries, to be a Skinner in a camp, like a camp Skinner is an occupation that, that like being a chef, like being a trained chef.

[Host 1]

Correct.

[Host 2]

You go to one restaurant, you can walk into another restaurant, lay out your credentials.

[Morgan]

Absolutely right.

[Host 2]

And so it's like a, it's like a skill set that you could take to another camp and get a job or, or you know, move around a little bit and come in and present your credentials and. Yeah, hired, right?

[Morgan]

For sure, for sure.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

They can, they can really go into any of these safari camps with a resume like his and, you know, the places he's worked and the things he's done, he's a serious professional. I mean, there's no doubt about it. This is a real trade.

[Host 2]

Can you ask who did he start learning from his dad or start learning from other Skinners?

[Morgan]

So he, he actually went to like the wildlife, the National Wildlife College.

[Host 2]

Okay.

[Morgan]

To, to study there. So he didn't come up through the trade learning from any particular individual. He had those. Pursued it, yeah, he pursued it. And then, yeah, he went to, went to Uganda and South Africa to really like hone his craft.

[Host 1]

Okay, great.

[Host 2]

Well, well, so, so that's how the skin works. The, the skull, like the skin comes off, gets it's clean skinned, as Morgan said. They then touch it up to make sure there's no fat, no bits of muscle or anything on there. It's just like what will become leather and it's salted and then it's shelf stable.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Morgan]

Correct.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Host 2]

The skull, they'll clean it up pretty good and they'll pack it. If you look down there, we have a warthog skull laying down there. They'll pack it in salt just to dry it out. So zero flies on it, zero odor.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And that can be taken care of later then. The meat's kind of interesting that there's a bunch of different outlets for the meat. We, every night when we got here, we were eating some meat that they had had from other hunts. But we every night, me, you, our crew, every night we eat the game animals that come in. 100%, all the guys that work here are at the same time eating game animals that come in. That's like lunch, dinner.

[Host 1]

Right.

[Host 2]

Is what's happening when something big comes in. Like we came in with a buffalo. And I'm assuming some of this, if there's plenty to go around for everybody, guys will kind of divide this out and they'll. You might come in and hanging on these trees might be different joints, shoulders, hams, whatever. And what's not going to get used immediately gets cut into drying strips to make. Like there's some that's brined and can be made in, like, biltong, and some is just flat out dried.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

And guys will save up bags. So a couple days ago, we took a trip into town, and one of the guys that works here brought back to his family in his little neighborhood, brought back like a sack of. Of the dried meat, which is rehydrated. So picture that you're cutting meat. It's kind of like I'm trying to think what would be the size of how you describe the size of the strip?

[Morgan]

Yeah, it's sort of 12, 8 to 12 inches long. Potentially a little longer.

[Host 2]

Inch by inch square.

[Morgan]

Yeah, yeah, inch by inch square. Exactly.

[Host 2]

And they hang it up. It's not seasoned. It's hung and dried. And then throughout the year, they say it lasts. One of the guys told us that he'll eat it for six months.

[Host 1]

Yep. Yep.

[Host 2]

That meat they cut up and just rehydrate it and cook it down, boil it, whatever, until it kind of comes back to life. Yeah, it's pretty damn good.

[Morgan]

Yeah, it's really good. We ate it the other day. It was delicious.

[Host 2]

So it can't be use. What. What's not used fresh is dried like that. And what's kind of interesting, you see, it's like a very coveted. It's a coveted item.

[Morgan]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Host 2]

And coming back here, the day when we brought a buffalo in, coming back here, man, it was like everybody was bustling around.

[Morgan]

Yeah, yeah. Getting it prepared before it goes bad. So they can.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

Have their start building up their stash to take back to the village at the end of the season or throughout the season, depending on where they live.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

The tail. A lot of these animals, unlike in. In the US A lot of these animals have a big tail.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

So we had like an oxtail soup off of buffalo. A tail on this is pretty small, but there's some pieces on there. Liver, we see that get consumed. We've eaten and watched guys eat heart.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

They take the stomach and Empty all the grass out of the stomachs, rinse that out, cut that into maybe inch and a half by inch and a half squares.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

Cook that down.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Morgan]

That becomes a soup or a stew.

[Host 2]

When we left, like, one carcass that we did in the field, we cut it up in the field when we left, there was the stomach contents laying there.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

And some intestine.

[Morgan]

Some intestine. And some lungs.

[Host 1]

That's it. Yeah.

[Host 2]

And Morgan said sometimes that intestine comes home.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Morgan]

With this one being here, I wouldn't be surprised. Sometimes you'll see, though, make like a sausage where they'll stuff a lot of things like heart, liver, kidneys, chopped up into an intestine and kind of roast that over a fire.

[Host 1]

Got it. Yep.

[Host 2]

And Morgan commented on when some intestine was left there. Morgan commented on it, and one of the guys said that he's doing that so that the hyenas will be.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Morgan]

He was like, we'll leave that for the hyenas.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

But other than that, man, that stuff gets eaten down.

[Morgan]

Absolutely.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

The meat recovery here is. Is exceptional. And even all the bones and that'll go into soups and broths.

[Host 2]

What I found was interesting about when we gutted one in the field. So they want the stomach to eat, so they dump all the grass clippings out, and it's just like wet grass, you know?

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

And it was funny because in the end, you know, you work on a carcass and your hands, your tools or get dried blood on them.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

In the end, everybody goes up to that stomach contents.

[Host 1]

Yep.

[Host 2]

And use it because it's abrasive.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

Rinse their hands, get everything clean, get.

[Host 2]

All the tools clean. And then when you run water over, it just.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

Everything sloughs off.

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah.

[Host 2]

You're like. It's like you come out of the shower. Yeah, absolutely. So even. So even that gets used, for sure.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Morgan]

It really works.

[Host 2]

That was cool to see. Morgan, do you mind asking the guys some of their impressions of, like, what. What they like to work on? What animals they. When it comes in, they're like, oh, no, not one of those. Or what might come in. They're excited to work on, you know?

[Host 1]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Morgan]

He says that he doesn't really have a preference. It's work. He takes it all seriously. He takes it all in his stride. It's all the same. Even big things like elephants, they're a challenge, but he just goes ahead and does his job.

[Host 1]

Got it.

[Host 2]

I would not have answered that. That way I have things and I'm like, oh, not one of those. No, I mean, again, you know, it's.

[Morgan]

Just testament to the professionalism. You know, these guys have a. Have a real drive about doing their job well.

[Host 1]

I understand, I understand. Okay.

[Host 2]

Is there anything we. Anything we missed or anything you'd like to add about the skinning end of the business?

[Morgan]

No, I think we've covered it. You know, again, just massive respect for the skills that these guys bring to our company. And we really value their efforts, value their work, and so do our clients because their trophies come home in impeccable condition. And then all the meat that's used in the camp is in great condition too. So it's a serious job back here.

[Host 2]

Yeah, I've picked up a few pointers just watching them.

[Host 1]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

You know when you're looking at someone that knows what they're doing.

[Morgan]

Oh, for sure, for sure. And again, basic gear, you know, no, no havalon knives or any fancy razor blades. They just keep their gear really sharp, really well looked after and know how to use it.

[Host 2]

One of the things I like is instead of a sharpening steel, you're just doing knife on knife with as steel.

[Morgan]

Yeah, exactly. Knife on knife. And then every now and again, the stone will come out.

[Host 1]

All right, well, thank you, man.

[Morgan]

Absolutely. Thank you. Well done on the Sable.

[Host 1]

This is an Iheart podcast.