The MeatEater Podcast: Ep. 804
Title: Santa (!) and the World Record Rock Skipper | MeatEater Radio Live!
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Spencer (Main Host), with Seth, Phil, Santa Claus, Kurt Steiner, and others
Episode Overview
This festive, humor-laden episode of the MeatEater Podcast’s live radio show blends outdoor storytelling with holiday spirit. The hosts welcome back a "very special guest"—Santa Claus—for the annual MeatEater Radio gift exchange. The centerpiece interview features Kurt Steiner, the world record rock skipper, who gives a masterclass on stone skipping. The crew also reviews favorite hunting/fishing gear and answers live listener questions on topics from processing deer shanks to trapping and wild game bullets.
Table of Contents
- Whitetail Stories & Deer Hunting
- Santa Claus’s Grand Entrance & Gift Exchange
- Listener Q&A
- Interview: Kurt Steiner, World Record Rock Skipper
- Gear Talk & Audience Feedback
- Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Episode Timestamps
Whitetail Stories & Deer Hunting
- Golden Triangle in Illinois:
- Spencer opens with a personal story about killing the biggest whitetail of his life in the famed "Golden Triangle" of Illinois: Pike, Adams, and Brown counties.
- Discussion about local deer populations, weather events (deep snow), hunting strategies, and unique "dirty sheds" leading to gnarly racks.
- Notable moment:
- “It was like the most excited I’ve been about a hunt in 2025... My anticipation is so high that there’s no possible way it can meet my expectations... And then the biggest buck on the farm showed up.” —Spencer [04:28]
Santa Claus’s Grand Entrance & Gift Exchange
- Surprise Studio Visit [07:42]:
- Santa (a recurring holiday guest) enters with a sack of gifts, candy canes, and mini Fireball bottles—cracking jokes about parking the reindeer and his distaste for Fireball whiskey.
- Gift Exchange Parade [08:00–28:05]:
- Each crew member opens their Secret Santa gifts, with playful ribbing and reactions:
- Phil receives a heartfelt card, Sailor Jerry’s rum, and ground elk.
- Max receives the board game Cascadia.
- Brody gets reader glasses and ice fishing lures.
- Ryan Callahan receives a bald eagle tie and a shirt: “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t want to come.”
- Spencer gets halibut and king salmon.
- Seth gets a pile of seemingly regifted items (an old T-shirt, LeBron jersey, worn-out shoes, and a huge carrot dog toy), then homemade apple butter, cookies, and salsa from Spencer.
- A small caper is revealed—the regifted items were nabbed from Santa’s own house by Mrs. Claus and Max.
- Notable sequence:
- Santa, flustered about his possessions being gifted: “These are all my most treasured possessions... Was it you? You better talk to Mrs. Claus.” [22:00]
- Each crew member opens their Secret Santa gifts, with playful ribbing and reactions:
Listener Q&A
Hunting, Cooking, and Trapping [32:55; 68:21]
- Processing Deer Shanks for Osso Buco:
- Tips: Use a Sawzall with a bone blade and/or ask your butcher for a band saw.
- “Cut through the meat you can with a knife and then do the rest of it with a sawzall and you’ll be just fine.” —Spencer [33:41]
- Tips: Use a Sawzall with a bone blade and/or ask your butcher for a band saw.
- Best weather for deer hunting in cold temps:
- “Absolutely, no. That is the best time to go out, especially if you have access to ag in Iowa... I’d be very excited about those temperatures.” —Spencer [36:12]
- Cartridges, wound channels, and bullet choice for big game:
- Santa: “I think you want big wounds. Wounds are what kill. Energy doesn’t kill. Big wounds kill. Full penetration... I like a bullet that upsets violently.” [71:23]
- Trapping advice for Minnesota bobcats and fishers:
- Seth: “Fisher trapping I’ve done in hardwoods mixed with some white pine... Bobcats like rocky stuff—outcroppings or thick brushy river bottom full of birds.” [68:50]
- Too many D&D episodes?
- Listener jokes reflect fan polarization.
Interview: Kurt Steiner, World Record Rock Skipper
[28:00–54:38]
-
Kurt’s Record Journey:
- First set world record in 2002, then bested by a friend in 2007.
- In 2013, after saving 500 stones, he nailed the 88 skips record at a carefully chosen spot, sharing technical details about wind, water, and stone selection.
- Camera angle and video for verification critical.
- “I just threw the hell out of that stone... I had a group of counts between 88 and 90. I just took the lowest one, figuring that’s kind of like everybody agrees on that. And it’s held up.” —Kurt [39:09]
-
Competition formats worldwide:
- US: Skip counts rule (number of bounces).
- Europe: Distance (called “skimming”).
- Japan: Judges for aesthetics, distance, and skip count combined.
-
Choosing the Perfect Rock:
- Flat bottom, smooth texture, sharp side edge (if water flat), fits palm, ~4–6 ounces, no irregularities on the bottom edge.
- “If the bottom edge is too jagged, it will bite the water... The sharpness has to feather the water.” —Kurt [44:00]
-
Form & Physics Masterclass:
- Stand at 45 degrees, come down at the water, use a low angle for better skips, ensure proper tilt, add spin, and “pre-load” the right side down 2 degrees for right-handers for stability.
- "There’s five things to think about... Other things is the spin… Hold the stone at the longest point on the rock, and if you want a pro tip, give it a little right hand roll..." —Kurt [50:25]
-
Audience Questions:
- Water surface (prefer gentle ripples over dead calm).
- Natural vs. artificial stones: extra prestige for mastering natural stones.
- Injuries and aging affecting competition longevity.
-
Memorable Moment:
- Santa, totally engrossed: “That’s the best interview we’ve ever done... I was fully entranced by our guest.” [54:42]
Gear Talk & Audience Feedback
[57:22–68:13]
Crew’s Gear Picks
- Santa:
- First Light wool-brimmed hat—warm and functional with a wide brim; fits his outdoor uniform [58:35].
- Asiak tripod head—lightweight pan head for stability with large binoculars and scopes, allows for “light tripod man” lifestyle [59:55].
- Seth:
- Milkweed as a windicator—cheap, natural, superior to synthetic puffer bottles for tracking wind [62:43].
- Spencer:
- Gas can dilemma resolved—crowdsourced feedback from 161 listeners. VP Racing gas cans came out on top for reliability, speed, and ease of use, despite being technically “not for fuel” cans [64:43–68:01].
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Santa, on Fireball:
- “I have a lot of [Fireball] at the house, and I don’t like it. It’s too sweet. I drink it too fast.” [11:04]
- Gift Exchange Running Joke:
- “These are all my most treasured possessions.” —Santa [22:30]
- Kurt on rock skipping:
- “I just threw the hell out of that stone.” [39:09]
- Santa’s firearms wisdom:
- “Big wounds kill. Energy doesn’t kill. Full penetration... I like a bullet that upsets violently.” [71:23]
- On audience engagement:
- “Try stealing from Santa. Now I’m really in the mood... I’m sweating again.” —Santa [28:08]
- Holiday humor:
- “Santa, people are asking if you’ve been drinking already.”
- “No, not yet.” —Santa [11:53]
- “Santa, people are asking if you’ve been drinking already.”
Episode Timestamps
- [02:22] – Show intro, whitetail story from Illinois
- [07:42] – Santa’s dramatic entrance
- [08:00–28:05] – Secret Santa gift exchange
- [32:55] – Listener Q&A: deer processing, hunting tactics, trapping
- [36:01] – More listener questions
- [37:28] – Kurt Steiner interview: his record, stone selection, technique
- [54:38] – Crew reacts to Kurt’s interview
- [57:22] – Gear Talk: Favorite gear from each host
- [64:43] – Spencer reveals the listeners' favorite gas cans
- [68:21] – More Q&A: trapping, bullets, roadkill
- [79:42] – Holiday wrap-up and sign-off
This episode blends classic MeatEater humor, deep outdoor knowledge, and festive mayhem with the treat of a world-class stone skipper’s insider secrets. Whether you’re here for the hunting advice, nostalgic gift swapping, or to become a better rock skipper, you’ll find a warm, insightful, and very merry hour with the MeatEater crew.
