Sportsman Channel’s New Series, Dead Meat, Finds Real People with Real “Interesting” Local Delicacies
OutdoorHub 04.19.12
Preparing rabbit rattlesnake sausage and participating in the squirrel opener in Florida is just the tip of the dinner fork for Dead Meat, a new series exclusively on Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor TV for the American Sportsman. The half-hour series is a Sportsman Channel original production and will premiere on Sunday, April 22 at 9:30 pm E/P. The series is hosted by America’s leading authority on the proper preparation of fish and game, Scott Leysath, aka The Sporting Chef, as he travels to common U.S. destinations with uncanny food convictions.
“We are pushing the borders of outdoor lifestyle on TV with this adventurous journey into the heart of America’s wild and weird game,” said Gavin Harvey, CEO for Sportsman Channel. “We are showing not only how to track and pursue these species, but also how to prepare it according to local customs. Leysath is a culinary expert who can comfortably talk about anything from proper squirrel preparation to python roasting.”
“Dead Meat is about finding interesting people who have a passion for making some of the ugliest critters taste incredible. They’re passionate about getting the most from the creatures less eaten,” said Scott Leysath, host of Dead Meat. “The show is edgy, outrageous, funny and maybe just a little scary to those who don’t keep a freezer full of pythons, sea cucumbers or rodents. Think ‘Swamp People’ meets Anthony Bourdain. I just hang out with others who make the assumption that, ‘If it’s worth killing, it’s worth eating.’”
Leysath has traveled the country for the past 15 years, sharing his own brand of fish and game cookery. Along the way, he’s worked beside some of America’s best restaurant chefs, but it’s the “real people” who hunt and cook creatures outside the realm of mainstream cuisine that interest Chef Leysath. He’s a hunter, angler, chef and “regular guy” outdoorsman who hits the roads less traveled for a glimpse at how his people hunt, fish, gather, trap and snare their catch and, of course, how they cook it.
And he’s ready to feed fans’ appetite for finding prey to create unusual meals (is it really edible?) with even more unusual local sportsmen to show him the way. In the premiere episode of Dead Meat, Leysath will travel to Louisiana for Nutria, which is a semi-aquatic rat-like rodent, to see how in the world that species is prepared to be edible. Or perhaps it will stay inedible.
Then, its off to Florida for the squirrel season opener where Leysath will roast a squirrel the way the locals’ grandparents have taught them. Later, it’s off to Alaska for sea cucumber amongst other creatures and then Leysath travels to northern Minnesota to partake in the annual Eelpout festival where he will determine if its poor man’s lobster, or just plain repellent.
Leysath’s first television show, The Sporting Chef, has been syndicated worldwide since 2003. His current show, HuntFishCook, has aired throughout the U.S. and Canada since 2005. Leysath makes weekly radio appearances, writes articles and recipes for outdoor publications and is the Cooking Editor for Ducks Unlimited Magazine. Leysath’s latest cookbook, The Sporting Chef’s Favorite Wild Game Recipes contains over 250 fish and game recipes. He lives in northern California, but spends a considerable amount of time across North America, co-hosting HuntFishCook, conducting fish and game seminars and making personal appearances.
