Game processing starts long before your wild harvest hits the freezer. Our Editors’ Choice gear is built to handle meat with power, precision, and flavor in mind. See what made the cut this year.
Proper game processing gear comes down to one thing: taking care of what you brought home. You put in the time to fill a tag, and the right tools help you handle every step cleanly so nothing gets wasted. Here’s the equipment that gets it done, plus our go to beef jerky for when the dehydrator’s already loaded.
The Best Game Processing Gear
Yeti Cast Iron Skillet
The ability to cook well in a cast-iron skillet is a life skill, worthy of taking the time to teach to the next generation. Fortunately, these skillets are so well made they will easily pass down to—and probably through—the next generation. For those who have no experience with cast-iron cooking, Yeti has all the information you need to get started, including videos. These skillets are available in 8-, 10-, 12-, and 14-inch options.
Excalibur 8-Tray Select Digital Dehydrator
This compact unit packs plenty of features into a small space. The digital dehydrator operates from 85- to 165ºF, with a timer that lets you run for 30 minutes to 80 hours. It has an internal light that shuts off automatically after a few minutes, a set of clear French doors with a magnetic closure, 8 dishwasher-safe chrome trays for your food, a crumb tray and a poly screen. We made moose and deer jerky, as well as apple and pear chips. It performed well and dries food more quickly than other units we have used. We like that it is light and compact, making it easy to store.
Old Trapper Double Eagle Jerky
It’s tasty. The 21-ounce bag didn’t make it through 6 days on the Naknek because we ate it all in 3 days. Double Eagle jerky pieces are round jerky coins (hence the Double Eagle moniker) that are easy to eat, and a good source of protein while being relatively low on carbohydrates. This is a big bag that’s made for sharing…or not!
MSR Dragonfly Stove
We used this stove on multiple remote trips in 2025 and it performed flawlessly. The stove is very efficient, burning far less fuel than expected. It is compact, reliable, can support pots up to 10 inches, and it can burn 5 different types of fuel (white gas which is what we used, kerosene, unleaded gas, diesel, and jet fuel). The ability to burn all those different fuels makes it a very valuable tool in the Alaska backcountry where types of fuel can be limited. We’ve been using MSR products for 30+ years and continue to be impressed.
LEM MightyBite Dehydrator
The LEM products website is like a rabbit hole for outdoor enthusiasts—you start out thinking you just need a little help storing your halibut, and before you know it, you’re making sausage and jerky plans, canning the garden harvest, and dehydrating anything that fits just to see how it comes out. The digital control panel on the MightyBite series allows you to set the timer up to 24 hours, and set the temperature from 95- to 167ºF. We’ve tested it on meat sticks, jerky, vegetables, and an outrageous amount of apples. This dehydrator is easy to use, easy to clean, and is available in a 6- or 10-tray size.
Old Trapper Beef Jerky (Hot & Spicy, and Teriyaki)
A fishing or hunting trip just doesn’t seem right without beef jerky, and Old Trapper has a line of jerky products for everyone from 5 to 75, in several flavors. We tried the Hot & Spicy and Teriyaki flavors this year and the bags didn’t last long. Available in 4- or 10-ounce bags.
YETI Cast Iron Range Pan
Publisher Marcus Weiner has been using this pan for 5 months and appreciates the sturdy design, size, and performance of this cast-iron pan. He uses it for frying moose sausage, braising venison steaks, browning moose meatballs, then making the sauce to simmer them in for Swedish mooseballs. It’s the perfect size for making moose chili with 1 pound of burger. It’s easy to care for this heirloom-quality pan; scrub it with soap and water, dry using low heat on the range top, then wipe down with a little canola oil. Note that the lid is sold separately.