The 5 Stomach-Churning Steps to Tanning a Beaver Hide, According to ‘Mountain Men’

Beaver pelts helped drive the early North American economy, and on Thursday’s airing of Mountain Men, Morgan showed us how to tan a beaver hide. The two main things you will need for a tanning a beaver hide are a dead beaver and a strong gag reflex.

First you want to flesh the pelt. Fleshing is when you scrape all the meat and fat off the skin. Using “white gas,” which is gasoline with no additives, scrub the inside of the pelt to make sure you’ve removed all the grease from the skin.

Second, you want to rinse the pelt vigorously. Ideally, there is a stream nearby so that all the grossness becomes someone else’s problem downstream.

Then you want to break open the beaver’s skull and take out the brain so you can smear it all over the pelt. This will help attract flies as well as making the pelt soft and pliable. According to Morgan, every animal’s brain is proportionately big enough to tan said animal’s skin. So save that little bit of info for trivia night.

The fourth step is to drag the skin repeatedly over a rope so as it dries it stays malleable.

Last, build a small fire to smoke the skin. This will help kill off any bacteria that might cause an unpleasant smell, plus it will leave the beaver pelt cuddly soft.

Mountain Men airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on History Channel.

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