Female vs. male hog taste??

[mochosla]

Hi guys. I was talking to a friend yesterday and he was telling me that the meat flavor on male hogs is a lot stronger than sows. He said that he would not eat a male hog due to the super strong gaminess taste on the meat. I know there is a difference in the flavor but, how strong is that of a male vs. a female? I ask because I'm booking a hunt and I want to know if I should avoid taking a male (if given the opportunity of course) Thank you!

 

[Bubblehide]

Here is my NSHO, based on decades of eating wild game: The gaminess, is in the fat, sinew, and sheath of the animals. If you remove all of those, then there is no game flavor. I butcher all my own game, so I literally separate and package each individual muscle. When I get down to the small forearm muscles and the like, I filet them off like I would the skin of a fish, and use them for ground meat. If you take an animal to a butcher, they will not separate each individual muscle, and you will have some gaminess to the meat, due to the fat, sinew, and sheaths. So, since I go to the extreme in my meat care, I have yet to have a gamey tasting bore (male hog), or anything else for that matter, with the only exception being bear, since the fat can be riddled throughout the meat/muscle itself.

 

[hunterdoug]

Great answer bbhide but I'm a lazy butcher and sows don't need that much attention.....eat it all...

 

[BrittGSP818]

Bubblehide is correct, the meat itself usually tastes the same. However, in my opinion, the age of the animal is more important when it comes to flavor and tenderness of the meat. The younger the better.

 

[JustGuy]

1+ everything is in the way you skin and clean it. And the most important how you remove the penis. if you puncture this gland, half meat is going to garbage
Ones i got a 427 LB male. It was so old and so ugly, i thought it will not be eatable at all. but it was the opposite.

 

[mochosla]

Great answers and guidance. Thank you!

 

[hogassin]

spot on Bubblehide....I'd like to add skinning, cooling down meat and bleeding out properly also improves taste....We go one step further and de-bone carcass on the spot....I started doing this for cutting weight and found it also helps with taste...Boars do have a second bladder in the hide if punctured will definitely ruin all your meat....Like big bucks big boars are flowing with testosterone..A suprise shot to the boiler room bleeds them out best...Head shots leave all the blood in the muscles...also if they see you or you wound them with first shot that may surge adrenalin through their veins witch will affect taste...I would also recommend shooting a medium sized boar unless its a fully guided hunt...Alone in the woods with a giant hog down can be overwhelming even for 2 guys... most sows either have piglets or are pregnant....Im a firm believer that you dont hang wild game...I keep the meat at 40 deg for 3 days so it can bleed out fully then freeze...

 

[mochosla]

Thank you hogassin. What area of the skin is the gland on boars? Also, how you bleed them if you shoot them on the lung for example? I figured that if you hang them upside down and cut the neck, that would do it.

 

[hogassin]

Thank you hogassin. What area of the skin is the gland on boars? Also, how you bleed them if you shoot them on the lung for example? I figured that if you hang them upside down and cut the neck, that would do it.

Lung shots are the best because the heart continues to pump all the blood to lungs...head shots animals will bloat quickly and the meat will retain much more blood and heat...Head shots are fine just cut the heart via the throat upon walking up...If you dont see alot of blood everywhere chance's are its still in the meat.....skinning on the spot rapidly releases heat and blood...Boars have a second bladder completely separate for leaving sent..its located in the hide a few inches in front of the pecker...size is like 3"x 4"and 1" thick...holds alot of very stinky pee...should come off with hide just cut slow

 

[mochosla]

Thank you!!

 

[Sniper1]

Unless you are shooting a trophy or want one, i recommend shooting a 130lb or so sow if possible. I always gut them immediatly, and hang them from their rear feet from a tree in a cool place as soon as you can to get the head/hide off. If i am camping out i will let it hang until i leave if possible, the meat will get a glaze over it. As long as you do not let it get hot u should be fine. I also remove the back straps and tenderloins once i get it skinned out, as this is the best meat. I pack that on ice after it cools. Some believe that hanging for several days in a cool place or a meat locker helps cure the meat a bit, even when i have had mine at the meat locker they let them hang before carving up. If you are only doing sausage then it doesn't really matter, I only keep the backstraps and tenderloins and make sausage out the rest.

 

[TheGDog]

RE: a 2nd bladder in front of penis. Is that 2nd bladder centered about the midline of the body? Does this mean that you need to be extra careful to only cut just barely thru the skin about 5 inches forward from the penis when traveling toward the anus? Or should a fellow veer off from the centerline by like 5" to the side about 5" before reaching the penis and then veer back to centerline once back around by the front of the penis?

 

[hogassin]

Yeah midline directly in front of penis......If you gut from groin to sternum before you skin you'll hit it for sure.....It comes off with the hide..Just dont puncture it.....yeah stay clear a couple inches and cut that thing off then throw it.....

 

[Bubblehide]

RE: a 2nd bladder in front of penis. Is that 2nd bladder centered about the midline of the body? Does this mean that you need to be extra careful to only cut just barely thru the skin about 5 inches forward from the penis when traveling toward the anus? Or should a fellow veer off from the centerline by like 5" to the side about 5" before reaching the penis and then veer back to centerline once back around by the front of the penis?

I'd call it a gland. It can vary in size, (length, width and thickness) depending on the pig. I generally cut way around it, and then go back to it later, and toss the whole thing, penis and all. However, despite cutting around it, I have managed to nick it a couple times. Most of the time, a foul liquid squirts out, occasionally it will ooze. Whatever you do, do not get any on the meat. If you get any on yourself (your likely to get it on your hands/arms, use some wipes to clean up before handling the meat. The stink will stick with you for a little while. Keep in mind that it is in the fat layer, and can be difficult to distinguish at times; but it generally has a grey or darker color than the fat. Other times, you can plainly see it.

 

[mochosla]

Shot a hog today and the meat smells great. Jack showed me the gland you guys are talking about. The thing squirted out a bit of the liquid and boy, it smells like crap!! I'm glad it landed outside and not in the meat.