Hogs, Pig

[bowman]

I see hunts on tv but they don't talk much about eating them I just suppose people do eat them ,if they are anything like domestic I think I would prefer a young pigglet or sow maybe all sausage for those boars?? How do they differ from the ones with the cellophane wrapings seems like the locals would keep them ate down but you hear how they create a lot of problems?? Thanks

 

[Val]

My first and only (so far) hog was taken last year on a guided hog hunt. I found the hog meat very tasty but tougher than domestic hog, it also has leaner meat. I had some Italian and Polish sausage made and the sausage was excellent. Portions cooked in a crock pot turned out very tender. Mine was about a 200# boar.

 

[superduty]

Bowman, we can't wait every year to place acouple of eaters in our freezer. We normally shoot pigs ranging from 120# to 160#'s. Not looking for that trophy boar here just a fun and safe hunt and the great eating.

 

[Ocmulgee Ogre]

Like Superduty, I try to shoot pigs under 150 lbs. They are easier to handle and process yourself. I usually BBQ all of mine on a brick pit on my property.

My property is near Abbeville, GA which has an annual festival called the Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival. We are blessed/cursed with so many wild hogs. You can hunt them year round here. We shot 38 last year during deer season. During deer season, we shoot a couple of Friday afternoon and feast Saturday night.

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey Bowman,

Like the other guys, I LOVE to eat wild hog. It's also the only wild game meat my wife actually asks for.

It's a lot leaner than domestic pork, which means you have to be a little more careful about how you cook it or it gets tough, but for flavor, it's hard to beat.

 

[Coondog]

bowman.. kind of like OO, we have a ton of hogs and can hunt them year round.. To tell you the truth, the pigs are a huge nusiance to the farmers and they will usually shoot them and drag them off somewhere.. I am not a huge fan of wild boar meat so I will usually give mine to some of the local poor folks to eat... We also catch them wild a lot of times and will either give them away to the poor folks or sell them for some cash if there is enough of them...

Speck.. I am interested in how to cook pig the right way... Maybe that is the reason I have never really liked it.. Can you point me in the right direction to some recipes or reading up on it?? Thanks!

 

[One Track]

I had some wild hog last night for dinner. Jalapeno/Chedder Sausage and grilled onions on a bun. MMM MMM Good! The kids love the breakfast sausage. I get my chops smoked and eat 'em cold. I love wild hog!

 

[Tree Doc]

I drilled a 325 Boar that had been invading an Apple Orchard everynight with the rest of his clan. Took it to my local butcher and he processed the whole pig as if it were a domestic excluding ribs, the wild pigs tend to have less on the rib. That was by far the best pork I and many friends ever have had! Better than anything you'de get at the store.

I still take my pigs to either one of two butchers here in town and have most of it done in sausage. Bulk packed Breakfast Sausage, then links of Apple Rasberry Sausage, Apple Cinnamon Sausage, and a few others. It's REALLY good! I shy away from the spicier stuff like Linguisa or the Jalapeno-Cheddars, though they're good tasting....it's like giving birth to searing hot lead the next day!

Processing pig is not very expensive so I choose to have it done rather than messing with it.

 

[BDB]

Here's what I do and it all tastes great to me: this would be for a ~160lb pig

Get the hams smoked and center cut (2 - 4 pound hams and 3-4 ham steaks from each side). Keep the backstraps and loins for the BBQ (a little marinade on the big ones helps). Front shoulders are a nice roast. I have a great mango marinade that I put them in for 24 hours before the roast goes in the oven. All the scraps made into what ever sausage you like. The big thing is DO NOT over cook it, same as most wild game.

I have shot three and they were all excellent table fare, even the wife ("I don't like wild game") likes it.

 

[superduty]

Bowman, I forgot to mention we had company over last night and served pork tacos. The wife had the meat in the crockpot for most of the day untill it just shredded to pieces then just add fixins and cocktail. MMM MMM Good.

 

[bowman]

Thanks for all the replies sounds like it is eatable alright maybe a little gamey? Were these at one time domestic pigs? I think they would have to grow longer legs to live up here in NYS our snowfall off Lake Ontario last year was over 200+ inches, so I have no experince with them I do appreciate all the info. Thanks

 

[bzzboyz]

If it's a pig only, it's breakfast sausage, and chili meat. If I kill it close to or during deer season, I use it to mix with my deer sausage, so I don't have to buy any from the butcher to mix in.

 

[bowman]

Sounds like for the most part they are ground up into sausages. Come to think of it most of a domestic pig is too other than the backstaps and shoulder probably tough on a wild pig, the rest turned into hams and bacon. Thanks

 

[larrysogla]

Bowman,
The ones we have harvested are not gamey at all. No musky smell, no wild game odor or taste, even the 500 lb. calf sized pig that the ranch owner trapped.

The meat actually smelled like supermarket pork. The stomach cavity smelled like fresh mowed green grass. The meat is lean, very tasty but just have to cook a little bit longer than grocery pork, due to this is a free ranging & heavily muscled animal. Everybody who tasted it says it tastes just like grocery pork. only better, much better!!! We have baked it, made soup, cooked it into sauced meat with gravy. I better stop, 'cause it is making me very hungry.
God Bless. larrysogla.

 

[barel74]

The taste of wild pork directly relates with what its been eating. Right now they taste great. Towards the end of the year, they start tasting pretty bad. Once there diet goes to eating acorns and worms, blahh. Here in CA they taste great out of a vinyard, or fruit orchards. It's like marinating from the inside. But, everybodies tastes are different.

 

[Speckmisser]

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Speck.. I am interested in how to cook pig the right way... Maybe that is the reason I have never really liked it.. Can you point me in the right direction to some recipes or reading up on it?? Thanks![/b]

Coondog,

Check out the recipes and cooking forum down below. There are a ton of AWESOME recipes down there for everything that swims, walks, or flies. Lots of ideas on cooking wild pork.

Personally, I like it almost anyway you'd cook domestic pork. To me, the biggest thing is making sure the meat doesn't get a chance to dry out. Since there's so little intramuscular fat, you don't generate as much moisture when it cooks. That means that frying and grilling take a bit more care (cover the skillet when frying, and don't let the grill get too hot if you're grilling).

Grinding is always an option, but I feel like it's a shame to grind up so much good meat. Think slow-cookers, crock pots, and indirect heat grills for stuff like shoulders and neck roasts... and you're in business. I have a preference for the sweeter sauces with wild pork. Apples, wine, oranges, plums... anything like that makes for a good meal. I usually avoid heavy garlic or onions (although these can be good if you don't overdo it).

As to meat from different seasons...

When I think about it, all of my hogs have been taken in late winter to early summer, and they tasted excellent. I've never shot one in the fall or early winter, so I can't say if there's any difference in flavor there. I'm sure their diet plays a part in how they taste, but that's an experiment that's just gonna require a little more research. I'll be glad to come on down to Texas on a "fact finding" visit.

 

[BirdDawg]

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Since there's so little intramuscular fat[/b]

sounds like me.......'cept I have extramuscular fat.......