Hopefull for hogs

[bryan harrington]

I am going pig hunting for the first time next week and I am not too sure about what to do. I am hoping the person i am going with will know more about it but just in case I figured I would see what anybody would have to say. I was wondering if it is necessary to gut them right away or if they can go a while, I was wondering if the meat is going to be as good as from the store, do I need to hang the meat in a locker for a while or can I process it right away?  I wondered about gutting tham also, is it similar to a deer? Any suggestions and answers a greatly appreciated. Good luck to all!
Bryan

 

[feelinducky]

Bryan:  Get them coolded off as quick as possible.  Gut, skinned and put in a cold box asap.  If all goes well with care of the meat it should be better than pork from the store.  As far as I know gut them just like  a deer.

 

[paulc]

you do not need to age it.. process right away.

 

[wildlifedesigner]

I would recomend you should wear gloves because they have poison oak all over them

 

[Hook]

No need to age it, cause it usually takes a few days for the butcher to get to it and it will hang in his meat cooler till then. The jury is still out on aging pig meat either helps or hurts the taste. As long as you get it cooled off right away, you shouldn't have any problems.

Happy Hunting

 

[Speckmisser]

Only thing I'll add is, if you do plan to age or hang it, make sure it's in a WELL refrigerated space.  Pork turns rancid pretty quickly...much faster than venison... and it's much more harmful once it does turn.  

They do gut just like a deer, although you'll probably dull a knife or two in the skinning process.  But if you get it all done as quickly as you can, and get the carcass cooled down, it's the best tasting meat you'll ever get.  No store-bought pork can match it.

Oh, I guess one more thing... what somebody said about poison oak... believe it!  And when it comes to poison oak immunity, there are two kinds of people.  There are those who have a reaction to it, and those who haven't YET... no such thing as immunity.  Handle with care.

 

[songdog]

I'd echo Spec and the rest - get it cooled down asap.  Aging pork of any kind is a misnomer.  

They field dress and skin just like a deer except they don't have those convenient handles on their heads to facilitate dragging in the field.

The best eating pig I've ever had was also the biggest that I've taken, right at 300lbs.  He was walking around minding his own business and on ice 45 minutes later.  I'm a firm believer (with pigs not deer) that it's the time to get the thing in the cooler that dictates the taste way more than the age/size of the animal.  If I'm going for a meat pig a 150lb sow is best but I'd rather have a 300+lb boar that's on ice within an hour than that same sow that was hung to "age" overnight here in our warm SoCal evenings.

 

[Hogskin]

One other thing, if you knock down a boar.  After you make sure it's dead (you certainly wouldn't want to do this to a live hog), roll it over onto its back and grab hold of his schlong.  Staying away fro the business end of it, squeeze  it and push down on it.  It will squirt a lot of piss out and if you do it right you'll empty the bladder.   That way if you puncture it while gutting it, it won't be nearly as much of a mess.  

I also try to get my hogs into the cooler ASAP.  Have always cut them within 24 hours of killing them.

Regards,
Paul

 

[bryan harrington]

Ok, well I think that I have gotten some good information from some reliable sources. I will update on how my hunt went and let all know if I did any good. I want to thank everybody for giving me there advice and suggestions and hope to beable return the favor in the future. Thanks~
Bryan

 

[HOGHUNTERBRIAN]

hogskin
you certanly have a way with words!!! exellent advise
schlong...i gotta remember that one

 

[shooter44]

As the others have said, get it gutted out immediately, and skined and cooled as soon as possible.  If it's hot out get it on ice or in a cooler as soon as it's skined.  You should bring a big cooler with ice jugs in your vehicle.  If you skin and quarter it in the field, put the meat in the chest.  If not you can pack the ice jugs in and around it and wrap it in an old blanket to get it cooling down while you transport it.