Processing wild pig

[Tonopah01]

Does this make sense to anyone? I've understood before that you want to keep meat cold but out of water -- but these instructions from Texasboars.com say otherwise...found that site via JHO recommended link

WILD MEAT SOAK and TENDORIZER
I use this technique for all the wild game animals I take and I highly and frequently recommend this for all wild game.
# - Skin and Debone or Quarter the animals out and place the meat in a large ice chest with the following mixture.
# - ICE WATER!! Along with 1/2 - 1 cup of vinegar and a medium or large (18 - 20 oz) size container or real lemon juice.
# - Soak large portions of meat for 2 0r even 3 days changing the water as needed and keeping the water ICE COLD and all meat covered with the ice water. Soak the meat till it turns white and all blood is leached out.
**NOTE, if the meat begins to darken or turn blue then you got too much vinegar! The meat is not spoiled!! Change the ice water and reduce or eliminate the vinegar.

 

[Speckmisser]

I think the key here is "ICE" water. Also, all the acids from the vinegar and lemon are important. These ingredients all work to keep bacterial growth down, at the same time, they help to leach out the blood and break down some of the proteins to make the meat milder and more tender.

It's not the same as letting your meat slosh around in an ice chest for a couple of days. It's more of a brine.

 

[Tonopah01]

Specmisser--
I did obtain a 165 gal ice chest with the intention of putting relevant parts of a pig in there, covered by plenty of ice and water, with the acid additives, or, in the alternative, trying to protect the pig meat from the ice water by placing it in saran wrap and then plastic trash bags at the bottom of the ice chest with the ice on top. Either way, I understand the need to keep the meat COLD.
It's just that I am uncertain on the "soak it in water" deal.
I don't think brine is involved as that would mean salt.

 

[GoneHuntin]

I have done this with larger boars that we have shot or trapped and it definitely helps remove the strong taste that you can on occasion get with the bigger(over 150 lb or so) boars. The smaller boars and sows I have never bothered to do this with although I know some people that do.

 

[easymoney]

Good points, but I feel that keeping all meat as dry as possible and as cool as possible are the paramount. ICE is great if it is kept in it's plastic bag and the meat does not get wet.
I never brine any pork unless I'm making hams...
I also think as with all wild game, proper care of the meat when butchering in the field and assuring that all blood shot meat is cut away, no hair or glands touch the meat, and it gets cooled down as soon as possible will make for much better tasting meals.
If you want to soak out "gamey" flavor of a rank boar or you are trying to tenderize tough old males, soaking can help.
Just my two cents...

 

[SDHNTR]

That soaking technique is only necessary for big old tough stinky boars. I've personally killed 20 pigs and my partners have killed at least that many more. I only know of one boar that was so nasty it required the soak, and yes, it did work. The meat was tasty.

But given a young boar, or sow, I think the soak is unnecessary.

 

[MULIES4EVER]

MY NEIGHBOR IS A MEAT ENTHUSIAST. HE SMOKES MEAT AS A HOBBY AND CAN LIGHT UP ANYBODYS EYES WHEN HE SAYS HE HAVING A BARBEQUE. HE ALSO COOKS FOR A LOCAL RESTAURANT IN THE SUMMER FOR THEIR BACKYARD BARBEQUE. HE WANTED TO TRY TO SMOKE MY JAVELINA I SHOT IN JANUARY. I TOLD HIM I WASNT REALLY INTERESTED IN EATING IT AS THEY STINK LIKE SOMETHING THAT SHOULDNT GO IN YOUR MOUTH. HE INSISTED AND I BROUGHT THE MEAT HOME TO HIM. LONG STORY SHORT IT WAS AWESOME. HE DID IN FACT SOAK THE MEAT IN AN ICE WATER/BUTTER MILK MIXTURE OVERNIGHT BEFORE APPLYING A RUB AND SMOKING IT. THE MEAT WAS WONDERFUL AND IF I GET ANOTHER ONE I WILL BRING IT TO HIM AGAIN. I AM NOT CLAIMING TO KNOW ANYTHING BUT HE DOES, HE DID SOAK IT AND IT WAS GREAT.

MULIES

 

[Surfswest]

Man you guys are making me hungry!!!! I gotta get me a pig to blast and cook now.

Frosty

 

[BDB]

nrifenbark - what I did for my ice chest is cut a peice of 1/4" plywood to fit inside and then cut lots of holes in it for air circulation. I throw a couple of 2 liter coke bottles filled with water and fozen in the bottom, then the plywood, then the critter and then the bags of ice. The water all drains down and the meat doesn't soat in it as it's raised up about 6 inches. That's how I get the meat home or let it sit for a couple of days until processing. I don't like my meat soaking in water unless it's done with a purpose like soaking the old boars mentioned here.

 

[Tonopah01]

Thanks for all the helpful comments guys!
Cold must surely be the key.
Every pig my hunting partners have hit in the past (I have yet to hit one) has been gutted in the field and brought back to camp (a couple of hours), hung and skinned, then covered in a game bag and put on a trailer (a couple more hours), then hauled to the butcher (more hours) before it got into the butcher's cold room. So the meat has been warm for at least 6-10 hours before the butcher put it away in cold storage. I have never liked the resulting meat much.
This time, should one (or more) of our crew hit a pig, that sucker is going to be cold in a cooler with ice (in water or not -- still thinking about that) at the earliest. Hopefully, that will make a big difference.