Tough Tri-Tip From Huge (Almost 300 lb) Boar

[Zippy the Pinhead]

Three of my friends and I hired Kyler Hamann of Boaring, LLC out of Parkfield, Ca., for a two-day hunt. We just got back earlier today.

Mr. Hamann runs a first-class operation, and I can recommend him with enthusiasm.

One member of the party shot a big fat boar which weighed 280 or 290 lbs before being dressed. It was huge, and Mr. Hamann estimated the age to be between 3 and 4 years.

After this boar was cleaned, we immediately packed it in ice and just this afternoon delivered it to the butcher shop (Hicks Meats, at the intersection of La Mirada Blvd. and Santa Gertrudes in La Mirada, Ca.). The butcher cut off one of the tri-tips and cut it into chops for us to try.

I sauteed my chops in butter with salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic. My friend briefly marinated his in wine, onions, and tomatoes, and then he grilled them. The goal was to determine whether this boar would yield suitable cuts, or whether he would all go into sausage.

Both of us found the cuts to be tough, though flavorful.

The question is: tri-tip can be tough, and maybe wasn't the best cut to base our decision on. But what would you do? Sausage, or get some good cuts & roasts, and make the usual tougher cuts into sausage?

Thanks in advance for any and all replies.

 

[Hogskin]

Zippy,

The danger with wild hogs is overcooking them. Is it possible that's what happened here? Not saying it's a certainty, but maybe a possibility. Generally, wild hogs are far leaner than domestic pork. I like to use recipes that call for them sitting in crock pots or some kind of sauce to keep them moist and I try not to overcook them. I still haven't gotten ribs down, and that's after a lot of hogs. One of these days.... It's a possibility that maybe you just got a tough one. Sounds like you cared for it properly. If that's the way she is, I'd get the hams and grind the rest into sausage.

 

[tnctcb]

my experience with wild hogs is that the big ones are usually tough and often gamey.we cut up the backstraps and hams and grind the rest into sausage. sometimes we grind everything but the straps

 

[QALHNTR]

Zippy,

Robert at Hick's will do a great job. He's processed all of our hogs lately. Ditto what Hogskin says. I usually braise my roasts ( a quick pan-fry browning, followed by a few hours in the oven submerged in broth). Even my huge sow came out tasting great.

I highly recommend getting some of his Italian sausage. It's great for mixing in a spaghetti dinner. This is my wife and kids' favorite (well, besides the spareribs we made last night).

Recipe link

 

[Zippy the Pinhead]

Thanks for the responses to date.

I'm no expert at cooking boar, so I can't say for sure that I didn't overcook it. I was trying to be careful to avoid overcooking & dryout, so I used a generous amount of butter when I fried it up. Some of the cut was still a little reddish pink in the middle after I finished cooking, so I'm pretty sure I didn't make it tough by overcooking.

This boar had an *amazing* quantity of fat on him. Again, I'm no expert, and I have never witnessed the skinning of a domestic hog, but I was expecting to see very little fat. Instead, the carcass was covered with fat, and it was especially clear after we'd iced him down for a day or two, as the fat all became sort of ivory colored, whereas the meat was quite reddish.

Something else which might be worth noting: this boar did not stink like other big ones the guide (Kyler Hamann) had seen, or like ones I have seen. In fact, I didn't detect much of an odor at all.

If any of you have some good crock pot recipes for boar roasts, I'd really like to have them.

Thanks again in advance...

 

[Delloro]

Sounds like the boar was castrated. No kidding. Some places catch shoats and castrate them and release them. They get bigger faster and aren't gamey.

 

[wildlifedesigner]

possibly aging the meat would make it more tender. Fresh meat will always be tougher from any animal. Best: Bryan

 

[Hawghunter]

Congrats on the big pig,
My experience has been exactly what Hogskin told you. the longer you cook boar the tougher it becomes.
And, my boar ribs are allways tough, I have never got them right yet either. I thought it was just me.
You might try backstraps, tenderloin, and roasts, having him make the rest into sasuage. My butcher at Brees meats makes great tasting Hot Italian Sasuage, it's great in everything. If the roasts are tough put them into the crock pot. Can you say "Carnitas"?
Thats just a thought,
Happy Hunting,
Mark

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey Zippy,

Congrats, first of all on a good hunt. I've heard good things about that operation.

As to cooking your pork, even with all that fat on the outside, wild pork is still notorious for drying out if you cook it using a quick method. It's best to cook slow and covered. Indirect heat on a grill is my favorite way, but an oven or crockpot work fine too.

For cuts of meat, I think someone else already mentioned the prime cuts for cooking up. Tenderloins and backstraps are great for saute. Unless you way overcook them, they'll stay tender and relatively moist. I like them just a shade under well-done. I'd hesitate to eat wild pork rare, due to the risk of trichnosis. Ribs are OK to grill directly over the fire. But everything else is best taken slow and kept moist.

I would argue against wildlifedesigner's recommendation to age the meat. Pork doesn't age well, and is more likely to turn rancid.

 

[SDHNTR]

Well you just can't expect steak quality out of a roast cut. The tri-tip is best left whole to slow cook or cook moist. My favorite is to crock pot the roasts and make pulled pork sandwiches, enchiladas, tacos, ect. Like has already been said. Here is what I do for an older boar. Save the backstraps for chops. Save the best roasts (tri-tip included) for moist cooking. Grind the rest, including both front shoulders, into sausage. Remember that there is no interstitial fat running through the muscle like there is with beef. You have to cook the tougher pieces with lots of time and some kind of liquid. Another option if you don't want to spend the time is to pound your steaks with a tenderizing mallet. Good luck.

 

[Freedivr2]

Everything you've heard is right on the money. A big roast from a big boar will be a big chew, I'd imagine.

Generally speaking, regardless of type of game or fish, the bigger and older the animal is, the tougher/stronger tasting the flesh is going to be. Just a fact of life. In commercial fishing, for example, there always has been a 75 lb. "break point".......you get almost double dollars for fish of a species under 75 lbs. than you do for fish over 75 lbs.

And of course, game animals have less fat (are leaner) and like any animal with less moisture, will cook faster than the domestics. My wife has a heck of a time remembering this, and subsequently has overcooked more than a couple boar chops. It doesn't take much to do that. Just keep in mind that they WILL cook faster than domestic, and you'll get the same result (leather for dinner.....).

Follow the advice given, with one twist. You don't have to grind everything but the backstraps into sausage.....Off the bigger hogs, I've taken the front shoulders and one of the hams and cut into small 1/4"-1/2" cubes for taco night. Just package em up in 1 lb. packages like you would for stew meat, and these trimmins can be used for chili, tacos, burritos, etc. Great thing to have in the freezer..........

 

[shooter44]

I agree with those above about slow cooking. If the meat has good flavor, you shouldn't need to grind it all, but slow cook it in stew, roasts, chile verde, etc. Save the backstraps for grilling.

A great recipe is to cook a half a ham in a pot with mushrooms, salt, pepper, allspice and dark beer at 250 for about eight hours till it's falling apart. Serve with mashed potatoes, sweet and sour cabage, and the rest of the beer.

 

[Rocky_LC]

Here's the secret for cooking the ribs:

Cover them in BBQ sauce and seasonings of your choice.

Wrap the ribs in saran wrap, and cook in a 250 Deg Oven for 2 1/2 Hrs.

Pull the saran wrap off the ribs, and finish them off on the grill.

They are great. The meat just falls off the bone.

Rocky

 

[EL CAZADOR]

Originally posted by SDHNTR@Apr 21 2003, 08:42 AM
Well you just can't expect steak quality out of a roast cut.  The tri-tip is best left whole to slow cook or cook moist.

I'd have to agree with that . . . tri-tip is my favorite cut of meat. I've been que'ing it for several years now and I think I have it down. It's best to slow cook it over indirect heat.

But the MOST important thing about tri-tip is how your SLICE it. Always slice it against the grain. The roast as a whole won't be anymore tender, but the slicing against the grain will cut the work out of it. No pun intended.

 

[New Pig Hunter]

I read the very first posting with great interest for two reasons:
1) great cooking ideas.
2) Hick's Meats is literally down the street and around the corner from me !!

As for cooking ribs, what my wife did was first boil 'em in beer to get 'em cooked through and through, this also keeps 'em well moisturized. Then I tossed 'em on the Weber with BBQ sauce. Worked out very well.
I do like the in-the-oven-first idea, but I'd use tinfoil instead.

Since I'm here I'll add: I also had some pig meat cut into bite-size pieces for stew. I sautee'd 'em in cabernet sauvignon wine, with just a dash of salt and pepper.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[Boaring Experiences Guide]

"Mr. Hamann runs a first-class operation, and I can recommend him with enthusiasm."

I too highly recommend him. Oh wait, I have to he's my boss.

Congrats on the big pigs. Kyler mentioned that he had shot some good boars lately with some of his clients. This is a great time of the year to hunt, due to the pigs hitting the barley. Sunday evening I watched about 20 mature pigs and about 30-40 piglets walk into barley field we were hunting. It was really fun to watch.

Dwayne
www.boaring.com

 

[Zippy the Pinhead]

Thanks to all for the replies.

We ended up with almost 70 lbs of sausage from this boar, plus several pounds of chops. I had the butcher make half into bratwurst and the other half into breakfast sausage.

I tried some of this the other night; I boiled the sausage in beer for a while, until it was pretty well cooked, and then I threw it on the grill, over hot mesquite charcoal.

When I tasted it, I found it was pretty dry. The butcher added 5% beef/beef fat as a binder when he mixed the sausage, but it was still pretty dry.

So... any good, simple sausage recipes? Again, thanks in advance...

 

[Zippy the Pinhead]

Originally posted by Boaring Experiences Guide@Apr 29 2003, 09:46 AM
This is a great time of the year to hunt, due to the pigs hitting the barley.

So far as I recall, Mr. Hamann said that there is something of a rutting season for boars in the fall. To what extent does this enhance the hunting? Do the boars come out of the hills and trot around with the sows during the rut, like the buck deer behave?

 

[SDHNTR]

About the sausage being dry, 5% is not a lot of fat at all. I would have at least doubled that amount. A lot also depends on what type of fat was used. I like the hard fat from a pork butt to grind with my sausage as it will not cook off as fast leaving the sausage still juicy once it is fully cooked. Your cooking method sounds just about right though. You might want to top that bratwurst with some sauteed onions/mushrooms in a light gravy. This will make it not seem as dry.

 

[Boaring Experiences Guide]

Zippy the Pinhead,

From my seven years of hunting I have found it much more productive during the spring and summer to shoot the larger boars, and pigs in general.

In my tenure I have also noticed that there doesn't seem to any certain season for breeding/rutting. Last weekend while guiding I watched ~200lb boar chase a sow all over a barley field, the whole trying to breed with her. At the same time I have seen the same thing happen in the fall. Saying this though one thing I have noticed is that the sows generally have their piglets from December to July. Nothing like our deer that will drop all fawns in a 2-3 week period.

So to answer your question; the only way that I have experienced that this so-called rutting behavior helps is by the sows fighting off the boars and we being able to hear them from a distance. Also sometimes you will have multiple boars fighting over one sow, which will also be quite noisy and fighting.

As far as your meat goes. Most people want to shoot the biggest and toothiest boar they can find, but fail to realize that an animal of this age and size will be tough and strong to eat. I personally love wild pig meat, but will not and have not shot a pig over 200lbs. The last thing that I want is 150lbs of strong smelling and tasting meat taking up room in my freezer that will never be eaten. Just my opinion.

Thanks
Dwayne
www.boaring.com