Eating and preparing wild hog?????HELP!

[hydrotech]

well I got a last minute invite to make a 15 hour drive from Missouri to Texas for a few days of hog hunting west of san antonio on my buddy's gfriend families 3500 acre ranch. I am going to be packing and loading tonight.

Question: Can you eat any wild hog? I have heard boars are bad and only sows are good? I am taking coolers. I want to bring meat home so tell me the secrets. Do you grind em all up for sausage or can you butcher them just like a regular pig? can you cut pork chops, pork steaks, make bacon out belly, cut out boston butts from shoulder? or is there only certain cuts that are good?

I am so stoked to get outta here and hunt texas!

[hydrotech]

oh and where do you aim on the neck cuz i dont want to ruin the shoulders if they are edible.

[VASCAR2]

Look on AR15.com in the out door section. They have dedicated sections with threads for hog hunting. The guys from TX go for the head if possible as most shoot just behind the ear. Normally this results in DRT but they also have views showing where the hogs vitals are positioned.

As far as cooking goes most say smoked slow cooked is hard to beat.

[hydrotech]

well lots of info on there and descriptions of hunts but not much on cooking or eating or butchering it.

[hydrotech]

well the people in my family buy about 8 farm raised hogs a year and we have them taken to the meat locker and dispatched, they gut em and dehair them and cut them in half snout to rearend. Then we cut em up into steaks, hams chops, bacons, and hocks ourselves n make head cheese and render lard.....I'm guessing you cut a wild hog up the same? didn't know if they cut it up like that or if it was too strong and they just grind it all.

[Bennybone]

I am by no means an expert so take the following with a grain of salt.

I do not have a setup to try and cut meat into chops or steaks etcs so I am pretty much relegated to slow cooking meat in my pit. I am waiting for the right size animal to test this receipe on but cooking by indirect heat is one way to do this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zmeQ6Wgh_o

In my opinion the only meat worth saving from boars and large sows are the backstrap and maybe hams if you are able to break that down for tamales or combine it with venicine for sausage.

The feral hog is not similar to farm raised pig in that the meat is leaner and tougher, I'd guess due to diet and exercise.

So long story short, to make the cooler carry worth it - headshot a few 40 - 60 lb pigs and take the shoulders/hams/backstrap off of them OR dehair them and smoke them whole for 12 hours (low and slow heat) and shred the meat, pulled pork style.

Seasoning is your friend.

Bleed the meat out for 5 days.

GO GET'EM

[hydrotech]

thanks for the info Bennybone!

[Kikn]

Any hog 30-80 lb is going to be good to eat. Skin it first. Let sit in ice for three days and drain out.

Get a salt lick rub. And smoke using live oak for six to seven hours. Just make sure the meat hits the right temp before you eat it.

[Bennybone]

Just make sure the meat hits the right temp before you eat it.

Sourced from the NY Times:

PORK

THE other pink meat?

That could be pork’s new slogan after the United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said it was lowering its safe cooking temperature to 145 degrees, from the longtime standard of 160. The new recommendation is in line with what many cookbook authors and chefs have been saying for years.

Remember LOW AND SLOW for temp/time in the smoker.

[txgunner00]

I've dressed and eaten more than I can remember. I make a lot of sausage because I don't care for much of anything from a store. I'll post more when I'm not at work...

[hm2 clark]

My thoughts and secrets on cooking wild boar. (1) You killed it so you eat it. (2) Boars that smell bad on the OUTSIDE before you clean them probably smell and taste worse on the INSIDE. (3) A tough smelly big boar is probably best turned into spicy sausage-mostly we just take the 4 quarters for that. (4) 70-90 lbs are much better eating then 150+lbs. (5) It helps if you have a redneck buddy to guide you through it-a redneck girl is even better (6) IMO if you shoot a pig and it's DRT its much better eating then if it lives even 10 seconds (I think the stress hormones pumped into the big muscle groups hurt the taste) (7) There are lots of reicipts on the net use one. (8) this is important...BEER! DRINK LOTS OF BEER! Invite a lot of people over, slow cook that pig for 8-12 hours sipping beer the entire time, no one will complain then. Good luck.

[Taylormade]

I like your style hm2 Clark

[Grensing]

We will often just take the skinned ham, soak in ice water with a little salt, changing the water for 2-3 days, then slow braise "carnitas" style. (mexican pulled pork) Deeeelish!
Smoked with BBQ dry rub though is still really the best. All organic too when you think about it. Heck, they trap live hogs around here in North Texas and ship them to Europe. Big euro's for "wild boar'' meat over there is what I hear.

Forgot to mention that I'll take freshly killed "cap'n stinky" down to the local car wash and hose him down really well before butchering. Makes the whole thing much easier and less offensive in my experience. Get the mud, bugs etc. off him if possible.

I'll rinse cuts really well and freeze in big ass ziplocks filled with water too---like fish. This helps prevent freezer burn and with the bleed out too, I think.

[txgunner00]

Clark is spot on- especially the beer part.

The process I have been using on the big smellys is get them dressed as quickly as possible and store the quarters for up to a week in a good cooler fully surrounded in ice. I either leave the drain open or drain it twice daily as to not let water accumulate. This seems to leech out most of the blood and what ever funkiness is in it. It's really funky I'll sometimes cold water brine it in kosher or pickling salt for half a day or so. I good blend of 85% lean meat, 15% primary fat cuttings from the butcher shop and a good German style seasoning and you have some fine sausage for pan frying or stuffing.

[bobke]

I'm with HM2clark and Grensing on a couple of points, certain. Try for shot between ear and eye-DO NOT shoot it in the gut, paunch doesn't taste good, no matter how you prepare it! DRT is the way to go, think it's true about the stress hormones fouling the meat. Try to shoot a sow-under 100#, less is better. Take it and hang it up, light up your handy propane pear burner and singe the hair, fleas, ticks and whatever else inhabits your quarry, off in a blaze of glory. Clean it and hang it in a cooler or on ice. Brine in mix of salt water, sage, rosemary and whatever else sounds good for at least 24hrs. Cook low and slow, carefully basting the cook with a proper beverage for the task, move to an oven for the last two hours, buy more beer and invite all of your new very best friends over for kick ass meal. And as said, big pig/big stink doesn't make for the best eating. Disposable surgical gloves and two sharp knives will make the dirty work disappear once complete.