Question for hog hunters
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Bigboi98
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I've had it a few times and it was always gamey and tough. Not desirable. Maybe cooked down in a stew or something would help.
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Bull Nutria
Member
Usually wild hogs have no gamey taste an old one can be tough and needs to be cooked longer. it is said that when a big boar is in rut they can have a musk in the meat. i have never run intothat problem. the fat is not gamey like deer and has no wild flavor.usually younger hogs say 125lbs or smaller are the best eating regardless of sex. sows are usually a better bet if you are gong to eat one.
hogs can carry some 25 or so diseases so when cleaning them wear rubber gloves and don't breathe in any blood etc. don't let dogs eat the blood or guts while you are cleaning them. ice the washed meat as soon as possible.
try it you will like it!! i grind my hog meat with venison and make ground meat for everything from burgers, casseroles and spaghetti.
bull
hogs can carry some 25 or so diseases so when cleaning them wear rubber gloves and don't breathe in any blood etc. don't let dogs eat the blood or guts while you are cleaning them. ice the washed meat as soon as possible.
try it you will like it!! i grind my hog meat with venison and make ground meat for everything from burgers, casseroles and spaghetti.
bull
Stony
Member
You will hear all kinds of pro's and con's but bottom line is IT'S A PIG!! People seem to have no problem eating some hog that a farmer raised in a pen where it lived it's life up to it's belly in fecal matter...but some won't eat a pig that lives off of natural food in the woods. Hard for me to comprehend !
Just like domesticated hogs, cook them to a minimum of 160 degrees and they are good to go. Feral hogs can be a little tougher and need a little more cooking since they don't stand around like domestic livestock...they actually have to get out and earn a living.
Cooked on a smoker they come out very good and tender. I leave one on the smoker until I get it to around 170 or so and the meat virtually falls off the bone.
Just like domesticated hogs, cook them to a minimum of 160 degrees and they are good to go. Feral hogs can be a little tougher and need a little more cooking since they don't stand around like domestic livestock...they actually have to get out and earn a living.
Cooked on a smoker they come out very good and tender. I leave one on the smoker until I get it to around 170 or so and the meat virtually falls off the bone.
Liberty1776
Member
Bull said it... the 7 of us shot 22 in January and they are all great - no strong or bad tastes. The bigger two, are more like beef though than pork. At any rate, it's mild, maybe slightly sweeter than store bought pork and very very lean cause at least in Texas these dang things seem to spend most of their time running when they aren't eating... Good smoked or roasted. Makes super chili and spaghetti sauce.
Stony
Member
Larger boars can have a stronger taste...but that applies to domestic or feral hogs. The domestic boars are neutered at a young age to avoid this problem but feral hogs obviously avoid that procedure. I leave boars over about 100 lbs. for the buzzards and coyotes.
Barry the Bear
Member
I don't hunt for sport and mounts, although I wouldn't mind a mount one of these days. So I'd eat whatever I killed, since hogs is the main thing I go after of course I eat them, as others ha e stated before me, a pig is a pig.
TimSr
Member
Just like any other, whether its farm raised or wild, it mostly depends on what it eats, its activity levels, and where it lives. And like most animals, the younger the better, and with adult animals, the female over the male.
After eating Ohio cottontails for years, and then eating California cottontails, I very quickly learned this.
After eating Ohio cottontails for years, and then eating California cottontails, I very quickly learned this.
Patocazador
Member
Almost all of the ~20 hogs I've killed were sows under 100 lbs. The biggest was a 160 lb. boar. Only one of them had enough fat to cause me to save anything other than the backstraps and hams.
The majority were tough and stringy and skinny from having a litter of pigs constantly dragging them down. I generally get on my phone and call several people and tell them to meet me at my truck to clean and take the hog. If no one wants it, I let Mother Nature take her course.
The majority were tough and stringy and skinny from having a litter of pigs constantly dragging them down. I generally get on my phone and call several people and tell them to meet me at my truck to clean and take the hog. If no one wants it, I let Mother Nature take her course.
It's NOT the meat. It's the person prepping and cooking it. Ever been to restaurant and had a steak that wasn't good? I've had porterhouses that were like awful shoe leather and sirloins that were fantastic. I'm sure we've all (well those that take their game to a processor) had venison that was tough. This is a result of two things. 1) how long the deer hung to allow the natural enzymes to break down the muscle tissue. 2). How you and the cook prepped and cooked the meat. Well the same rules apply to feral pork.
I no longer pay to have my game processed. I do it myself. I also don't buy steaks at restaurants anymore.
I no longer pay to have my game processed. I do it myself. I also don't buy steaks at restaurants anymore.
Wild pork is great, way better than the bland, hormone and antibiotic filled store meat. It is an organic, free-range animal, many of them feed on acorns and pecans. You have to take care of it in the field, i.e. dressed within a half hour of killing it. If you killed a domestic pig and let it lay there a few hours it wouldn't taste good either. I agree that under 100 lbs are best, but even the bigger ones can be good, or made into ham, sausage or ground pork. I have heard if you ever shoot one that smells bad when you walk up to it, leave it there. Never had that happen though.
Slow cooking for hours at 225 degrees works, make sure it is 150-160 degrees.
Slow cooking for hours at 225 degrees works, make sure it is 150-160 degrees.
FREERANGETIME!
Member
Lots of good advice here.
The general rules regarding wild game are still true with feral hogs, and it is more in the preparation than anything else, my personal favorite is hog sausage, you can season it to your own preference and grind it to your own preferred consistency and fat to lean ratio, great for spaghetti sauce or breakfast sausage, pizza topping, etc.
I have also had hams, chops and loins from feral hogs, all good when prepared right, but the rib racks when left in a crock pot with a 50/50 mix of water and BBQ sauce until the meat falls off the bone is fantastic.
I also take great satisfaction in the knowledge that I prepare my own truly "free range, organic" meat and know when I am eating it and feeding it to family members that it is "free range, organic" on a level that meat in the grocery store with that label on the package cant compare to.
The general rules regarding wild game are still true with feral hogs, and it is more in the preparation than anything else, my personal favorite is hog sausage, you can season it to your own preference and grind it to your own preferred consistency and fat to lean ratio, great for spaghetti sauce or breakfast sausage, pizza topping, etc.
I have also had hams, chops and loins from feral hogs, all good when prepared right, but the rib racks when left in a crock pot with a 50/50 mix of water and BBQ sauce until the meat falls off the bone is fantastic.
I also take great satisfaction in the knowledge that I prepare my own truly "free range, organic" meat and know when I am eating it and feeding it to family members that it is "free range, organic" on a level that meat in the grocery store with that label on the package cant compare to.
der Teufel
Member
I have yet to encounter one that wasn't tasty. My practice is to use the smaller ones (less than 125#) for grilling and such. Between 125-170 Lbs or so, I put them on the smoker. If they're much over 170 they go through the grinder and become ground meat or sausage.
alsaqr
Member
i hunt and trap wild hogs year around. Nearly every wild hog i kill is field dressed and given to someone who needs the meat. Some are skinned.
Well cared for and well prepared wild hog meat is very good. Every complaint of "bad hog meat" i've investigated turned out to be rotten or contaminated hog meat.
Hog meat will spoil in a butcher shop cooler. i gave a fat 212 pound field dressed sow to a man who later complained of "strong tasting" hog meat. He brought me a piece of the meat; it was rotten and stank. The butcher kept the hog in his cooler for 17 days before processing.
In the summer one needs to be very careful with wild hog carcasses. When the temperature is over 80 F one has about four hours to get the meat cooled or it will start to spoil.
i see guys hauling intact hogs around all day long in +90 F heat. They contaminate the meat with dirt from the skin, rupture the innards while field dressing, etc.
If you're going to skin a hog do so prior to field dressing.
Well cared for and well prepared wild hog meat is very good. Every complaint of "bad hog meat" i've investigated turned out to be rotten or contaminated hog meat.
Hog meat will spoil in a butcher shop cooler. i gave a fat 212 pound field dressed sow to a man who later complained of "strong tasting" hog meat. He brought me a piece of the meat; it was rotten and stank. The butcher kept the hog in his cooler for 17 days before processing.
In the summer one needs to be very careful with wild hog carcasses. When the temperature is over 80 F one has about four hours to get the meat cooled or it will start to spoil.
i see guys hauling intact hogs around all day long in +90 F heat. They contaminate the meat with dirt from the skin, rupture the innards while field dressing, etc.
If you're going to skin a hog do so prior to field dressing.
der Teufel
Member
If you're going to keep hog meat around, freeze it. If you left a piece of beef in your fridge for two weeks it would probably go bad. Hog meat is not like deer, you can't "age" it. The hog fat will go rancid quickly.
I live in Florida, so I understand the hog problem and do what I can to harvest as many as I can. But before you leave a carcass to be claimed by nature please check to see if there is an organization like what we have here in Lakeland. It is called www.wildgamefoodbank.com, they take donations of unwanted wild game, hogs,deer, and fish to help support local soup kitchens and food banks.
kanook
Member
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Here is a little video that could help your decision https://youtu.be/6p5x0nxtqVs
I have approx. 3 hogs in the freezer waiting for the July 4th BBQ
I have approx. 3 hogs in the freezer waiting for the July 4th BBQ
As far as aging feral hog, der Teufel is "somewhat" correct. You can hang hogs. But the best method (for me) especially for large hogs (300-400+ lbs) is to soak them in a brine for about 5-7 days. Small hogs only need a day or two. All my hogs get the 12-24 hr smoke treatment with apple or cherry. But that's just my preference.
Stony
Member
Backstraps for dinner tomorrow
This gal was waiting for me in the woods this morning....#539....
The legs went in the freezer and the backstrap is waiting in the fridge for grilling tomorrow. I'll put it in a marinade this evening and let it soak overnight.
This gal was waiting for me in the woods this morning....#539....
The legs went in the freezer and the backstrap is waiting in the fridge for grilling tomorrow. I'll put it in a marinade this evening and let it soak overnight.
TimSr
Member
Stoney, I hope that truck never ends up at a crime scene! I've seen enough blood on that tailgate so many times, that you could probably drag it behind a boat for chum. 
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Wild pork is fantastic! They're ugly, nasty, stinking critters but fortunately, all that peels off with the hide.
Stony
Member
TimSr.....No doubt that truck has been through a lot!, but I don't think I could take it fishing yet. 6 yrs. ago there was not a dent in the truck...now every fender on it is looking pretty bad. It spends a lot of time pushing stuff out of it's way in the woods and has definitely seen a lot of action on that tailgate. I could show you pic's of a bunch of deer on it as well as hogs. I consider that my sacrificial truck and I have another one to take it's place when the woods finally get the best of it. I keep some of the empty feed bags to cover the tailgate when I am doing surgery on the hogs.
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