Wild Hog Recipe Help

[Countryguy1982]

my apologies if this is not the right place to post this thread. But it does involve hunting! Going on a hog hunt at the end of the week in eastern tx and always come back with coolers full of meat... I have a couple of issues with cooking and prepping my pork that maybe some of you experts can help a brother out with.

First off. the last few years i have been attempting to make wild hog sausage. Just simple grind and mix in seasoning such as old plantation , bass pro's mountain man , etc. The flavor comes out good once you get your mixing ratio . i prefer a strong sausage so i always alter the directions some. vaccume seal it and patty it out when i am ready to cook it and eat it. My problem with my sausage is it comes out DRY!!!!!!!!! i am talking like trying to eat a teaspoon of ground cinniman dry! i know a few of you will laugh at that .. I cook it as lil as possible , always oil my pan good but i don't know whats going wrong? I want my sausage to be juicy like the packs you get from your local grocery store. What do i need to do to get my sausage like this?


Second: The ribs. on a bigger hog that has some meat on the ribs , i usually save them and try to bbq them. and they just don't come out like anything that you buy from a store! they always get this funny twang taste to them .and me being the big redneck that i am , i am all about BBQ and anything grilled. what are some good preps that i need to do to wild hog ribs before i throw them on the grill ? i want these things to come out like rib countries baby back ribs or your local bbq restaurant! any and all tips and advice will be greatly appreciated !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chas08]

Start by not shooting the big old Boars. Shoot sows, up to about 150 lbs. They are much better eating. What your sausage is missing is Fat. Wild hogs have very little fat on them around here. Buy some pork trimmings from a local butcher shop and mix with the wild hog meat, that will make it juicy.

Some wild hogs just have a funky taste. I'm not sure what can be done about it. I generally never keep a hog that stinks, for table fare. I know that this may sound funny to some folks but I think there is a definite connection to the hog odor and funky tasting meat. Not all hogs have that stink about them. Around here we regard them as vermin, so if I down one that smells bad the 'yotes and buzzards eat good for a day or two. Some folks soak the meat in an icey slush for a few days to draw out the wild taste. I prefer to not mess with the ones that need it.

 

[calaverasslim]

+1 with chas08. I guess we are from the same area but those stinky hogs go into the garbage. Well, I take them out to the wooded area and let the coyotes eat them. Or the buzzards. I shoot only the smaller sows, nothing over 150-175 lbs and give the meat the smell test.

When you grind sausage, buy a pork shoulder and use the fat off of that. Then ur ready to go.

 

[Countryguy1982]

hey buds, thanks for the replies.. Have not been adding any fat to my sausage. always trimmed my meat down and cut the fat away from it. must of been my problem the whole time.... again thanks a bunch will try this on my next batch i make

 

[mrbro]

Instead of adding fat, try some cooked rice. Adds moisture and can be an additional seasoning/flavor element without adding fat or grease to the meat. I'm a big fan of basmati.

 

[pikid89]

you can get pork fat for free (usually) from your local supermarket

thats what we grind in and it works out great...ive fed it to somewhat antihunters and they never even knew the difference

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

If you just want to do some roasting (like say a quarter), what I do is put the quarter in a roasting bag, add some seasoning of any kind, pour in a can of cheap beer, and slow-roast the whole shebang for about three hours.

It's easy, and the meat is tender and tasty.

Of course, as others have suggested, I shoot smaller sows, so they tend to taste the best anyway.

 

[Byrd666]

Not really sure about the sausage but, I did notice a mention of fat missing and fat is a major part of any processed meat.

As far as the ribs go, try briening them overnight in a mixture of salt water, beer and cayenne or jalepeno pepper, not too much pepper though and that should take most of the gamieness out. Or you could try cooking the whole hog in a "Cuban style" pit.

Side note - Haven't seen a lot of hogs out here in my part of East Texas - near Hawkins and Mineola,

 

[Cypress]

On the sausage, definately need to add some fat (15-30%) if you want it like store bought, then don't over grind it. Once through a smaller plate should do it otherwise it turns out mealy. ALWAYS cook the meat well as with any game. Trying to keep it moist by undercooking it is asking for some godawful condition that'll start another brainworm thread. The ribs....well that's still a mystery to me. I usually just pick all the .22 bullets and buckshot out of'em to recycle then feed em to the coyote's.

 

[flipajig]

+1 for adding fat!!! As for BBQ Ribs I have tryed to BBQ them and I have had one set turn out ok. Most of the time they dont have enough fat or meat on them for some good ribs. Most of the time I just grind them up for sausage..

 

[mbt2001]

Get this book. http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Game-Care-Cookery/dp/087349539X

The book is really good, it gives you ideas on the HOW's and WHY's of cooking game.

Also, try to take small hogs, piglets are the best. The "old / big" hogs need a serious marinade.

 

[Sam1911]

I cook it as lil as possible

Yikes.

Please don't cook it "as little as possible!" http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=599605&highlight=brain+worm

 

[mbt2001]

I think he means infrequently...

 

[Sam1911]

I think he means infrequently...

Oh. I got the other impression as he was talking about how to keep it moist and that he errs on the side of rare so he doesn't over-cook it.

"...I cook it as lil as possible , always oil my pan good but i don't know whats going wrong? I want my sausage to be juicy ..."

That would be a recipe for some of the most disagreeable parasites ...

 

[dprice3844444]

http://search.aol.com/aol/search?query=wild+hog+recipes&s_it=keyword_rollover

 

[osprey176]

I hunted hogs,and cooked them for many years in Florida.The first step to good eating ,is good shooting.Kill them with a head shot,a .22 mag works perfectly.They don't run and build up lactic acid in the muscles,making the meat smell and taste rank.Body shot and blood trailed hogs often taste too strong to eat.Gut them as soon as possible,and cool the carcass by stuffing it with bags of ice.I always boned the meat and put it in a cooler full of ice for a few days,draining and replacing the ice daily.This pulls the blood out,and the strong gamey flavor.Then,cut and package the meat,cook or freeze it.The best eating hogs are,in my experience,pregnant sows.Let the boars go,and look for a fat sow.Good luck hunting,and good eating.

 

[sig232]

First thing you want to do is let the meat soak in vinegar water solution for a day or so. Then rinse.

If you like smoked pulled pork put the meat in a big pan and marinate with mojo marinade and veg. oil. Cook it in the smoker 180 degrees for 12 hours. I prefer oak wood with a bit of hickory.

Strain after cooking, the meat will be falling apart. Add sweet baby rays bbq sauce and you've got pulled pork for a while.

 

[35 Whelen]

Welp, since no one mentioned this, I will. First off, I've been killing and eating wild hogs for 25 or so years. Some taste good, others not so much. Most of them had a little of a twang taste to them, but I don't care...I figure that's what pork tasted like before pork was shot full of hormones and raised in confined areas on huge commercial farms.

Anyhow, I shot a sow last November and got to wondering about "curing" pork. I did a little research and came up with the following recipe:

1 1/2 cups of Morton's Tender Quick
2 cups of brown sugar

Thoroughly mix the two ingredients in one gallon of water.

Pour the solution into a pan and place the meat in the solution. Mind you, you must have a large enough container and enough solution to cover the meat. So a gallon of solution is plenty for pork backstrap and tenderloins, but much more, and a larger container will be required for a ham or shoulder. Put the pan in the refrigerator.

The time required to cure the meat varies with the size of the cut. I cured the backstraps in just a few hours. Rack of ribs just a day or so. The hams and shoulders however, I left in the refrigerator for several days...close to a week and turn them over in the pan once a day or so. This is to allow the cure to penetrate the meat as much as possible.

After curing the backstrap, I immediately put it on the smoker and cooked it real slow. After it was finished cooking, I cut the meat up and was SHOCKED to see that the meat was pink in color through and through just like a store-bought ham. I later found out this is due to the nitrites in the curing salt. At any rate, the meat was to die for. Probably the best pork I'd ever eaten up to that point in my life.

When the shoulders and hams had been in the solution for a week or so I smoked them too and likewise they were pink almost to the bone and delicious.

Hope this helps!
35W

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

this time of year, take a good bottle of bourbon, sprinkle a lil bit on hog, drag hog to gut pile and drink the bourbon....dont mess with any hogs especially this time of year, full of ticks, fleas and internal parasites. only good for buzzard food and coyote bait. and I kill em every day in my cattle pastures.

 

[Chuck Dye]

Count me in on adjusting the fat content to avoid dryness.

Try this:

ITALIAN-SWISS SAUSAGE


8½ oz. Salt
2 oz. Sugar
1½ oz. Pepper
1½ oz. Garlic powder

¾ Tablespoon Allspice
½ Tablespoon Nutmeg
¼ Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Quart Burgundy


12½ Pounds Pork
12½ Pounds Beef

I have always had this coarsely ground and stuffed into casings for grilling. The 1:1 pork to beef ratio can be played with, and other meats, including venison, may be used.

 

[flipajig]

One thing that you want to do when cureing pork is cook it untill you reach a inside temp of 157 degrees.
When I cure pork I take it to 160 degrees I dont want to take a chance Backteria in
my meat and like stated above it is AUSUME.

 

[FLAvalanche]

Luckily the pigs I usually shoot are in an orange grove so they are pretty much in there self-marinating. You can actually taste the orange in the meat and people always ask me if I marinate in orange juice.

I usually cook an entire leg. I usually cover it with a good pork rub and cook it on my grill at around 220-250 degrees which is usually with one burner on low and the hood propped open about 1/4 of the way. Keep tabs on internal temperature with a meat thermometer and try not to let it get above 180 degrees. It's going to take about 8 hours to cook an entire leg. I turn it and coat with BBQ sauce ever hour or so.

Cooking wild hog slow is the key. The slower the better and the more juicy it will be.