Eating Wild Hog

[ThatDUDE]

Where are you located?

Out in Utah. My buddies and I have wanted to chase hogs, but the cost has been prohibitive.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Out in Utah. My buddies and I have wanted to chase hogs, but the cost has been prohibitive.

That's not terribly far. I have a place on the coast, pretty unique situation but we have a blast, could be fun to have a couple guests.

However, the cost isn't much if you're willing to travel and enjoy camping and such. There's some public in Texas with plenty of hogs but I've not hunted any of it. Take a look at Sam Houston National Forest, maybe Granger Lake. If a hunting license is required a NR Texas license doesn't cost much. You won't run into many people after deer season. Texas does have some drawn hog hunts too, also cheap ($3 app) if you want more of a sure thing and more structure, but the apps don't open back up til July.

 

[Patriot2]

ground wild hog is excellent in my limited experience...........

 

[Stalker69]

Deer don't always eat the best things ever, either. We have seen them eat our toilet paper after taking a dumps. And going to check a few times most I believe ate the dump itself. Cause they was gone.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Deer don't always eat the best things ever, either. We have seen them eat our toilet paper after taking a dumps. And going to check a few times most I believe ate the dump itself. Cause they was gone.

Seen a pic of a doe eating a snake a few months ago. Lol

 

[diamond10x]

Grew up in Texas and we ate them regularly growing up and even now. I love wild pork. I now have my family ship me a couple pigs if I’m not going to be able to make a trip down there. Only thing I don’t like about them is their ability to dull an edge and usually being pretty lean, making homemade bacon doesn’t come out as nicely as domestic.

I’ve had a few that ended up tasting like they smell, but that’s because they weren’t very well cared for. If they have piss all over the hide/skin and you leave them hanging in it or rub the same knife through that rutty/wallowy hair and then cut the meat, that’s what you’ll end up with. No different than a rutted up buck or bull of any of the deer species.

People freaked out that they’ll eat carrion, I have news for you… so do chickens but I bet you’ll still stuff those nasty things down your gullet.

 

[Bolt]

I've had trichinosis twice from wild pork. Once was frozen for months and cooked for hours in crockpot. My days of eating wild pork are over.

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[Mike D Texas]

Not sure how this is related to what I was asking.

People are freaked out about eating wild hog because they eat carrion.

So what? Have people seen what chickens eat? How about catfish? There’s plenty of animals that eat dead stuff. Doesn’t make them gross for us to eat.


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[JFK]

People are freaked out about eating wild hog because they eat carrion.

So what? Have people seen what chickens eat? How about catfish? There’s plenty of animals that eat dead stuff. Doesn’t make them gross for us to eat.


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Ok. That’s what I thought you meant to say. Doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve even shot one off a dead cow once. It was a healthy young boar and the meat was excellent.

 

[Team4LongGun]

I have eaten a lot as well, all the while being told I was “disgusting” by hunting partners. The fact that the meat gets a bad rap is silly. IMO you can’t treat it like a store bought pig. Meaning if you cut a chop and cook it to 165 degrees over a hot fire it is noticeably tougher. With that said crock pot and smoker recipes are great. Last year I did a copycat honey backed ham brine and glaze and it turned out great. Done whole pigs, Boston butts, made sausage pretty much everything. Loading a few pics from cooking them over the years

Last photo, with peppers and onions looks amazing. Recipe?

 

[ThatDUDE]

That's not terribly far. I have a place on the coast, pretty unique situation but we have a blast, could be fun to have a couple guests.

However, the cost isn't much if you're willing to travel and enjoy camping and such. There's some public in Texas with plenty of hogs but I've not hunted any of it. Take a look at Sam Houston National Forest, maybe Granger Lake. If a hunting license is required a NR Texas license doesn't cost much. You won't run into many people after deer season. Texas does have some drawn hog hunts too, also cheap ($3 app) if you want more of a sure thing and more structure, but the apps don't open back up til July.

Thanks for some of those suggestions I will have to look into some of them more closely.

I have three really close friends and we have always talked about trying to go chase hogs. I would love to find a place that didn’t cost an arm and a leg to chase them. I know we would be game for camping to chase them.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Thanks for some of those suggestions I will have to look into some of them more closely.

I have three really close friends and we have always talked about trying to go chase hogs. I would love to find a place that didn’t cost an arm and a leg to chase them. I know we would be game for camping to chase them.

I took a quick look at the regs, you'd need a NR hunting license for hunting on public but don't need a license for private. My place would be considered private. If you wanted to hunt public the NR annual license is $315 and that includes everything huntable, deer, turkey, etc. However it looks like you could do Special for cheaper or a 5 day Special for $48. https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/...hunting-licenses-and-permits/hunting-licenses

 

[OutdoorEdventure]

If it lasts the sniff test I’ll rip the backstraps and loins for me. Dog food for the rest. Shoot lots of hogs in TX.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Pigs in Northern California we always just made chorizo out of them. Same the with the Javelina here in AZ now.

 

[JasonT]

Lots of people really like ducks and they are always on wastewater lagoons. We have a wastewater plant where I work and and ducks always show up on the waste sludge lagoon, eating away.

 

[UA_Blake]

Last photo, with peppers and onions looks amazing. Recipe?

Man that’s a great question and I’m not sure I can recall all of it. I know I stuffed the cavity with onions, bell peppers of each color, and pineapples. I think the outside was seasoned with a combo of Meatchurch Gospel and brown sugar. I picked the meat and mixed it in with the stuffing and it was outstanding. Then it went on the smoker for sometime without being wrapped, then I pulled it and wrapped the whole thing in foil to finish. Pig was probably in the 30-40 lb range on the hoof.

 

[rbljack]

For those of us who do eat it, can someone describe how they make a decent BBQ out of a front or rear shoulder please? Ive enjoyed lots of sausage and brauts. And Ive had decent results making pulled pork from it if I use the crockpot and then add my BBq sauce afterwards. But I have failed miserably when trying to use the smoker on wild hog. Turns out super dry and not very good. Is the secret that I need to brine it first? Necessary?

Ive turned out some great pork butt and ribs with domestic pig, but am not having any success when I throw a wild hog quarter on the smoker.

 

[UA_Blake]

For those of us who do eat it, can someone describe how they make a decent BBQ out of a front or rear shoulder please? Ive enjoyed lots of sausage and brauts. And Ive had decent results making pulled pork from it if I use the crockpot and then add my BBq sauce afterwards. But I have failed miserably when trying to use the smoker on wild hog. Turns out super dry and not very good. Is the secret that I need to brine it first? Necessary?

Ive turned out some great pork butt and ribs with domestic pig, but am not having any success when I throw a wild hog quarter on the smoker.

My opinion, you have to re-calibrate the expirations compared to a domestic pig in terms of the end product. Plan for something that will chop apart as opposed to pull apart, based on my experience. Still delicious just a different thing. I brine and also wrap in bacon to help manage moisture. I smoke for an hour or two then wrap in foil to finish which also helps manage moisture. I do not end up with something dry when I use that approach.

 

[JFK]

For those of us who do eat it, can someone describe how they make a decent BBQ out of a front or rear shoulder please? Ive enjoyed lots of sausage and brauts. And Ive had decent results making pulled pork from it if I use the crockpot and then add my BBq sauce afterwards. But I have failed miserably when trying to use the smoker on wild hog. Turns out super dry and not very good. Is the secret that I need to brine it first? Necessary?

Ive turned out some great pork butt and ribs with domestic pig, but am not having any success when I throw a wild hog quarter on the smoker.

Same. Have not had good luck smoking it. I do a lot of braising. If you don’t want a traditional braised meat texture you can pull it then broil for a few minutes to get it crispy. If I was going to smoke it, I’d smoke it for several hours then transfer into a deep dish with some apple juice, tent that with foil and put it in the even till tender. They just don’t have the fat in them to treat like domestic pork and basically a different meat all together.

 

[Amos Keeto]

For those of us who do eat it, can someone describe how they make a decent BBQ out of a front or rear shoulder please? Ive enjoyed lots of sausage and brauts. And Ive had decent results making pulled pork from it if I use the crockpot and then add my BBq sauce afterwards. But I have failed miserably when trying to use the smoker on wild hog. Turns out super dry and not very good. Is the secret that I need to brine it first? Necessary?

Ive turned out some great pork butt and ribs with domestic pig, but am not having any success when I throw a wild hog quarter on the smoker.

Okee, dokee! I'm not gonna rush out to kill a feral to eat, but if pushed, I'm not averse to it. I've eaten quite a few over the last 73 years!
The "best" I've eaten were smaller. Most fit in a smoker whole!

I always start by rubbing down whatever pig or part I'm cooking with red pepper, black pepper and garlic powder. No salt! Salt draws moisture out!
I start with the smoker as hot as possible. The thermometer on my smoker tops out at 500°. I start out above that with a rip roaring fire.
Cheapest BBQ sauce I can find and cut it in half with apple cider vinegar.
Throw meat on fire!
30 minutes, turn and baste with BBQ mixture.
30 minutes, turn and baste.
I do this for 2 hours, so about an hour on each side.
By that time the fire has burned down to a more manageable level. Probably 300° to 400°.
Pull out meat. By this time it should be (literally) black on the outside.
EDIT: "what you've done here is seal in moisture and create that smoke "bark". It will be soft and edible when the meat is done."

Wrap in at least 3 layers of heavy foil, pour in remaining BBQ liquid and return to smoker.
Here's where I start tending the fire.
Try to maintain a temp of 250°/350° for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove from smoker! Enjoy!

NOTE: if you're attempting to cook a small hog whole, be cautious with the ribs.
Check the ribs often until they start to look "done". Cover ribs only with foil.
You can even remove them if you think it's necessary. You can always wrap them and stick them back in the smoker later to finish cooking.
So far, simply covering the ribs with a layer of foil has keep them from being incinerated until the temp drops down.
ANY time you're cooking thin pieces of meat, reduce temp and time as necessary to keep from burning it.

Smallest hog (pig?) I ever cooked dressed out at 3 pounds!
Went on the smoker for the last blast furnace of heat. Wrapped ribs on first turn and came out if the smoker at about 2 hours! Perfect!
Gave it to the landowner who had allowed me to hunt. All he could do was complain there was too much bone and he couldn't keep his wife's grubby fingers off of it!
They ate it all at one sitting just about the time it cooled enough to handle...so hot off the smoker!

AND.... I won't deny that properly cleaned and properly cooked feral is delicious.
....and I just don't touch those big, nasty ones!