wks41
Senior Member
This ham has to be 15lbs. How do you guys cook yours.
I'm going to have to sort of, kind of, disagree with with Hawgrider.
My experience has been that wild pork is not near as fat as domestic pork, and that low and slow produces and incredibly dry, mouth filling product.
I bite my tongue when I say it, but I think wild pork is better done with crock pot method which is described on an adjoining thread.
If you want to do it outside, I would definitely foil it (also described in an adjoining thread) with plenty of liquid -- apple juice, Wild Turkey, or BBQ sauce (or any other liquid that is not too strong and suits your taste).
Also, my experience has been, your mileage may differ, is that wild pork is a little stronger than "the other white meat" and may offend some palates. So on this basis I suggest a moister method to cut some of the strong taste.
Prepared correctly (this is mostly caring for the meat properly after the kill), wild pork is IMO milder, sweeter, and a finer meat than store bought piggie.
Low and slow cooks it just fine in the smoker. You want the interior temp of the smoker no hotter than 225F , and you want to pull the meat when the internal temp of the ham or shoulder is 160F at the innermost part. It will come up to 165F all by itself.
I completely agree about the marinade. We did one with apple juice, orange juice for some acid, and a secret spice mix last time.
Then we rubbed it down with a secret rub (hint: sage, cayenne, black pepper, salt, brown sugar) and used an injector to send some of the liquid marinade inside it.
It was simply the finest wild game I have ever had the pleasure to eat. I probably ate 3 lbs that day!!!! Sonny woulda slapped me for eating that much at his restaurant!
slowly on the smoker indirect heat till it falls off the bone.
Good advice.
Flavor of wild pork depends on several factors. Size, age and sex. Just like deer.
IF you have a 15# ham off a boar hog he was pretty good size and could be really strong. Sow not so strong.
My suggestion would be to slice off a little and pan fry it to test its palatability.