Myths about hog meat

[K80]

Comon' now PLP you know a BOAR HOG aint worth eatin They are RANK

Why don't you offer up advice? I just checked and you voted that you don't believe it is ethical to leave a hog lying and here is you chance to inform some folks and help put more of the meat to use but you just joke, I don't get it. With 60% of the folks in this forum not believing that it is ethical I expected more responses in this thread. There has been a few to offer some good advice but most post in here are folks that would like to learn.

To those that have offered advice thank you and ask that you keep it coming.

 

[capt stan]

Why don't you offer up advice? I just checked and you voted that you don't believe it is ethical to leave a hog lying and here is you chance to inform some folks and help put more of the meat to use but you just joke, I don't get it. With 60% of the folks in this forum not believing that it is ethical I expected more responses in this thread. There has been a few to offer some good advice but most post in here are folks that would like to learn.

To those that have offered advice thank you and ask that you keep it coming.

Been thru this gauntlet many a times on here. Some folks will not listen or try because"daddy said so, so it's true" I have converted many folks who were raised big hogs and boars ain't with draggin. Over to eating um' up.

Feel free to give me a call if you like 912-572-2679. There is no secret, just plain ol' comon sense and taking care of the meat after the kill. There is no finer eating. I'd rather kill a hog (BIG ONE THATS RANK) to eat then a deer any day of the week. It's just o'l wives tales nothing more. Stan

 

[Jim Thompson]

Been thru this gauntlet many a times on here. Some folks will not listen or try because"daddy said so, so it's true" I have converted many folks who were raised big hogs and boars ain't with draggin. Over to eating um' up.

Feel free to give me a call if you like 912-572-2679. There is no secret, just plain ol' comon sense and taking care of the meat after the kill. There is no finer eating. I'd rather kill a hog (BIG ONE THATS RANK) to eat then a deer any day of the week. It's just o'l wives tales nothing more. Stan

then post as much info as you can. cause like I said I have NEVER eaten a piece of wild hog that was worth it...and again I have eaten it every way possible and cooked and killed by folks from all walks of life.

 

[capt stan]

then post as much info as you can. cause like I said I have NEVER eaten a piece of wild hog that was worth it...and again I have eaten it every way possible and cooked and killed by folks from all walks of life.

Jim, you have an open invitation to come eat any time you like! bring the side dish brother..we'll have a party. (just put some shoes on)

 

[chambers270]

I ahve never eaten wild pork that tasted bad. I have killed sows and baors in summer and winter and they all tasted just fine. I have also killed some nice boars one was 260 (PLP wont believe it but I have a pic) and a few more boars over 100lbs.

All I do is cut the boys off and bleed them out. Dont know why but that is what I was always told and the meat has always been fine. Then I put them in a cooler full of ice and water. I keep it in the cooler for at least 3 days draining the water after about a day or 2 and refilling with water and ice.

Thats all I do: no juice, vinegar, seasoning or anything else in the cooler, just add that stuff when its time to cook. Heck I even fry the backstraps like deer with nothing but salt, pepper and flour adn they taste just as good.

Chris

 

[RJY66]

All I do is cut the boys off and bleed them out. Dont know why but that is what I was always told and the meat has always been fine. Then I put them in a cooler full of ice and water. I keep it in the cooler for at least 3 days draining the water after about a day or 2 and refilling with water and ice.

Chris

The reason your wild hog is good is because of the aging and soaking in the ice water. Blood comes out of the meat and when you change the water you get rid of it.

Cutting off "the boys" makes no difference. Think about it. It is the same logic as cutting the throat of a dead deer or cutting off the scent glands of a dead deer. The animal is dead. The heart is no longer pumping and the endocrine system that transports hormones like testosterone throughout the body shut down when it was killed.

Whatever it is you hope to get rid of by cutting the testicles off is going to stay put and will be removed when you dress the animal.

Farm raised boars are castrated when they are little pigs. Some people today and probably a lot more in years past trap wild hogs, castrate them, and either let them go to hunt later or feed them awhile to "clean them out" before butchering. This works on LIVE animals, not dead ones, but because of confusion over these practices some hunters believe that it works the same with an animal that they took hunting.

 

[devil-dog]

Well, I'll be honest here. I've always thought it sounded a little crazy to cut off the package. I agree with RJY66, the animal is dead... what difference does it make?
Personally, I don't think it does. I think it's just a matter of preference. Some do, some don't.
This has been a good thread though.....

 

[Eddy M.]

I've never killed a "big" boar but the 100-150 lb ones tasted great and no family jewels were removed instantly- just field dressed where they fell and iced ASAP

 

[Wauchula Hog Krew]

I guess everyone has different opinions when it comes to killing a hog on their own.

Personally, I don't think the weight of the hog has too much difference in what is bitter and what isn't. It's all about if that boar has been chasing those sows constantly on high adrenaline and testosterones. Most people tell me "you don't want to kill it because it'll taste bad." Others say "kill it, you just gotta dress it right to take that bitterness out." Then there is a few in between those that suggest a little bit of this and that and leaving something out.

When it comes down to me killing one, I like to go for the biggest one. In my opinion, they all stink!!! But lately, I just have my dogs catch those boars and my cousin and I will remove the nuts. Pen it up. Fatten him up for 2 months. Then kill it.

RJY66 couldn't have said it better. It makes absolutely no difference in removing the "jewels" when it's dead. You're just in luck that the testosterones didn't get high and spoil the meat, that's all.

Definite recommendations (my opinion):

Boars with the package options

*Castrate, pen it, fatten it up 2 months, kill it
*Castrate, release on a hunting land and catch it in another month or 2
*Kill them, ice it up for 2-4 days with daily water change (make sure most of the blood has been drained away from the meat)
*Marinate it whatever way to whatever satisfies you the most

Can't go wrong with any of that!

 

[Robk]

smoked a shoulder from a 150+ boar that I shot about a month and a half ago night before last... great eating, did a shoulder from one of my deer from last season last night. the wife took the left overs from both, pulled the meat, made her homemade bbq sauce and put them both in the crock pot today and it was sandwiches for dinner tonight. Only reason I don't care to shoot them over 200lbs is I'm too fat, lazy and old to wrestle them out of the woods by myself anymore. I mostly hunt solo and deep in there.


Rob

 

[Echo]

I've been hunting and eating wild hogs for a long time and 90% of them have been excellent table fare! I like deer meat but I honestly don't think it can hold a candle to the flavor of a fat wild pig....not even close really.

I have found the key to how good the hog will taste whether it is a boar or a sow is the overall condition of the hog when you kill it. I've killed quite a few during good acorn years that were so fat and sleek you'd swear they had been laying up in a pen somewhere. These are always good eating irregardless of size!

Always field dress and cool and clean your pigs as soon as possible! Do not let them lay around in the back of a truck any longer than neccessary. After I've quatered them out I treat the meat like any other, which usually means packed with ice in a cooler anywhere from 12 - 48 hours depending on whether I'm hunting close to home or not. I never soak deer or hog meat in ice water and I don't believe it is neccessary or helpful at all unless you like the looks of pale washed-out meat.

Wild hogs taste great to me and my family and a prime pig in the back of my truck is always a fantastic ending to a hunt!

 

[fishndinty]

Soaking bleeds the meat out very effectively. I've been told it's more important the bigger the pig.

 

[Public Land Prowler]

There are glands that contribute to the "wild" taste,and the oysters do help to make those glands make him smell stronger.

It does nothing to cut them out upon death.There are a few reason people castrate a boar when he is young.

The main reason for cutting a boar is to decrease testosterone.Which does help keep the musky smell down,but mainly to make him lazy and only want to eat and sleep.Making him tender and big.lol

Some guys who have hog guiding services like to cut them because it makes them not want to fight,and they won't cut on trees.Meaning they won't damage the cutters.So they can get their clients a boar with big cutters,and he doesn't have the musky smell.That smell can for the most part be taken out by soaking with vinegar.

 

[Public Land Prowler]

Been thru this gauntlet many a times on here. Some folks will not listen or try because"daddy said so, so it's true" I have converted many folks who were raised big hogs and boars ain't with draggin. Over to eating um' up.

Feel free to give me a call if you like 912-572-2679. There is no secret, just plain ol' comon sense and taking care of the meat after the kill. There is no finer eating. I'd rather kill a hog (BIG ONE THATS RANK) to eat then a deer any day of the week. It's just o'l wives tales nothing more. Stan

It is a secret..Stan cuts the tail off as quick as the hog hits the dirt,and that's how come his boars don't taste bad....Any calls yet Stan?

 

[11P&YBOWHUNTER]

I have no problems with the big hogs...boar or sow. Dennis Moss in Hinesville can cut the best pork chops from the bigger hogs and my whole family thinks they are the cats meow...tasting much better than store bought. I would love to get a saw like the one he has, but until then, i will take the big hogs to him and let him cut them up. Sausage, burger, roasts, chops and so on. The big ones make fine table fare.

I grew up on deer meat, and i have said it many times before, i will shoot a hog over a deer any day of the week...unless the deer is sporting an impressive set of antlers. Venison is good but for some reason, wild pork much better.

Jim, your welcome to come try a sampler platter any time, shoes or socks are a must though, just as Stan has said. Bring your own beer,...all we got in the house is Hard liquor, Jack, Jim and Capt. Morgan.

 

[C.Killmaster]

A few points on diseases and feral hogs. Trichinella is a parasite that encysts in the meat. It can be killed by cooking to a temperature of 170 degrees or by freezing. Freezing alone only works on southern pigs as the Trichinella in pigs from northern states has adapted to colder temperatures.

The MOST IMPORTANT CONCERN with feral hogs is BRUCELLOSIS which is present in ~25% of pigs in GA. Brucellosis is usually contracted during field dressing or butchering without gloves. This is a particulary nasty bacterial disease that is often difficult to treat in humans. As far as consumption, brucellosis can be killed by cooking to 170 degrees. You should always WEAR GLOVES when cleaning and processing feral hogs. Be especially careful around reproductive organs as that's where the majority of bacteria are shed. Brucellosis is primarily a venereal disease in feral hogs.

Brucellosis, trichinella, and pseudorabies are virtually eliminated from domestic pigs and are usually only found in feral hogs. Pseudorabies is not transmissible to humans, but can be a concern for hog dogs.

 

[crackerdave]

Great thread - a lot of good info!

 

[Thebody]

Here's a myth I experienced.

I put a hind quarter from the first hog I killed in the crock pot (no need to give the recipe) it stunk the whole house up, but I tried it anyway and it was fine after it was cooked. The hog was shot in the chest broadside, a little back and ran off squeling and died.

The next one I shot...and all others (3) were all head shots and smelled like store bought pork while cooking.

All were sows.

Is it true that the adrenaline causes the meat to smell bad?

 

[Big Mike]

I've shot a lot of hogs, both boars and sows in both hot and cold weather. Mostly hot to blazing hot because I live in Florida. None less than 125 lbs and a handful over 300 lbs; the bigger the better for me. I've never cut the jewels. Never field dressed them. Always loaded it and took it to the cleaning station. Sometimes quickly after the kill and sometimes not so quickly. I've soaked some and others went into the freezer without soaking. Never had a bad tasting hog yet. At a conservative estimated 90 hogs taken, I've broken almost all the "rules" that I've ever heard from anyone regarding hogs. Am I just extremely lucky?

 

[Public Land Prowler]

I've shot a lot of hogs, both boars and sows in both hot and cold weather. Mostly hot to blazing hot because I live in Florida. None less than 125 lbs and a handful over 300 lbs; the bigger the better for me. I've never cut the jewels. Never field dressed them. Always loaded it and took it to the cleaning station. Sometimes quickly after the kill and sometimes not so quickly. I've soaked some and others went into the freezer without soaking. Never had a bad tasting hog yet. At a conservative estimated 90 hogs taken, I've broken almost all the "rules" that I've ever heard from anyone regarding hogs. Am I just extremely lucky?

Florida hogs must taste better..lol..Seriously I have the same experience.You just got to know how to prepare and cook it.

The body..IDk about that.I have wondered myself..I have noticed some of the boars that go down in their tracks don't smell as strong,but I have taken 1 or 2 that plain stunk...Ice'd em down with a little vinegar,and they were good to go.