Hog Hunting - Tasty or

[Itchytriggerfinger]

4 hunts in TN. First time we were new and went for complete butcher package. Sausage was great, loins OK, roasts were not good at all (but the dogs did not choke, nor did they turn it down). I am sure what they eat matters (just like Indiana deer vs Wyoming deer) but I think the butcher and the prep matter too. Every trip after 1st we did ALL SAUSAGE and the butcher had a wonderful seasoning recipe. As I have done more hunting and more processing myself, I would now debone it, bring it home, and make my own sausage. Who dont love sausage.

Was that at Bridge Creek?

 

[Spanky46151]

Personally, I cannot even stand the smell of boar meat being cooked. If you're curious what boar meat tastes like, it tastes pretty much like it smells.

100% For me, that's every meat, including farm-raised. I can tell within 2 minutes of going in the skillet if I'm going to eat it.

 

[yetti462]

I'm kind of surprised an 80 lb. boar would still be good, I would have guessed it would be 50 or under. An 80 lb. corn fed boar is probably similar in age to 50 lb. boar with a more restricted diet though.

I shot one big ole boar that came out of a thicket with a bunch of sows. I cut his nuts out as soon as I killed him, (supposed to help). Butchered that dude and my hands smelled like pi$$ for 3 days. Appetizing!! Marinated a loin steak for 48 hrs, it smelled good. As soon as heat from the grill hit it ,PI$$ smell. I wasted a lot of time butchering that hog. Threw the rest away.

 

[1nderbeard]

I've killed two sows in Florida. I couldn't tell the difference between that sausage and store bought.
I did also kill a male boar and the guide told me not even to waste time butchering it.
In terms of fun though, Hog hunting is some of the best hunting. I really enjoy it.

 

[w_ADAM_d88]

I did a hog hunt a few years back in Florida and it was a blast. The meat was good but there's definitely a difference between farm raised, store bought pork. The sausage was good but very lean, not much fat at all. The chops and loins were also good, but did have a little bit of a gamey taste and again very lean. Could be the way it was processed, could be the "wild" hog. Overall great experience and good meat.

 

[Bzikot]

I have been hog hunting off and on for the last 30 years. Most of them on game ranches. What I can say about how they taste is none of them tasted the same, some where good some not so much. The better tasting ones came from ranches that castrated them and they had there shot before the where released into the ranch, the one that where just running wild from birth could get a little gaming. Other things that I found to effect the taste was what they where eating, that can really vary the taste, more pure breed (pure European) they will change it as well, it will also be a lot more red then more domestic ones. I had summer sausage made from each of them it always seem to be good. Good luck they are very fun to hunt.

 

[Jsomerset]

Some people have more taste buds than others “super tasters” and pick up more desirable or undesirable flavors equally well. I will not eat sheep, lamb or goat. The sheep meat tastes like lanolin and well the goat meat tastes just like a Billy goat smells. The only way I can stomach deer is if it’s been soaked in salt water for 2-3 days before cooking and absolutely can’t stomach deer burger used like hamburger or in chili.

 

[Huzrjim]

My son and I shot two hogs in Texas three years ago. Boar that weighed 105lbs and a sow that was 95. I thought the sow was a bit tastier, but we prepared the meats many different ways and overall I thought it was very tasty!

Link to hunt: Texas Hog Hunt

 

[Tactically Fat]

I don't (yet) have a dog in this hunt....

But if you (plural you, not individual) decide to keep any of your meat - best follow the old guidelines on cooking temperature. The newer lower temperature guidelines are for farm-raised domestic pork - where they've basically eliminated trichina worms from the populations (Thank you to science and vaccinations - pretty amazing what those things can do to keep a population healthy)

The old guidelines should be followed for wild and/or imported pork.

If it *were* me - I'd have everything ground/spiced into sausage.

I really want to hunt from an airboat in FL. I don't want any meat - I just want to help cull. Let the gators and birds have 'em.

 

[Cozy439]

Congrats on the hunt. Did your son (assuming) use that bayonet on that pig?!

I shot mine on the run, hit it right behind the ear and it dropped right there. My son shot his a little farther back. Yes, he did use the bayonet to finish his hog quickly.

 

[pitbulld45]

Hog hunted in Texas and I didn't notice a difference from store bought to what we took in the wild.
One cool thing I found out was if you soak it in milk it will draw the blood out and the backstrap looked like it had been bleached almost.

My son and I are going to Florida next week, cant wait!!! Good luck on your trip.

 

[Cozy439]

Was that at Bridge Creek?

Wilderness Hunting Lodge, Monterey, TN https://wildernesshuntinglodge.com/

 

[roscott]

I’ve hunted and eaten maybe 30-40 hogs in TX and GA, and everything we processed ourselves tasted good, just like farm pigs. Once we took meat to a sketchy processor in GA and it was not as good.

Proper meat care, removing the glands, and clean processing has turned every pig into food my wife loves to eat, and she can be pretty selective about wild game. (Will barely eat venison unless it’s ground.)

Plenty of those have been big boars as well. I’m not discounting those saying they had a nasty boar, but it should be in proper perspective. Most wild pigs are delicious.

 

[Hookeye]

Even w a recurve I want a bit of a hunt.
Consequently, after some YT research, still looking for a place for off season fun.
May end up going to FL by my cuz's place.

 

[bwframe]

I’ve hunted and eaten maybe 30-40 hogs in TX and GA, and everything we processed ourselves tasted good, just like farm pigs. Once we took meat to a sketchy processor in GA and it was not as good.

Proper meat care, removing the glands, and clean processing has turned every pig into food my wife loves to eat, and she can be pretty selective about wild game. (Will barely eat venison unless it’s ground.)

Plenty of those have been big boars as well. I’m not discounting those saying they had a nasty boar, but it should be in proper perspective. Most wild pigs are delicious.

Where are the glands that need removed?

 

[roscott]

Where are the glands that need removed?

This article gives a good description of the location (and is a good read):

The Ground Game: Southern Hogs

The sea breeze was noisily rustling the palm fronds when I heard a slight splash from the freshwater slough just to my south. The water was hidden by thick palmetto ground cover. A trail ran parallel to the slough between prehistoric sand dunes covered by thick palmettos that grew head high in...

tradbow.com

There are glands on the crease of the back legs (would be the back of a human knee) right below the biggest cuts of meat. There are also glands in the “armpits” and in the neck. If you’re quartering the pig, you likely won’t run into the neck glands. The back ones can be hidden under fat in a big pig, but if you cut just below where the big cuts come together you should find it pretty easily. Looks like this:

 

[BigMoose]

I’m going on a hog hunt in May and am wondering if hog is tasty… buddies in TX say it’s horrible and they just stack the bodies and don’t process. Others in the Carolina’s have told me it’s tasty. I’m curious if anyone in the group has had it, enjoyed it, and has suggests on preparation.

Depends on what ones you shoot.
The shoats and piglets are damn tasty...

Old boar meat can be... well its an acquired taste..

Sows are somewhere in between.

The roasts and some boar meat you can BBQ the heck out of and do up pretty good.

Depends on the cook a lot of it.

 

[Dinny]

I killed 3 hogs (schwarzwild) while stationed in Germany. I killed a couple dozen hogs while stationed in Oklahoma. I killed 6 hogs while on temporary duty in Florida. The German butchers knew how to best prepare them. I vowed to only eat small hogs after my experiences in Oklahoma. One of the first ones I killed there was tough as combat boot leather and the meat wasn't especially tasteful.

I agree with the others who say it has alot to do with how they're prepared but sometimes big old nasty boars just need to be left for the vultures.

 

[two70]

This article gives a good description of the location (and is a good read):

The Ground Game: Southern Hogs

The sea breeze was noisily rustling the palm fronds when I heard a slight splash from the freshwater slough just to my south. The water was hidden by thick palmetto ground cover. A trail ran parallel to the slough between prehistoric sand dunes covered by thick palmettos that grew head high in...

tradbow.com

There are glands on the crease of the back legs (would be the back of a human knee) right below the biggest cuts of meat. There are also glands in the “armpits” and in the neck. If you’re quartering the pig, you likely won’t run into the neck glands. The back ones can be hidden under fat in a big pig, but if you cut just below where the big cuts come together you should find it pretty easily. Looks like this:
View attachment 264738

Good information for processing the the hams and neck meat. I'm not sure how much difference it makes when the backstraps and the inner loins from a big boar still taste terrible but for those that can stomach the taste, it can't hurt to remove glands from those areas.

The article also has great information on shot placement which should be very valuable to first time hog hunters.

 

[rhslover]

I've had some from Missouri a few times. I suppose if you were starving it would be ok. But it's at the absolute bottom of taste of any meat of anything else I've tried, wild or domestic.