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| One of Us |
I've always shot sows to eat; never boars. However, I found a place that does a real nice job processing hogs and will do smoked hams. However, I took in an average sized sow and they it was too small for a ham. Anyone have any experience trying to eat a boar? Would it make an edible ham? I'd do backstraps and ribs and the rest sausage. Worth taking in a boar -- what about a young boar? Thanks for your comments. | ||
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Personally of the hundreds we've shot and many that we've eaten, I never had one that wasn't very acceptable table fare if you considered the age of the animal when cooking it. Think slow cooking. As a matter of fact, the only pig we ever found to be inedible was a large sow that was so tough you just couldn't eat it, that may have been a result of her gutted carcass freezing solid just after we finished gutting her and leaving her outside. Yes, we did have a cool spell. xxxxxxxxxx When considering US based operations of guides/outfitters, check and see if they are NRA members. If not, why support someone who doesn't support us? Consider spending your money elsewhere. NEVER, EVER book a hunt with BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING or JEFF BLAIR. I have come to understand that in hunting, the goal is not the goal but the process. | |||
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Just an " FYI ".. I just watched a food show : Bizarre Foods, w/ Andrew Zimmern ; Austin Texas ". http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods They had a very brief segment showcasing ( Owner Ex-Chef ) Countryside Farms. " ...In addition to the animals he raises, Bonneu also harvests destructive feral hogs that ravage his neighbors' properties near the farm. They're not exactly the wild boars of rural France, but they don't taste like domestic pork, either. He takes them when they're still relatively small and has them processed into table cuts at a local facility (he isn't licensed for pork processing).... " Countryside Farms: http://www.austinchronicle.com...d/2009-11-20/918744/ PAPI | |||
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Many a boar have been consumed by yours truly. Gato is right about slow cooking. They tend to be really lean, so you need to be careful not to overcook. I really like my crock pot for wild hog meat as it locks in all of the juices -- particularly critical when the meat is lean. "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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I've only shot one boar that wasn't fit to eat. And it wasn't really fit to be very close to. It was also the largest pig I've ever shot. It's head is on my office wall. I personally prefer a slightly larger pig than many for taking meat off of. Some will say you want around 125#. Personally, I'd like them a bit bigger. More meat for less work. The very best pig I ever ate was a 200# sow. Just take good care of the meat when you process it and stay away from anything that smells nasty when you walk up to it. LWD | |||
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Got a buddy that waits for a big boar--175 and up, preferably 200 and up--to do just what you are describing--smoked/cured hams, pork chops, etc. It's good stuff!!! An old pilot, not a bold pilot, aka "the pig murdering fool" | |||
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I've found this to be the case as well, boar or sow. The biggest boar I ever shot was delicious and 300 plus. And I've eaten smallish sows that were STRONG tasting. | |||
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| One of Us |
Thanks for the information. Sounds like I should have shot a boar. | |||
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Still working my way through the boar I took in NC last fall (guide estimated it at about 800 lbs. I couldn't begin to guess the weight, myself). He's a bit too tough in roast form for conventional cooking. Sausages have all been fantastic (although I should've added more fat). Need to find a solid day off to try and bbq a shoulder roast for 12 or so hrs and make some pulled pork. | |||
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Of the many boars and sows my family has eaten over the years, only one was not fit for consumption. This hog had been feasting on dead fish from a fish kill. He tasted and smelled like dead fish!  Even the rank smelling boars, once cleaned and skinned were very good table fare. If you have doubts about a particular hog, you can take a slice out of the hind quarter and cook it up and see how it tastes and smells. If you look at this hogs hind quarter you will see were I cut a small hunk of meat and cooked it, prior to cleaning the animal. He was very good in the oven or fried (after the meat hammer)  | |||
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Many guides in CA only want you shooting boars. I have shot 4 or 5 boars over 175 and another 4 or 5 boars over 200 and all tasted great.     Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Mike, you've got to stop posting these photos! Dang, hungry again.....  "Ignorance you can correct, you can't fix stupid." JWP If stupidity hurt, a lot of people would be walking around screaming. Semper Fidelis "Building Carpal Tunnel one round at a time" | |||
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It depends more on what they have been eating. If they are feeding on crops and feed corn most will taste just fine. If you shoot a roaming boar feeding on carrion that is a different story. If you take time to handle the meat properly most will eat great. Here are some tips: WILD MEAT SOAK and TENDERIZER Skin and Debone or Quarter the animals out and place the meat in a large ice chest with the following mixture: ICE WATER!! Along with ½ cup of vinegar and a medium or large (18 - 20 oz) size container or real lemon juice. Soak large portions of meat for 2 or even 3 days - changing the water as needed and keeping the water ICE COLD and all meat covered with the ice water. Soak the meat till it turns white and all blood is leached out. NOTE, if the meat begins to darken or turn blue then you got too much vinegar! The meat is not spoiled!! Change the ice water and reduce or eliminate the vinegar. There is room for all of God's creatures....right next to the mashed potatoes. http://texaspredatorposse.ipbhost.com/   | |||
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lavaca, Where is the place that does the hams? Robert Robert If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy. Thomas Jefferson, 1802 | |||
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When shooting pigs for the table, I make no distinction between boars and sows, except I never shoot sows with piglets. I have shot several boars from 250lbs to 285lbs, verivied by actually weigh them before gutting them. I have shot 2 boars over 300lbs, one weighed 330lbs on my scale, the other coule not be weighed as I could not get a vehicle in to recover it. The wife and I processed it just like you would an elk and packet it back to the vehicle. Both of these bit boars were very good to eat. I have shot boars in the rut that stunk so bad you could hardly stand near them. After skinning the meat was excellent, no smell, no bad taste. Wild pig is my favorite 4 legged game meat. Many times I shoot them in the summer here in Texas when it is 100* plus. I just gut, skin, and break them down and put them on ice fairly quick. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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Repeated from a previous thread: I don't think they get too big to eat, although typically sows are better than boars. Now: having said that, about eight years ago my son shot a boar of ~225# on a Texas public draw hunt. He "stuck one in the ear" and dropped the pig in its tracks. When I got to him he smelled like a rotten creosoted post. I wasn't sure he was going to be edible at all. I quartered him up and left him on ice for about three days, keeping the water drained off. When the time came to process the boar, I took fat from just above the root of the tail, rendered it down and cooked some of the boar's backstrap in his own lard, figuring if he was going to stink that should do it, and if he stunk I would save myself a lot of work by finding out early... Other than the meat being a bit chewy, you couldn't tell the difference between it and pork from a pen raised pig. As long as they are killed quickly, iced quickly, and all the glands removed prior to cooking, I sincerely believe they are very fine table fare. Better than whitetail, in my opinion... | |||
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Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to shoot a boar next time and have hams made. Robert: Pracek's processes game including hogs. A lot of places don't process hogs anymore due to State regulaions. They do hams and smoke stuff too. Nice folks to deal with as well. Not cheap, but good. You've probably seen it if you've ever headed South on 59 out of Houston. About 90 miles south. It's at Hilje, just north of Louise. A Shell gas station and a big operation; they expanded recently. | |||
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cut the meat -- if it stinks, don't eat it.. it doesn't get better... thank being said, i've eaten many boars #dumptrump opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club Information on Ammoguide about the416AR, 458AR, 470AR, 500AR What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR. 476AR, http://www.weaponsmith.com | |||
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Stupid question but what would make the meat stink on a fresh hog? I assume of course it was skinned properly and the glandular secretions were not smeared all over. I have only had one boar like this and it was the biggest one I ever shot. Meat tasted fine when cooked but you couldn't get past that musty old board smell. A couple of the places I hunt the pigs will cannibalize any carcass you leave by morning. Happiness is a warm gun | |||
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I have never had any pig meet smell bad after skinning or while cooking. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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me neither...and most of the pigs I shoot are only eating crops for about 3 months of the year...otherwise its acorns and other stuff they can forage Mike Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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