cooking feral hog

[stodolc]

 I just return from a hog hunt in Texas, this was a life changing experience. Stalking these critters is one of the most exciting hunts I have ever been on.
 After returning home I took the back straps and grilled them, the flavor was excellent until I got to the last bite, it tasted just like they smell. Is there a way to identify what portion will have this taste so that it can be trimmed off or some other way of soaking the meat to get rid of this taste. It was not coming from the fat because I left some on the entire length of the cut and it was excellent until the last bite on what I believe was the back end of only one strap.
   This was off a 60 lb sow in case that is important.

[elmer]

I have never noticed any gamey taste to sows or young boars. What I normally do with largers boars is to keep them in the cooler for about 5 days in icy water. I keep draining some of the water each day and adding ice until the water coming out is fairly clear (negligible blood). I make sure I add plenty of ice to keep the water extremely cold because it would be a shame to ruin the meat. On really gamey boars you can add vinegar to the water.

Where did you hunt in Texas. Tell us about the hunt!

[S_J_KENNELS]

I have never noticed any gamey taste to sows or young boars. What I normally do with largers boars is to keep them in the cooler for about 5 days in icy water. I keep draining some of the water each day and adding ice until the water coming out is fairly clear (negligible blood). I make sure I add plenty of ice to keep the water extremely cold because it would be a shame to ruin the meat. On really gamey boars you can add vinegar to the water.

Where did you hunt in Texas. Tell us about the hunt!

I do the same, except I leave all hogs of any size in the cooler for 5 to 7 days. Or untill the water runs clear. Alot of the gamey taste depends what the hogs have been eating. If killed in or around a grain field the hogs should be good. If they have been eating mesquite beans, cactus, and other native foods the gamey tase is there more. Also if the hogs have been fighting or in some cases caught with dogs the musky smell may be there. I have caught them with dogs now for 10 years and have had only a couple of hogs that I would not eat due to the stinch. But these were old boars that ran and then fought hard before we could harvest them.

[stodolc]

 My brother and I went down to 2B HUNTING in Avery Texas last weekend for our first hog hunt. I really enjoyed both my hunt and my stay there. The owner Bryan worked his butt off making sure that we had everything we needed. The cabin was clean and had lights heat/air a shower with hot water. There was a fridge and micro wave so it was pretty comfortable.
  He has 60 acres of land that has about 5 different feeders with stands or blinds if that's what you are looking for, for me the real fun was in stalking these hogs. The land appears to have been clear cut about 10 years ago so the brush is very thick so you can get very close to the hogs if you are patient and take your time.
 We only hunted for 1 evening and then the following morning, I got my first hog that evening. Bryan put me in a blind to wait for the feeder to go off,  he said that they will usually come running in after the feeder goes off. I had 3 eaters come in before the feeder went off but they caught wind of me and took off. He stopped by after the feeder went off and asked if I would like to try stalking some pork and I eagerly agreed. It only took about 15 minutes before we found a group of hogs in an opening.immediately spotted the one I wanted, a small grey eaten hog. He ended up leaving as I was stalking up on them but two large sows with piglets stuck around so I kept moving in. I got to within about 40 yards and the grey one came back in and I dropped it with 1 shot between the eyes. It went about 60 lbs,just what I was looking for, My brother got his off his stand, a nice 110 lb boar.
 The next morning we went out again and I took a shot at a 125 lb hog with my .357, it was not a clean head shot and we spend the next 3 hour tracking it but we did not find it. We did more stalking after that and I found myself getting about 30 feet from a very large hog, larger than I wanted, I sat there with the red dot on its forehead for about 4 or 5 minutes before it ran off,the real cool part of this was all the hogs that followed this pig out of the area.
  I had a great time and I am already planning to return in Jan 08

[whiskey101]

+1 for keeping the meat on ice in the cooler for a week. If you mess up and freeze the meat before you know better, all is not lost. You can do the cooler trick when you thaw the meat. I have placed meat in the fridge to do his too, but you better have something to catch the run off blood as it thaws. The cooler works better IMHO.

You can also add a some salt and vinegar if the meat is really strong. Just don't over do it with either.

This cooler method works great with deer too. Get all the blood out and you will enjoy the meat a lot more.

[alsaqr]

i kill a lot of hogs in hot weather.  IMO it is important that the inside of the hog be washed out really well.  We also wash all the mud and crud off the outside of the hog.  i like to hold them overnight in a big insulated box with ice before taking them to the butcher.  Killed a big stinky old boar in September.   After spending the night in the box with ice he did not smell at all.  The butcher had him in the cooler for about five days before cutting him up.  The meat was good.