hogs; how do ya fix'm?

[BRONZ]

Gonna go do some hog hunting in May. Would appreciate any tips. Also, what do y'all usually do with your hogs, processing?

[wtpops]

People say they have bad eye sight while this is some what true if they are head up and alert and you move your done. If they are head down and feeding and busy you can get away with some sound, so you can get away with a little movement and a little sound, you will never get by there nose, never.

[wtpops]

Process them just like deer. where you make burger with deer you make sausage with hog.

[sticksnstones]

Here is what I did with my last DELICIOUS meat hog. First night was a backstrap:
   

The following Friday I did one side of ribs:  
   

In the time in between, all the rest was ground for sausage. In my personal opinion there is no finer tasting sausage in the world than that of a young wild hog. Next time I'll keep all the backstraps and loins, as well as both sides of the ribcage before I turn in the rest.

If you get a big old boar, Clay Hayes put a tip in his book: cut a piece off the neck and fry it in a skillet real quick. If the smell makes you gag, or if you can't stomach it, it means the whole hog will be rank. Anyone else ever try this?
Thom

[frankwright]

A small one will get skinned and field dressed.
I then turn it over to my Stepson who will put a rub on it and put it on his Big Green Egg.
When done we will pull all the meat off, invite friends and add BBQ sauce of choice.
I do the shoulders of a bigger hog the same way.

Hams get baked in the oven just like a store bought ham.
Loin gets either smoked whole or sliced and fried.
There is also grinding and adding sausage seasoning, which I have not done myself yet but I have eaten some really good wild pork sausage.

[Wudstix]

Grill mine over Mesquite wood.

They're hearing and sence of smell are top notch.  Those that have been hunted hard, the ones with better eye sight live to breed.
               

[dragonheart]

My most recent wild hog tasted great!  I put the meat in a cooler full of ice and keep the water drained and re-ice everyday for about 7-10 days.  No game taste!  I cook the roast in a crockpot with Coca-Cola and seasonings for about 8 hours.  Then add BBQ sauce and serve as pulled pork.  WOW GOOD.  

This one rocks also for the CHOPS!  Easy crock pot.  

  http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-ranch-pork-chops-517313

[Bjorn]

My favorite is ground hog in Lasagna and also Spaghetti Sauce. I also like to trade for crab and salmon.
Under 100 lbs we grind in the kitchen the bigger ones we send them to a local processor.
My neighbor takes the liver and makes pate-yumm!!

[JamesKerr]

My favorite is a med sized hog 100-150 lbs. smoked and barbequed. The whole hog.

[Todd Cook]

I cut them up just like deer. We make sausage out of some of the ground meat, but make hamburgers out of it too. Smoke it, grill, roast, crock pot.... It's good any way really. I love venison but prefer wild pork to just about anything.

[Stump73]

Man this makes me hungry for wild hog but I gotta wait til February. Im gonna keep an eye on this thread.

[Stump73]

Also I think wild hog will be easier to process than deer do to you dont have to worry about removing the sinew and fat.

[BRONZ]

This is great stuff! I appreciate the info!

[Mint]

Any boar over 100lbs I grind up for sausage. This weekend I just processed sausage out of a 140lb boar I shot. For the 60lb sow I shot I just quarter it up and will cook on my smoker. For the loins I like to cook on the smoker part way and then put in a aluminum pan with beer, garlic and a little salt and cook that way until it is done.

[JohnV]

Cook them like you would pork...just remember the meat is a bit tougher and leaner.  Use recipes that do not dry out the meat.

[Krex1010]

I'm a little jealous of you fellas that have hogs where you live.

[Ray Hammond]

There's a ton of good options on the Recipes/Grilling forum here on TG

My favorite is to split the hog down the backbone into 2 halves. Use your favorite pork rub and slow cook on the pit or in the smoker!

Bisch

[Chromebuck]

We occasionally have southern folks come with wild hog meat, but otherwise we butcher smallish pigs and rub in mojo seasoning then baste in homemade mojo sauce. and cook in one of the charcoal thingy mingys. La caja china cooker.

You cook the pig by placing the coals on the top of the unit.