Wild hog taste???

[bowdude]

I have never had it and we do not have many around WI at all other than farm hunts.  What is it like?  I have heard that it is horrible gamey and that is why I have never pursued it even though I have had several trips south where I could have thrown one in.    :confused:

[IB]

Just like Chicken............sorry

[BigRonHuntAlot]

I had the opportunity to try Littlefeathers dried Javie sausauge and it was Excellent. Thats the only way I have had it but I would expect if the meat was well cared for when the animal was taken and cooked properly it couldnt be bad.

[varmint]

A small one on the pit is incredible!!Cooked slowly over a low flame..............MMmmmmmmmmmm.

[Ray Hammond]

I wouldn't be wasting my time hunting them monthly if you couldnt eat them.

Hearing that something tastes 'gamey' only makes me realize the person you are hearing it from HEARD that from someone else, or they don't have much of a clue about how to take care of an animal once its down. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

BACTERIA equals ROTTING MEAT equals GAMEY taste.

Javelina are NOT hogs, but are tasty if prepared correctly and wild hogs, feral pigs, whatever you want to call them are excellent table fare.

[Marty]

Hog meat if slow cooked and kept moist is one of the best table fares out there. Don't miss the boat,however, if possible, a dry sow is the best! We make sausage out of the boars as a rule. Go try it for yourself.

[T-Mac]

Eats real good. My son and I feed some at a church barbque once and every one enjoyed. I agree with other statements above that smaller sizes and/or dry sows are the very best.

[Robert Honaker]

I t tastes like pork.No kiddn,you just have to be careful when cooking so as not to dry it outsince it has very little fat.I like my roasts in crocpot and then shredded for bbq .It is not gamey at all.It really does taste just like porkand if anyone says diff,they've never eaten it.Just for the racord,I get mine all roasts and sausage,porkchops are just too stringy.A real big hog will give ya decent size tenderloin though.GO AFTER 'EM,YOU WON'T REGRET IT.      

[duck'n]

Cosmic Ray hit it...javelinas are not wild hogs, completely different family.  Everyone around here thinks I am crazy but I have had the best luck with the boars in the range of 70-120 lbs.  They have more meat on them as a general rule and are quite tasty if prepared correctly.  Smoked slowly, then pulled apart it canNOT be beat.

[Bill Turner]

I've prepared big ones and little ones, boars and sows. I kill and butcher my own just like I do any other game animal. It takes time but it is all part of the total experience that hunting represents. I am not a sausage maker, so I have little experience there, but I can truly say and I often have, that the feral hogs I've killed and butchered represent a cross between venison and pork to my taste buds. You get the sweetness of the pork  and the woodyness(acorn taste) of the venison. For ease of handling, I would stick with pigs in the 50 to 150 pound range. Kill them with a well placed shot(normally low, behind the shoulder), gut and cool them ASAP, just like you should any other animal, and butcher to your satisfaction. I remove excess fat, but will leave some for flavor and moistness. I've killed some hogs that had an inch or two of fat something you seldom find on Texas whitetails. I make roast out of the shoulders and hams, and steaks out of the loin. I've cooked them on the smoker, in the oven, on the grill and in the crock pot. Slow, moist cooking is the best, which is also true with most game animals. I've got a whole 60 pounder in the freezer right now that I need to smoke for my friends. Because of this post, I feel a pig picken coming on. Try it, you'll like it.

[Bill Turner]

By the way, the above post is in reference to feral hogs not javalina.

[Kip]

Like Bill I think it taste like a cross between pork and venison makes great gravies over rice and ribs on the pit.I like to cook some with venison in the same pot complements each other.Kip

[sabas silva]

I quarter em any size, sow or boar,keep covered with ice and drain daily (bloody water) and repeat for a couple of days before I freeze or cook.I like to smoke large peices and baste with bacon drippings, when my guest finish with it, it looks like a coyote kill

[Toxophilite]

Like Bill Turner said.
You want some of the best wild game there is?
Hunt down a mid-sized feral pig (50-180lbs). Kill it clean, field dress it quick, harvest the back straps and tenders, quarter it and get it on ice ASAP. Drain off bloody water frequently. Process it yourself, if you can.
To me, feral pigs taste sweeter and dryer than domestic pig. They usually don't yield much fat or bacon.

[bowdude]

OK you convinced me.  I will be in daytona in a few weeks.  Someone suggested a site that was quite a drive from there that I can't swing.  I will have the better half with and my brother and his wife, so I can't ignore them for long.  I will be staying about 40 miles west of daytona.  Anyone aware of anything there?  There are national forest lands not far away.  Whats the scoop with that?  Anyone here a local down there?

[Curtiss Cardinal]

wild hog meat tastes like a cross between pork and beef. The key to cooking it is low and slow or low temperture, long cooking time. Low temp smoking is great, crock pot is great, low oven braising is great. Fast pan frying is not. Take the time to trim excess fat and the fell or "silver skin" from ALL wild gane and you'll be rewarded with better tasting meat. I'm a chef pm me if you want some recipe ideas.

[Rusty in Fla.]

Bowdude,
   There is a place in Eustis that would only be about a 45 minute drive for you. I'll try to find the website for you in a little bit and I'll repost it this evening.


   Rusty <><

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by BigRonHuntAlot:
I had the opportunity to try Littlefeathers dried Javie sausauge and it was Excellent. Thats the only way I have had it but I would expect if the meat was well cared for when the animal was taken and cooked properly it couldnt be bad.

Thanks, that reminds me...

 Curtis!!! Email me the recipe, will ya?

[Van/TX]

What C2 said.  I'd rather eat feral hog than just about any other game.  Wife loves it too and she is very very picky...Van

[ringo64]

wild hog is great....have not had javelina, but the hogs from alabama were great.....even the ones that other people said tasted strong from a boar were good to me.....tasted like something "real" as apposed to all the unnatural crap people buy in the stores.