Any suggestions on smoking wild pork...

[Bill Harvey]

I smoke a small wild hog this weekend with mixed results. I basically smoked it the same way you would domestic pork. The taste was acceptable but it was very tough.

The pig weighed about 90 pounds in the woods. It was skinned and cut into quarters. There was very little fat and it resembled a thick milky substance, the same type of fat you see on deer. I cut most of it off...

I carried the quarters to a butcher and had it cut into regular pieces for smoking, butt, hams, backbone,etc.. The largest piece weighed about five pounds.

The Weber bullet worked perfect and the 4 lb. butt smoked approximately nine hours. The meat temperature rose to 166 degrees and stayed there about four hours until it was time to turn in for judging. I started not to turn it in and now wish I had not. It was dry and the texture was very chewy.


Anybody have a good suggestion as to how to cook wild pork???

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

 

[Paul G.]

Bill

I think you're encountering the same type of problem I have when I tried to smoke a venison ham. The meat is just too lean.

With venison roast, shoulder or ham, I take a large roasting pan and put about an inch of liquid in it and seal the pan with heavy duty foil. Of course, season the meat and I always add onions etc. Sometimes I put in quartered potatoes, celery, carrots etc. You may want to use an onion soup mix with the liquid. I then put it in the oven around 300 to 325 and let it cook from about 2:00, when we go out to hunt, till about 6:30 when we get back. Everyone raves about it, but, of course, hungry hunters are not hard to please /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif . A couple of drinks before dinner also helps their attitude. I suspect a wild hog would do very well this way.

HTH

Paul

 

[Bill Harvey]

Paul...

I put a shank portion of the ham (about five lbs.) in a roasting pot, along with a number 10 can of new potatoes and some garden peas. I seasoned it and turn the oven on 325 degrees. I don't have an onion in the house maybe I need to add a little garlic. LOL...

I'll let you know how it turns out... Thanks Buddy for the tip...

Now to get started drinking!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

CHEERS!!!

bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

 

[Paul G.]

Better pace yourself Bill. It's only 11:00 a.m. in Georgia ! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Paul

 

[Bill Harvey]

Paul ...

Thanks for your suggestions on how to deal with wild hog... I cooked the ham about 4 1/2 hours at 325 degrees and it was falling off the bone when I removed it from the oven. I also took your suggestion and added potatoes, garden peas, and onion soup to the roaster.. It was delicious and had absolutely no fat in the water when it cooled. I literally pulled the meat apart with a spoon.

Thanks again!

CHEERS!!!

Bugg... enjoying wild hog ham...

I wonder if you injected some type of flavored oil in the meat before smoking would that make a difference?

 

[Paul G.]

Bill

Glad it worked out for you. I guess it takes two country lawyers to come up with one good idea. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I imagine injecting the ham would add to the flavor.

I would like to try to cook some wild hog, but we don't have any on the property I hunt. That is probably a blessing because they can become a real problem with other things you try to grow for the deer.

Take care,

Paul

 

[Bill Harvey]

Paul...

The young lawyer in my office loves to hut hog. I will send you some wild hog to experiment with.

Wild meat is one of the categories in the Jesup Rotary Club cookoff... I need some help in figuring out how to cook the stuff... E-mailed me your shipping address and I will try to overnight you some wild hog...

CHEERS!!!

Bugg /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif ...hoping you'll find the answer

 

[Paul G.]

Bill

Thanks for the generous offer. For the next few months, through Jan, I'll be involved in hunting on the weekends and as much other time as I can get out of my office. I won't be doing much smoking during that time. If your friend still has any in the freezer after that, maybe I can work something out with you.

I know you're interested in a way to smoke it outside successfully. Since people cook whole hogs outside there must be a way - however these may be domestic hogs that have more fat. We had a guy bring an interesting contraption to our camp and cook a domestic hog a few years ago. It was called a "coon-*** microwave" (hope I didn't offend anyone). It was a rectangular box about 3x4, about 8 in. deep. The top was recessed with a metal sheet on it. The charcoal went on the top and the meat was inside on a cooking grate. We cooked an entire pig and it came out really good.

Again, thanks for the offer.

Paul

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure if the fat is enough as I've never smoked a wild hog, but the toughness was probably due more to the internal temperature. You mentioned you cooked it to 166... I suggest next time you try bringing it up higher, to around 190. It will be much softer. 166 is more the degree of sliced pork.