Here is a short version... on early Sunday morning I went up my ladder looking for a hog. About 30 minutes later I shot a boar that I estimated to be about 130 lb. from 190 yards. When I approched the boar it was a lot larger than I origionally thought. Later at the scale he went 209 lb.
I shoot hogs to eat and feed my family so I normally try to shoot sows around 100 lb. as they are a lot easier to manage in terms of cleaning and cooking. More importantly I was told many times that large boars are smelly, tough and not fit to eat. Well I shot this large boar so I was going to have to clean it and eat it.
Last night I made couple of hog burgers with this ground boar and it tasted fine with no unusual smell or taste. Today I made some roast using the loins stuffed with bacon, onion and sage on the grill and it came out great. The meat was tender and juicy with no unusual tase or smell. My wife was initially apprehensive but after the first two bites she attacked that roast.
I don't know where that myth about large hogs being not fit to eat but I'll know better in future.
I don't know where that myth about large hogs being not fit to eat but I'll know better in future.
I don't know either, and every time someone goes on their "boar hogs are nasty" speech, I am quick to correct them.
Most of the stink is from their urine, which is on their hair. Once they are skinned and cleaned the smell is gone completely
I've killed four this year well over 150#, and one over 200#. All of them had that typical boar smell before skinning. Once in the cooler and on ice there is absolutely no smell whatsoever
The same people that say boar hogs are nasty will eat the meat off of a rutting buck. And to me there is absolutely nothing more foul tasting and gamey than that
One thing I do is get the hog hanging quickly and bleed them out by cutting the neck vein just under the head.
I always take head shots on hogs so they usually don't bleed very much.
After that I use plenty of clean water and wash the hog with large nylon brush before starting to skin it. I find it that it removed all the dirt, loose hair and other *%@#& so the carcass is much cleaner when done. I usually get it done and have the carcass soaking in ice and water within 2 hours at most. I also let the carcass soak in ice water for 2 or 3 days to let it bleed out.
I've found that by taking good care of the game and processing it with care results in very good tasting meat... even a large boar.
I killed a 160+ lb boar a few years back and I could taste some gamey flavor, but it wasn't nasty at all. It gave it a unique flavor. Bled it like KC did and it ate great.
It also depends on what's happening when the animal dies.
A 180 pound boar shot and DRT is gonna taste better than a 100 pound hog that's been run 2 miles through the woods with dogs snapping him.
Testosterone, adrenaline, lactic acid, etc will all add to the gaminess...
