Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

I'm trying to put together a hog hunt for my son and one of his buddies for Feb. or March. Few questions....

1. I enjoy field dressing and quartering my deer.....and I feel it's part of the hunting experience. But...the idea of butchering a pig does NOTHING for me. How different is it? I'm not sure how much it costs to have the outfitter do the butchering.....but I'm betting it's worth it!:)

2. If you were going to have one processed.....what would you have done (2-4 whole hogs). We want to give some of the meat (OK...a lot of it) to friends and relatives, too.

3. Have you hunted them at night?

Anything else you might wanna warn me about would be appreciated.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

Processing a hog is not a terribly difficult thing. Compared to deer however, they are MUCH thicker skinned, have right much more fat...and are often dirty and smell fairly bad (as you might expect). Have a couple of good sharp knives handy, cause you will go through them all.

As far as how to process...they only ones I have ever done myself have
all been under 100 pounds. I gut and skin them... lop off the head and throw them on the grill whole. All the rest I have either given away or had turned into sausage. I have taken a few of the smaller large ones (150+ but still under 200), and had some pork chops and loins etc etc done. Most of the big ones 200+ have been given to folks who were interested. I have heardmostly horror stories about the big hogs regarding taste (and from reliable sources), so I haven't bothered to find out for myself. I know the little ones that I always target are delicious.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

Hey that's a great point. I have a big pig cooker. I coud cook a whole pig. I guess we can plan cookout for Sunday, huh? Would a pig be OK on ice for a week?

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

I suspect it would be, long as you kept a good eye on it. You might want to consider having it flash frozen and using dry ice. Works well for folks who take charters offshore and have to drive back home a day or two later with their fish in coolers.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

I'm thinking we could just freeze a small pig in two halves, then.....and thaw it out to cook whenever we wanted to. Actually.....if I'm gonna do it that way.....some 125lb'ers would be GREAT. That would make for some good cookouts.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

We skin and process all of our hogs at the house (but I did marry a butcher ... just seemed like the thing to do at the time!!).

We have made sausage (pan, stuffed, smoked, and summer) to share with people. We have also BBQed it and given it away like that (tip -- BBQ will last in the freezer for months and is a great thaw and eat meal when you are in a hurry).

We have kept the meat in ice water for 4 or 5 days in the cooler BUT you have to make sure the meat stays cold -- we put the meat in the cooler with ice and water. The next day we drain the water and add fresh water and ice. This helps soak the blood out of the meat -- which also helps with the 'gamey' taste some people don't like.

As for skinning them, we just hand them up by the hind legs and skin them down.

Good luck and have fun!

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

When we went to TN last Feb. the outfitter did all of the processing for $30 bucks. It was the best sausage I have EVER had.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

The meat will be fine on ice for a week. Just add ice every day so it stays cold.

If you are going to have a majority of the meat processed I woulnd't even field dress them. Lay the pig on his belly and skin from the back down. Take out the loins, take off the hams and shoulders and neck meat. A couple guys can do this on the spot in about 20-30 minutes. If you lay the skin out it will keep the meat clean. No need to open them up if you do this. I usually take a couple pillow cases with me and 100# or less hog the meat will fit in a pillow case, lets it breathe and keeps it clean.

If you are going to cook one whole gut it like a deer and take the head off then just split it down the middle. That would be a lot more work and outfitter should have the tools and a place to hang them.

I make most of mine into sausage of different types. It is very good and reasonable to have done. If I kill a sow I'll take the loins and keep them whole and grill them. The rest goes to sausage. I'll get flamed for this but if you are going to cook one whole make sure it is a sow. Some of the boars are gamey, even the little ones. I've had a90lb boar that stunk when you cooked it, couldn't cook the meat in the house and couldn't eat it when cooked outside. That was with a pig that was trapped, I killed it and cut it up immediately, put it on ice water in a cooler for three days, etc. The meat was taken care of correctly, some boars are just bad. There's a reason they don't sell boar meat in the store. The other 4 boar pigs of the same size, likely same litter that came out of the trap were fine, but one wasn't . Better to make the boars into sausage and not take the chance of getting a bad one if you are going to cook whole.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

I agree with mez about the boars. At times I'll kill a boarand just leave it if it stinks too bad. Keep in mind before you jump all over me that some of my hogs hunts are for population control of pests so the ethics police can just stay calm.
On many pigs I kill I cut out the backstrap, shoulders, and hams, and leave the rest. I usually put them on the smoker and then chop it up and add BBQ sauce. YYYUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMY! I'll be smoking a couple of shoulders on the 4th.
One thing to keep in mind, if you pay a processor by the pound, make sure you cut that big heavy head off.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

The best site I have found for all kinds of hog hunting information is TexasBoars. Google it and you will find it easy. By far the best site on the net for hogs in my opinion.

The main things I would like to point out is thathogs aren't deer, and you don't shoot them the same. When you go to TB, look at the anatomy of a hog link, it is very informative. The lungs are farther forward than you think, so shoot accordingly. I would also seriously refrain from using a mechanical on hogs. Not saying it can't be done, but all of the hog guides I knowreally frown onthem. I prefer a fixed blade, cut on contact. I only shoot 60 lbs, and in fact I prefer the 2 blade Magnus. The old one, and not the Stinger. My shots are close, because I set up for night hunts, and that baby will go DEEP if you need it to on a bigun.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

For what it is worth.

Most first time hog hunters are surprised how LITTLE meat there is on the average wild 100 pounder.

If you are thinking "pork chops" - ain't going to happen

The tenderloin is about the size of your wrist.

Shoulder meat= probably just make sausage here - time you get it boned out the pieces are kind of small.

A ham is a ham - a wild one is close to 40% bone
and will probably be a little dry.

Letting it soak in ice water for 3-5 days is a step in the right direction-
change the water daily (I often do venison this way - here in Florida it doesn't work to well to let your deer hang for a few days)

Somebody mentioned splitting one in half and cooking it that way.

This is probably good advice.

If possible wrap it tight, put plenty of fruit/vegetables apple sauce in there with it.
Put it on low heat and cook it SLOW
Whatyou really want to do is steam it till about 80 % done.
At that point you can unwrap it and put on the sauce of your choice and put it back on the grill to crisp up.

I myself will take the pig @ that 80% done stage and pull/cut the meat off the bone and put it in a roasting pan with sauce and simmer it till done (put some of the fruit you cooked it with in the sauce). This ensures it will be moist and makes it a lot easier to eat.

Wild pig is just that Wild pig !

It don't "taste like chicken"

It is at best OK

If you really like pork - The supermarket is where ya need to hunt

LOL

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

When BBQing pork, we use a rub, smoke it for a couple of hours at about 200 uncovered, then we double wrap it in tinfoil and cook for 2-3 more hours. It comes out with a ton of juice in the foil and is tender -- falling off the bone, melt in your mouth tender. We BBQ front shoulders, ribs (whole), and the hams. It all comes out delicious. No it doesn't taste like chicken -- but if I wanted chicken I would BBQ a chicken. I have also taken the front shoulder and cooked it in the crock pot with potatoes and carrots and a package of onion soup mix. Wonderful. We slice the tenderloins and fry them with a little salt and pepper for a breakfast meat. You can also boil the neck and backbone, pull the meat off the bone, mix it with some BBQ sauce and make BBQ sandwiches.

There are so many ways you can fix wild hog ... and you know where the meat came from as opposed to what you buy in the store.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

Am I REALLY .....as a NC resident (born and raised, here)......being told how to cook BBQ from "Furiners"?:D

My cooker is a pull behind the truck kind. I can cook a 130lb (dressed) whole hog.....or about 20 butts. I lay the smoke to 'em for about the first 4 hours.....and try to keep 'em on between 10-12 hours.....sometimes longer at as close to 210deg. as possible.

Sauce is for after the cookin...and completely optional.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

As far as hunting at night, that is the way I prefer to do it. Nothing wrong with it here in TX, as much crop damage as they do, we can hunt them pretty much any way you want.

As far as feederlights go I think the TexasBoars lights are the best, but what I would REALLY reccommend is the Hawglite. It screws into the stabilizer threads on the front of your bow and is activated by a pressure switch. You can draw, get on target, and then punch the switch for the light to come on. I prefer the blue or red filter. Main thing on hogs is that moving light creates shadows which spooks them. That is one of the good things about a feederlight that is already on when they get there, it is stable and won't spook. That is also the reason to be on target before you punch the switch on the Hawglite, and for using the lower intensity red or blue filters.

You will also need a pin light or a tritium pin. I use treestands, but they don't have to be very high since you are in the dark anyways. I just get them about 10 feet up so nothing trips over me in the dark, because most of my setups are pretty close. Probably most important is that a hogs sense of smell is way better than an old mature buck, treat it accordingly. They are also much smarter than most folks give them credit for.

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

OMG you also have a hound from h*ll!!!:D:D:D:D We have a delightful chocolate lab named Abby and I thought I was going to go insane until she got out of the chewing stage!! Now she is roaming in the National Forest at night and bringing me dead armadillos every morning for a present!!! Cute dog ... not a bad pit either. Furiners, humph!![:'(][:'(]

RE: Hog Hunters.....couple of questions....
 

I hear ya, Tx.

I lost one the day after Christmas that was special to me. Here they are together....and the one I have left.

Take care....and thanks for all the responses RE: hogs.