Has anybody ever processed a pig beyond just taking the shoulders, hams, and backstraps? I'm talking about those that process themselves. Just curious if anyone knows how/where to get some different cuts off of feral hogs. Also- have you ever put a whole or half hog on the pit?

I've put 40-60lb shoates on the pit for smoking whole. They work pretty good. When done right you can just pull meat off the bone with your fingers or a fork.

On the bacon, I've not gotten any bacon from the belly's of wild hogs. Although, I've killed a few that had the fat for it. The average sized hog doesn't have the belly fat like a domestic pig does. The only hogs I've killed that did were barr hogs that had been cut, and they were real large ones. And, you won't kill many of those in the wild.

I make a lot of breakfast pan sausage though. So, I'll normally use any fat I get off the hog to make the sausage with.

I make most of mine into breakfast sausage. Will take some quarters for the smoker as well but mostly just grind them up into breakfast sausage.

I have killed some really big feral hogs over the years but still havent seen one produce a slab of bacon yet.

Haven't tried to make bacon but taking the ribs have always been worthwhile. And you don't need to be a grillMaster to make good ribs, I've made delicious ribs in the crockpot.

Good luck

I have done it. Cut some of the bottom rib meat. Covered it with mortons sugar cure for a few days. Smoked it just a little. One thing about it, it didn't cook down like store bought bacon. Not too bad actually.

Killed a sow a month ago and she had the most belly fat I have ever seen on a hog. Cut it thick and salt/sugar cured it, then pecan wood smoke.
Pretty dang tasty, my advice is to cut the slices thick.
DOn is correct , it does not curl up and reduce like store bought does.

If any of us are old enough to remember butchering hogs on the farm, it tastes just like that.

Never shot one that had enough fat on it

I have never made bacon, but my brother-in-law does. Cuts the layer of fat off the belly and ribs. It comes out good. I like it thick. Boil it and finish off in the oven. Like carnitas. I do cure hams off wild hogs. Easy to do, just takes up fridge space.

i did bacon from a hog {sow} that we shot last november. it came out great. you have to salt cure it and cool smoke it for bout 10 hrs. be sure not to cook it just smoke.

Man all you guys talking about bacon is making me hungry... lol
Any chance that one of ya'll would mind taking me under your wing, and teaching me how ya'll self butcher these hogs? Would love to actually see one and have a shot at it too... Ft Hood, hog numbers are so low I have not seen on in almost three years now, and all the surrounding area is private land and they want a arm, and half a leg to hung it. If any of ya would like to help me out, I would be grateful. Would give me something to pass down to my daughter, who is getting her first rifle tonight... thanks ya'll and good luck on the killin....

Several years ago I got 4 little pigs that dressed out about 10 pounds each. They were a bugger to dress out, worse than a hog that weighs 75 or more pounds because you couldn't tie the little beggers down and get any leverage to do anything. They cooked up whole but were pretty pathetic on the grill because they looked like a big rabbit when dressed out. Tasted good though.

When they are that small dip them in hot water and wipe them off. The hair will fall right out. Very few wild swine make bacon.

An extra wild pig we either give away to friends, or process into breakfast sausage for the relatives. I keep all the meat from the carcass except the head. A couple years ago we caught 5 that were about 20 pounds, and since then the wife has given strict instructions that every small pig I come across will go into our freezer, and never be given away to friends or family. They are a lot of work for the amount of meat, but are so tender and tasty.

Never even tried to make bacon, as none I've ever killed had enough meat and fat in that area to be worthwhile. Sometimes we keep ribs to barbeque, but usually I just bone them out for sausage.

I've always thought that the backstrap would be a good candidate for Canadian bacon.

makin bacon huh?
gonna have to be 600lb hog er more. its gonna look like bacon cut in half though. more like bacon sticks than strips.
alot of people wont touch a 600lb wild hog...usually just nasty and full of worms...i mean if ya cook it, tech the worms cant hurt ya...but I just wont let it ride lol...sry
by the way...it aint gonna taste like bacon from the store

Lots of work

naaaa, not at all..a good sharp knife and some slicing. if ya have a slicer, you can fold or stack the meat and cut 2-5 slices at a time...i find that 5 inch strips are good when cooking...allows ya to cook the meat just right vs having loose ends and a crispy center.

Im hoping to soon aquire some land for archery, trapping and dogging near the ft hood area (temple/oenaville) Once i get my foot in the door, if u wanna go, let me know. I'll dog it if possible at the same time of setn traps and both form can be done by 1 person, but easier and more fun with some1 else. If ur just wantn to learn to do simple butchering, a friend down the road mite some decent sized pigs he would sell and he or i could help ya.
The smaller 1s 80lbs n under get whole smoked for bout 12hrs so the meat is more of a pulled pork style, anything bigger get fully proccessed.

I took 2 "meat sows" one 110# & one 250# to processor he could not make bacon on either.

Bacon, no. Ribs, yes. Breakfast sausage, yes. Brats, yes. Whole pig on the smoker, hell yes. I love to shoot the little 30-40 lb dudes and smoke them whole!

Deep fry em you will quit smokin!