Ready some of the post I was thinking about how many soak in ice and how many just cut up and freeze the hogs they get? I always soak but to hear some talk we all don't.

1. What other ways do every one prep their hogs to eat?

2. Do you add spices to the ice?

3. How long do you soak the meat?

4. any other info you have?


I have only doing this for a few years 3 or 4 I would love some more info to try. They may be better than what I do.


Thank you
John

I don't do anything to them.

Gut, skin, de-bone, freeze to grind later or cook right away.

Some say the big ones don't stink, in my experience that is not true. Ive eaten 200+ pounders that were as good as a 20 pounder and Ive eaten 100 lb boars that stunk to hi heaven. I only butcher sows and I have more than enough to keep me stocked up.

The only ones I soak is the quarters I brine to bbq. Other than that no soak.

I take the straps ,quarter s , on ice in cooler over night ,take out clean up trim on backstraps
Clean and freeze in water and shake of salt in a gallon ziplock freezer bag,then debone the quarters
And freeze same way , or grind and freeze

NOPE... I wash um up toss them in a bag then in the cooler or freezer.

I soak in ice water, for 3 or more days.

I add some vinegar

Why Vinegar? what dose it do to the meat and how much diff dose it taste?

I don't deliberately hold the meat on ice for any specific length of time. I get it into the ice chest as quickly as possible, and then cut it up as soon as I have an opportunity. On occasion that might take as long as three days if I shoot one Friday evening and don't get back home until Sunday. Usually though, my hunting buddy and I spend Sunday morning cutting the meat off of the bones so we can drop it off at a local processor to have sausage made. The Friday hogs might then sit on ice for 1½ days, the hogs shot on Saturday spend less time on ice.

I have read on the internet (so it MUST be true) that
a) One should NEVER age hog meat because the fat turns rancid quickly.
b) One should ALWAYS age hog meat because, like beef and venison, it makes it more tender.

Me, I know nothing except that I personally feel better if I get the meat into the freezer as quickly as possible. Others have different policies that work for them, and I have no real data to cause any arguments.

I let it sit in the cooler on ice for 5 days or so.

I ice it for the drive home then either the processor or vacuumed sealed in the freezer for pulled pork later in the year.

I am with 68A, always soak in ice and drain every day for 4-5 days

I read that it helped I also drain and keep the water clean.

http://www.huntingtipsandtricks.com/a/Wild_Boar_Recipes
One good technique for preparing wild boar meat is to first soak it in a specially prepared soak or tenderizer. Place the deboned meat in a big ice chest. And cover the meat with ice-cold water mixed with a cup of vinegar or 15 to 20 oz of lemon juice for two to three days till the meat turns white. If the meat starts darkening or turning blue, there is excess vinegar in the soak. Change with fresh water having less vinegar if required.

I do the exact same thing every time and never had bad or gamey meat.

Step 1 is clean kill. Bring enough gun to drop them in their tracks even if your shot is a little off (.308 works for me but 154gr 7.62x39 also works).
Step 2. Gut and remove head within 10-15 minutes.
Step 3. Put in cooler and fill body cavity fully with ice.
Step 4: Wait 12-18 hours. This is more a matter of convenience since I only hunt at night.
Step 5: Skin (using box cutter/razor blades), quarter, and clean.
Step 6: Put in clean cooler (different than the one used for transport) and fill to top with ice and 1 cup apple cider vinegar.
Step 7: Drain each day for 3-4 days. Add ice and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.
Step 8: Eat or freeze. Offset smoker, 15-20 hours, cook until meat hits 208 degrees. Even the biggest (250+) and supposedly toughest hog can be eaten with a spoon.

Almost zero game taste no matter if it was a big bore bore or sow. I have had some small bores (50-75 pound range) that stank to high heaven while cleaning but no smell/gamey taste after soaking for 3 days. Anyone that says that big pigs are un-eatable is not prepping or cooking them right.

Im not saying the big ones are uneatable, I just prefer not to jack with an animal that I have to soak for 3 days in some solution.

Anyone who ices a feral hog down fur on don't have a leg to stand on to me.

I drop them and leave them

In the summer, I pull the meat off right there in the field and immediately it goes in ice water with salt mixed in.

Add vinegar when I reach the camp and soak for 3-4 days changing water every day.

When done I rinse and apply a salt/pepper rub and smoke till it gets to 165 degrees or so.

and salt. It draws the blood out. Change the water daily until it doesn't bloody up much. Then soak in just ice water a few more hours. Makes "stinky old boars" taste like young sows.

by the time when i find them theyve gone bad

I soak them in ice water for at least 3 days, draining and adding clean water each day.

I'm thinking the meat won't break sown at 165 and is gonna be purty tough...close to shoe leather. It is generally suggested that pork be cooked to between 195 and 205 from what I have read. That works in my experience.

I will try that next time. Thanks

How many of you go soak pork from the store to get the blood out?

No, the processor does that. They are generally hung in cold storage for 48 hours which allows them to drain. Most of us don't have cold storage and the equipment that a processor has. We can't hang them , so some of us put th eparts and pieces in ice to allow it to drain. You do what you can.

Hang'em and cut the jugular. Then skin and gut. Ice or cook.

Hanging in cold storage is very different than soaking in an icechest full of saltwater with vinegar in it.