Most people don’t think that you can get bacon from a wild pig. I call on that and have two slabs from the sow my son shot (See the ‘Guess the Weight…..’ post) as proof.

The slabs are 16”X12”X1.5”





Fairly easy to get bacon when they have over 2 inches of buttery acorn fat on the top of their shoulders.





This has been the fattest wild pig I have ever seen!!!!!!

I am curious to see how your bacon comes out and how you and your son think it tastes (wild pig on acorns, etc vs hog that is in a feed lot).

Acorn has talcum which makes the fat taste like Sh!$. Not the same as a barn/farm raised pig.

Was this cut from the belly?

Interesting. I have had deer and pigs that were primarily acorn fed and thought they tasted good. Not questioning you but want to know for sure before I go through all the trouble of brining and smoking them.

From below the backstrap to the belly. See the 4th picture. You can see the loin (backstrap) has not been removed yet.

I wouldn't let anyone deter you from trying. Give it a shot and let us know how it works. Otherwise you'll never know for sure.

X2

Dink Dodger asked how to remove the pork belly to start to make bacon so here is how I do it (I cut meat/was a butcher for 4 years while I was in HS).

1. Skin the pig. Make sure you don't leave a bunch of fat on the skin on the belly area.
2. Remove the front shoulder. There is a seam right under their elbow that you follow which is pretty easy, just pull the shoulder and follow the seam from back to front of the pig.
3. Score down the center of the pig's back from the tail to the neck. Remove the fat layer as desired that covers the back strap/loin. Doctor makes me remove most of mine.
4. Find the shortest rib in the flank area (usually 2"-3" long) and cut a straight line to the front of the rib cage. Do not cut into the loin.
5. Peel the pork belly from this line to the belly using your knife against the ribs.
6. Trim the pork belly to remove any unwanted fat.



Brine the bacon with whatever method you desire (Google is your friend). Then smoke for a few hours, let cool and the slice to desired thickness. Last step is to fry some up and send me half each weekend!!!!

Thanks HCA, I see it now.

Good butcher job...follow up with a shot after cured if you would.

Learn something new everyday

Well guys, I brined the bacon slabs for 12 days and smoked them on Friday. In my humble opinion, it is some of the best bacon that I have ever eaten!!!!!

Fresh off the smoker (used Apple wood)


Let the smoke set and then chilled for slicing.


Total haul (about 12 pounds plus)


It tastes slightly sweet with a black pepper kick to it. Even my wife ate some and said it was really good (hates eating wild game) so I took that as a huge win.



Going to have to go shoot another fat sow. Definitely worth the work/time to make the bacon.

That looks great, and now I'm hungry!!!

Dang High Country, that looks great

X2

Man that looks so good!

Awesome!

One of you asked for some more info so here is what I sent them;



Here is a link to the website I used for the recipe to wet cure it. Note - Start tasting it to check the salt levels after 10 days by slicing a small piece off and frying to taste. When the salt is to your liking, finish off with smoking (mine was right to me after 12 days). Also, when it is done brining, dry it off well and put in the refrigerator for 24 hours uncovered on a baker's rack to form a pedicle (outer skin) before smoking. I put on some black pepper and a thin coating of brown sugar during this time to make a little crust and you can really taste it.

http://ilovemeat.com/homemade-bacon-part-1-cure/

I smoked it at 225 for a few hours with Apple wood until the internal temps hit 150 degrees.

That is BAD ARSED!

Got a pic of the pig?

Never mind I saw it...

that pig has domestic blood in its line. and had been eating good lol

90% of pigs I shoot arnt worth the trouble but that one turned out nice...