Forums46
Topics537,785
Posts9,729,142
Members87,042
|
Most Online25,604 Feb 12th, 2024
|
|
|
Butchering questions
#8041578
11/07/20 04:48 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58
Tw0fish
OP
Outdoorsman
|
OP
Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58 |
A few questions from an inexperienced hogger.
1, I know folk have talked about just taking the back straps off because hawg are so plentiful where they’re hunting. Do hogs have tenderloins worth going after? I’ve never heard mention of them specifically.
2, on male hogs past a certain age they start fighting and build up a ‘shield’ - is that just tough skin or are the forelegs really no good for cooking?
Jordan
"It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them." -- G. K. Chesterton
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8041615
11/07/20 05:21 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,694
603Country
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 15,694 |
I take the back straps and debone the hindquarters. The rest becomes coyote bait.
Not my monkeys, not my circus...
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: 603Country]
#8041746
11/07/20 07:40 PM
|
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,495
der Teufel
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 2,495 |
I take the back straps and debone the hindquarters. The rest becomes coyote bait. Same here. There are very few hogs that I leave behind. I usually take the back straps and leg quarters. The hindquarters get deboned. The shoulders from a large (>140Lbs or so) get deboned. That goes to various things, mostly ground meat. Smaller shoulders go on the smoker. There are tenderloins, but even on a large hog they're pretty small, and I don't bother trying to get them. Here's a video that shows the approach I take to cleaning hogs in the field. https://youtu.be/m-BmX-3Qqa4?t=30
I have two unwritten rules: 1. 2.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8041819
11/07/20 09:20 PM
|
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 513
kman2017
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 513 |
I quarter the pigs I keep and smoke the quarters. Tried the backstrap once and it was too tough, and it was off a small pig too. When you butcher it, don't bother gutting it or anything else. Hang it by the legs, skin it, and you can get the quarters off without a saw. If it is a large pig, skinning is by far the hardest part because if the shield/scar tissue it has built up. When we tried to clean them at our place we had it to where we could. Can do a <100lb pig pretty quick.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: kman2017]
#8041830
11/07/20 09:33 PM
|
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,243
Biscuit
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 19,243 |
I quarter the pigs I keep and smoke the quarters. Tried the backstrap once and it was too tough, and it was off a small pig too. When you butcher it, don't bother gutting it or anything else. Hang it by the legs, skin it, and you can get the quarters off without a saw. If it is a large pig, skinning is by far the hardest part because if the shield/scar tissue it has built up. When we tried to clean them at our place we had it to where we could. Can do a <100lb pig pretty quick. Same here
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: 603Country]
#8041849
11/07/20 09:54 PM
|
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,240
Erny
Extreme Tracker
|
Extreme Tracker
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 4,240 |
I take the back straps and debone the hindquarters. The rest becomes coyote bait. I do the same unless it’s a barren sow about 100 #s. In that case I take the back strap, all 4 quarters, ribs and tenderloin. The tenderloin is hardly worth going after but if I am getting ribs I take them anyway.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8042090
11/08/20 02:06 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,248
stillhntr
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,248 |
Less than 90# they get dressed and put on the smoker, bigger ones get backstrapped and recycled
Hunt Outside Of The Box
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8042326
11/08/20 12:13 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,902
Simple Searcher
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 11,902 |
Getting the tenderloins is easy, and worth doing. They are in the area between the ribs and the pelvis. After the back straps are out you can reach around the spine (without gutting) and remove them without a knife, and it only takes seconds to do. On smaller pigs the tenderloins are fairly tender and come out easy, you have to be careful not to tear them. I think the shoulders are the best tasting meat and they are easy to remove. I keep them and put them in the Crockpot.
"Man is still a hunter, still a simple searcher after meat..." Robert C. Ruark
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: der Teufel]
#8042522
11/08/20 05:36 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58
Tw0fish
OP
Outdoorsman
|
OP
Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58 |
Thanks for the advice all!
Jordan
"It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them." -- G. K. Chesterton
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: der Teufel]
#8043057
11/09/20 02:26 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 72
Chutist
Outdoorsman
|
Outdoorsman
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 72 |
I take the back straps and debone the hindquarters. The rest becomes coyote bait. Same here. There are very few hogs that I leave behind. I usually take the back straps and leg quarters. The hindquarters get deboned. The shoulders from a large (>140Lbs or so) get deboned. That goes to various things, mostly ground meat. Smaller shoulders go on the smoker. There are tenderloins, but even on a large hog they're pretty small, and I don't bother trying to get them. Here's a video that shows the approach I take to cleaning hogs in the field. https://youtu.be/m-BmX-3Qqa4?t=30 Man that guy in the video is good! Great video, thank you for sharing!
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Chutist]
#8045975
11/11/20 01:43 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927
GNTX
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927 |
Man that guy in the video is good! Great video, thank you for sharing! So good I actually linked to the same video in another thread here earlier this evening before I saw this thread. And after trying it out on a couple hogs last spring, I’m sold. Did them right on the hood of my Samurai.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Simple Searcher]
#8045978
11/11/20 01:46 AM
|
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927
GNTX
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 927 |
Getting the tenderloins is easy, and worth doing. They are in the area between the ribs and the pelvis. After the back straps are out you can reach around the spine (without gutting) and remove them without a knife, and it only takes seconds to do. On smaller pigs the tenderloins are fairly tender and come out easy, you have to be careful not to tear them. I think the shoulders are the best tasting meat and they are easy to remove. I keep them and put them in the Crockpot. Thanks for this. I have gotten a little bit of tenderloin with my backstraps before and in the skillet, the difference in taste, texture, and appearance is remarkable. Best part of the animal IMHO.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8046598
11/11/20 04:48 PM
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,185
hook_n_line
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 9,185 |
Sometimes it's hard being me! But somebody has to do it.
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8046651
11/11/20 05:19 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,535
redchevy
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 39,535 |
I clean hogs just like deer. We eat the front legs flank hind legs straps and tenders. Personally i find that feral hogs are in general better than deer, with that said i dont clean boars. Plenty of good meat on the front legs of a hog, contrary to the name and what many believe boston butts come off the front shoulder.
It's hell eatin em live
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Erny]
#8052490
11/16/20 06:12 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58
Tw0fish
OP
Outdoorsman
|
OP
Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 58 |
I do the same unless it’s a barren sow about 100 #s. In that case I take the back strap, all 4 quarters, ribs and tenderloin. The tenderloin is hardly worth going after but if I am getting ribs I take them anyway. Gotta ask.. how do you determine a barren sow?
Jordan
"It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them." -- G. K. Chesterton
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8053195
11/17/20 02:50 AM
|
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 937
Sauerkraut
Tracker
|
Tracker
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 937 |
We eat a ton of wild pork. As mentioned above, the tenderloins are pretty small, even on a larger pig. That being said, I still grill them up and they are delicious. I've found that a pregnant sow is the best pork we've harvested.
I clean a pig pretty much the same way I'd clean a deer. I will cook it differently depending on the size and sex of the pig. A boar, especially a larger boar, will be made into sausage, bratwurst, etc.
Pretty much any sow under 200lbs I've found to be pretty good eating, although this varies depending on time of year, diet, etc. I will take the backstraps and tenderloins, marinate them, and grill them. Hams, shoulders, and ribs (depending on size) usually get thrown in the slow cooker, dutch oven, oven, etc...These cuts do very well with slow-cooked, highly seasoned recipes, such as chile verde, chile colorado, pot roast, stew, etc.
I've also had really good smoked hams and shoulders off of a wild pig, although I'm not much of a BBQ guy myself. I've heard brining is the key.
Important to cook any wild pork well-done, but, in my opinion, it's an under-utilized, unlimited source of quality pecan, bug, acorn-fed pork.
Last edited by NicS; 11/17/20 02:52 AM.
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." - Ecclesiastes 9:10
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8053535
11/17/20 02:36 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,929
Lance Vick
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,929 |
Here is a quick way to take the tenderloin
|
|
|
Re: Butchering questions
[Re: Tw0fish]
#8053548
11/17/20 02:41 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 14,150
Hudbone
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 14,150 |
"Gotta ask.. how do you determine a barren sow?" Tight teets is a clue.
|
|
|
Moderated by bigbob_ftw, CCBIRDDOGMAN, Chickenman, Derek, DeRico, Duck_Hunter, hetman, jeh7mmmag, JustWingem, kmon11, kry226, kwrhuntinglab, Payne, pertnear, rifleman, sig226fan (Rguns.com), Superduty, txcornhusker
|