Wild hogs..Ok to eat?

[superior]

We just bought a ranch in central Texas and I'm getting excited about the prospect of finally shootin a hog! I've had dreams lately of gunning one down with every conceivable wepon in my arsenal. ( using cb's only of course) But, the other day while I was supervising our fencing operations, a rancher pulled over to introduce himself and the subject quickly turned hunting. When I told him that I had an excellent breakfast sausage recipe; I wanted to shoot a feral hog to make a huge batch with it, he remarked " You don't want to eat those critters". He went on to say that they carried all sorts of diseases and that they wouldn't taste good even if you COULD eat them!! WTH?? I've read where many ppl have dined on the swine! He's been ranching there for 50+ years so I didn't want to risk being disrespectful ( and still don't) but what's the deal? Is he right or wrong?
The guide gun, sks paratrooper, 45colt blackhawk, .338 weather warrior, 110gv in .223, and 7mm 700bdl, lee enfield jungle carbine (real), and even the Glock23 are all on stand-by just in case one crosses my path!!!

[9.3X62AL]

I've partaken of sausage--ham--bacon--and roasts from local wild pigs (central CA coast), and it was SUPERB. Not fatty or greasy at all, and most toothsome.

[DIRT Farmer]

Remember those hogs are organic free range hogs. People at the up scale farmers market pay extra for that style of meat. Not that I have ever met an inorganic hog.

[stubshaft]

I've eaten hundreds of hogs and still haven't been able to tell what a disease tastes like.

[Gunfixer]

Welcome to the neighborhood! My freezer is full of wild hog. I have to agree with Stubshaft, I cant tell what a disease tastes like either. BUT I do know that hams, backstrap, ribs, et al all taste good

[tom threepersons]

It seems many of our "Urban Cowboys", would not eat any pork if it is not approved by Jimmy Dean.

[Lloyd Smale]

somes better then others. Ive had some that was excellent and ive tried a couple bigger boars that even after cooking the meat smelled like an outhouse at the park.

[LIMPINGJ]

All I have eaten have been excellent, but we only shoot smaller ones. Around 150 lb or less.

[chaos]

It seems many of our "Urban Cowboys", would not eat any pork if it is not approved by Jimmy Dean.

They dont taste like store bought swine, but then again the cattle that I've raised and had slaughtered dont taste as bland as store bought beef either. Maybe I dont feed 'em out the same?

I've eaten a few wild hogs. Two years ago, I put 14 of the smaller ones that we took up in the freezer. The rest, I gave back to nature. The sausage we make is pretty tasty, yet a little dry. I backstrap them like deer and grind everything else, for sausage, burger, tamales, tacos, etc... I've never had one with enough fat on it to even think of making bacon...not that I'd even know where to start out with curing a slab of bacon.

Big boars stink to high heaven and I wont touch a boar that's over 100lbs or so. I'll clean a sow of anysize. Lots of folks out here eat them, others WILL NOT. Everone out here kills every single hog they can get a slug into and I believe we have not put a dent in the population in the least bit.

Edited to add: I sometimes hunt a Friends place in East Texas. They boys out there suit up like they are entering a hazardous waste filled environment when they go to clean pigs. They flip out when I bare handed clean hogs. Claim Im gonna get the "Fever" or some such. They do eat the hell out of my sausage though.

[milsurp mike]

A Good Friend of mine just got back first of this week from hog hunting in Benjamin Texas first of last week.The wild pork is great from there.He keeps the small ones for the grill and grinds the Big ones for the smoked sausage.I dont know where you are located but the hogs from his area are greaaat.I think maybe the Rancher you talked to is probably sick of the pigs tearing up everything and hates them to the point of turning up his stomach.Enjoy em Mike

PS the place my friend hunts is selling Hog Hunts.A good way to make some CASH

[starnbar]

I have hunted hogs in central and north florida up in the okeefenokee since i was old enough to hunt with my dad 50+ years. Never got sick off any game we shot neither did any of my kids either. The secret is to thoroughly clean it and cook it properly and its as safe and better than what you buy in the store. I will use gloves to clean game but its easier for me to clean up afterwards too.

[HollowPoint]

superior:

Just to be on the safe side, I think it would be prudent if you were to properly pack and ship some of your successful hog harvests to those of us here on the cast boolits forum who are not so fortune.

We'll check it for you to make sure it's safe to eat. It may require additional testing and additional hogs if the first hogs you ship out taste suspicious.

Personally I'd prefer the younger more tender hogs but, we'll leave that to you generous digression.

Happy hunting Sir.

HollowPoint

[EMC45]

There are a problem in Ga. Big problem. No limit, no season. MGD45 here kills them and lets them rot. Called me several times to go get them and I couldn't get them, so they rot. I eat them like crazy too. I think they all stink when dressing them. I just dress and clean them well and cook thoroughly. I make Brunswick stew out of them. It all eats good to me.

[Bodydoc447]

I got one up here in the Texas panhandle and it made some pretty good Polish sausage and breakfast sausage. I had to add some fat back into the grind, though, cause it is very lean. Only way to tell if it is to your taste is to give it a try. And welcome to the neighborhood.

Doc

[spqrzilla]

The old boars can be good for nothing but fertilizer but the sows will be good eating.

[Blammer]

Pick a dry sow or a medium sized hog and you should have some good eating. If you shoot a big old boar, odd are he won't be worth the trouble.

[caillouetr9981]

Like most wild game, there are a lot of ways that can cause the taste of the meat-product to be ruined:

Choosing the game poorly (you DON'T want to try to eat an old rutting boar!);
Running the game before taking it (ideally, the game should be dead before it knows it's dying;
Failing to take the game quickly and cleanly;
Improper field dressing and butchering (especially, not knowing where the glands are!);
Failing to immediately cool and store the meat properly;
Poor cooking.

Barring those situations, you will find that wild pork tastes better than store-bought!

A quick aside: When field-dressing wild pig, it is HIGHLY advisable that one wears gloves (plastic or latex) as there are things on and in the pig that can be transferred via blood/fluids.

Reggie

[high standard 40]

I had some wild hog pot roast today for lunch stuffed with plenty of garlic. Very good. I have found the smaller pigs are the best. Old sows can be very tough so they're best as sausage material. The larger boars I kill here I usually donated to the local varmints and buzzards. They smell too bad for me to want to fool with them.
We also hear all the warnings here about diseases they carry. Cross infection comes from exposed cuts on your hands, not eating the meat. I've never heard of anyone local here getting sick from them.

But eat them or not, I try to kill every one of them I can because of all the damage they do.

[cavalrymedic]

Your rancher friend is talking about brucellosis and other diseases common to wild/ feral hogs. Problem is it's not really as common as one would think, and with proper handling and cooking, even an infected hog is safe to eat. It seems that some folks get an idea in their head and will hold to it religiously.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I grew up in South Texas and we are over run with hogs and try to kill every one we see. My Uncle, who has been ranching for over 60 years constantly tells me he would NEVER eat one of those nasty hogs. However, I constantly use them to make sausage and occasionally save out a ham for for roasts. Most of the old timers at home do eat them, but a few wont. Some of the boars smell so bad you will not even want to touch them, and I leave them for the coyotes. The smaller 80 to 120lb pigs sure are good eating. I shoot one that looks visibly diseased, I leave them. I look for large sores, missing hair, old bullet wounds, etc.

G