I shot a small 50-60lb sow this past Saturday. I will admit I kill plenty of them but rarely clean them unless they are small like this one. Typically I've had good luck with small pigs and sows. This one has been on ice since Saturday. I cut up one of the backstraps tonight and marinated it in soy, EVOO and pepper jelly; wrapped them in bacon and grilled them. I've never had an issue with a small pig like this but it does have a bit of a strong flavor. Any suggestions on how to cut down on this with the remaining meat? I'm not sure why it's strong as it was a head shot and I rinsed and trimmed the meat prior to icing it.

I've rarely had luck eating wild pigs. There is just better tasting meat out there.

I tried to get back into it a few times like you mentioned too, but it's pretty much just an automatic chuck into the buzzard pile. It's not worth it to me.

Very odd to have any issues with taste, on a feral hog that small (male or female). Maybe it could be tied to what they have been eating, but that's about my only guess?

Wild hogs of reasonable size are great table fare, in my opinion. We just kill a lot more than we care to eat (or clean).

The after taste is similar to the smell of the hog before I cleaned it. I was pretty careful to clean my hands up between skinning and actual quartering. I removed the glands as well. I'm going to keep icing it and draining water for a few more days. Maybe it will get milder.

I made a ham off a big sow that was great. Brine it for 2+ days in the fridge and cook on the grille for 6 hours. The key is brinning to for a long time.

Best thing to do to prevent any gamy taste is right after the kill...you need to gut, and skin them right away...especially the boars. They have extra scent that you need to separate from the meat.

And wild pig tastes great, some of the best meat if you clean it properly. They are basically free range domesticated pork.

trip said:

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I made a ham off a big sow that was great. Brine it for 2+ days in the fridge and cook on the grille for 6 hours. The key is brinning to for a long time.

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+1 for this one. My son and I both shot a 60lb sow a couple weeks ago. let the quarters and backstrap sit in the frig for 3 days after bleeding out in cooler for 2. Slow grilled a ham for 4 hrs and froze the rest. Was some good eating!

Have y'all been shooting many on your place on 274? We had a ton on camera last year but have mainly just had big singles or an occasional big double. No large groups. They've torn a few places up on the place, but nothing real big.

Old German trick for any game meat especially wild hogs

ICE WATER with 1/2 cup up to 1 cup of vinegar and approximately 18 to 20 oz of real lemon juice. Soak large portions of meat for 2 to 3 days, changing the water as needed and keeping the water ICE COLD. Keep all meat covered within the ice water. Soak the meat until it turns white and all blood has leached out. If the meat begins to darken or turn blue then you have too much vinegar in the ice water. The meat is still good just change the ice water and reduce the amount of vinegar.

Then smoke slow over post oak wood using your favorite rub. I usually inject my hogs with creole butter before smoking them. Inject with creole butter, rub down with pickle juice and yellow mustard, then add my favorite BBQ rub. Then make a warm mop to baste the hog while it smokes .

Alton brown brine for a day or two.

Maybe try slow cooker to make something like carnitas that has a ton of other strong flavors to cover it up.

Thisguy1 said:

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Have y'all been shooting many on your place on 274? We had a ton on camera last year but have mainly just had big singles or an occasional big double. No large groups. They've torn a few places up on the place, but nothing real big.

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They around the home place about 6 months of each year...which 6 months is always a guess. Trapped two small ones in mid-Nov...BBQ meat!

Most of the ones we deal with are at our ranch in west Brazos county. They vacuumed up damn near every pecan from the native trees (and there was a great crop this season). Plus the usual pasture rooting mayhem.
An example (from Jan 1st, too dang cold, but my son went anyway...)

BurnetAggie99 said:

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Old German trick for any game meat especially wild hogs

ICE WATER with 1/2 cup up to 1 cup of vinegar and approximately 18 to 20 oz of real lemon juice. Soak large portions of meat for 2 to 3 days, changing the water as needed and keeping the water ICE COLD. Keep all meat covered within the ice water. Soak the meat until it turns white and all blood has leached out. If the meat begins to darken or turn blue then you have too much vinegar in the ice water. The meat is still good just change the ice water and reduce the amount of vinegar.

Then smoke slow over post oak wood using your favorite rub. I usually inject my hogs with creole butter before smoking them. Inject with creole butter, rub down with pickle juice and yellow mustard, then add my favorite BBQ rub. Then make a warm mop to baste the hog while it smokes .

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You have inspired me to try something new. I have injected and mustard rubbed pork before, but the pickle juice twist sounds good.

I've cleaned everyone I have taken from 10lbs to 150lbs and never had an issue with taste. It may be a difference in geographic location and food source. Most of mine have at least 1/2-inch of fat from head to tail with no bad smell after the hide is removed. Under normal circumstances, once I've killed the hog, it is quartered and on ice with 30 minutes.

Try it on Brisket as well with yellow mustard and your favorite simply rub. For briskets I like course black pepper, white pepper and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Then let the Brisket sit over night marinating before smoking.

I had this one on ice within 30 minutes of killing it. I added some vinegar to the ice water. Im going to soak it a few more days and see how it was. It's wasn't terrible but there was definitely a little after taste and haven't noticed it on a small pig before. Probably try the mustard recommendation on the stick burner Saturday. On another note I actually shot this one off one of the lease roads with my 6 and 3 year olds plus mom. Mom held her book over her face but the kids witnessed their 1st 4 legged kill. My daughter was mesmerized watching me clean it. The 3 year old boy wanted to know when he could kill one.