ideas to make my wild - native porkies better tasting

[genprae]

Hi Master Smokers and Grillers,

I'm a novice farmer and recently had success in growing organic fed free range mixed wild / native piggies here in the Philippines. May I bother you with some advice on how to make these piggies better tasting at the smoker / grill. Advice on smoking techniques and recipes would be much appreciated.

A sample of my piggies are in my avatar.

Cheers!

 

[backwoods bbq]

if you have access to corn I would cage the animal up and feed it corn for a good week or two. any type of grain in pork will make the meat milder and taste better. It is not enough sometimes to just let the animal roam free on "organic" material as you cant watch them 24 hours a day. if corn is unavailable on the island oats may work also. if that does not help or is unattainable, when harvesting the meat let it soak in salt water or buttermilk to give it a milder flavor similar to domestic swine.

 

[dandl93]

 
Hi Master Smokers and Grillers,

I'm a novice farmer and recently had success in growing organic fed free range mixed wild / native piggies here in the Philippines. May I bother you with some advice on how to make these piggies better tasting at the smoker / grill. Advice on smoking techniques and recipes would be much appreciated.

A sample of my piggies are in my avatar.

Cheers!

If I understand these pigs are running loose on your farm and you are feeding them ? If this is the case they should be fairly tasty.

If they are actually running around wild eating what ever like trash and dead animals you need to pen them up and feed them grains and fruits and veggies that you can get in the Phillippines for a few weeks.

Check the search bar for pork brines and marinades there is many to choose on this forum.I personally like to use fresh orange juice.Sounds like you mite have some good tasting hog there if they are not just running wild.

Dan  

 

[genprae]

Thanks for the advice. This is much appreciated. My hogs are actually roaming in a two hectare fenced land which used to be a mango plantation. The piggies are kept away from dead or decaying animals as the lot is inspected daily. We've fed them with cabbage and other greens and some corn (we planted on a separate parcel of land). They've got access to fresh running water too, 24/7. They "herd" but I separate those with little piggies for a while to avoid injury for a few weeks before allowing them out again. They get their shade from mango and calamansi (local citrus) trees in the land. No pesticides used on those trees either. 

I'll take your advice to pen them up though, at least during the night.Thanks again dandl93 and Backwoods BBQ!   

 

[dandl93]

 
Thanks for the advice. This is much appreciated. My hogs are actually roaming in a two hectare fenced land which used to be a mango plantation. The piggies are kept away from dead or decaying animals as the lot is inspected daily. We've fed them with cabbage and other greens and some corn (we planted on a separate parcel of land). They've got access to fresh running water too, 24/7. They "herd" but I separate those with little piggies for a while to avoid injury for a few weeks before allowing them out again. They get their shade from mango and calamansi (local citrus) trees in the land. No pesticides used on those trees either. 

I'll take your advice to pen them up though, at least during the night.Thanks again dandl93 and Backwoods BBQ!   

2 hectares is 5 acres. What they are eating is good no need to pen them up.Since they are cross bred domestic/wild they should be some great eating pig.FYI dont feed your little pigs tomatos it can kill them.Mango brine mite be real tasty with pork.

Dan

 

[foamheart]

One of the local meat processors that does a bunch of wild and feral hogs says its about how they are killed. Something about a chemical enzyme that is released by possible adrenaline? He swears when they bring in a live one, they feed it and then give it cheap gin before killing it.

I don't know the truth of it, I just know he's sticking to the story.

 

[moikel]

Wild pig chased down with hunting dogs the killed not worth *** as meat.IMO.

Stalked & shot clean a better option. Caught ,penned,wormed,fed regular food always way superior . 

My butcher friend has a wild boar that he cross breeds with domestic pigs turns out some great pork.

 

[dandl93]

GenPrae

With out some good pics.I am thinking your pigs are very lean by the way you are raising them if so you will want to keep this in mind when looking for ways to cook the pork.

Dan 

 

[jirod]

I've read a blog before from a guy who pasture raises hogs (thought about doing it myself). He says their primary diet (90% or so) is pasture/hay. The rest is dairy (whey/milk/cheese), and some fruits like apples and vegetables (they grow pumpkins a lot). Supposedly the whey and other dairy products help with some acids they don't get on pasture compared to commercial feeds.

I've never raised hogs, so I have no idea the validity of this. But supposedly the apples and veggies and whey help them gain weight faster and would almost certainly help with flavor. Not sure what you have available around you or what is safe for hogs.

 

[dandl93]

I've read a blog before from a guy who pasture raises hogs (thought about doing it myself). He says their primary diet (90% or so) is pasture/hay. The rest is dairy (whey/milk/cheese), and some fruits like apples and vegetables (they grow pumpkins a lot). Supposedly the whey and other dairy products help with some acids they don't get on pasture compared to commercial feeds.

I've never raised hogs, so I have no idea the validity of this. But supposedly the apples and veggies and whey help them gain weight faster and would almost certainly help with flavor. Not sure what you have available around you or what is safe for hogs.

I would have to see this 90% diet of grass? Hogs are rooters and scavengers not grasiers.This is the problem in the lower USA with wild hogs ruining farm and forest land.They will tear up the land and soil to get at roots.As for the diary products fruits and veggies not much differant then the old farms making hog slop just add some corn and other grain to the mix.

Some times the idea makes for a great selling tool like free range chickens.As long as the chicken can leave the chicken coop only has to be 1 foot they are considered free range.Grass fed beef ...OLD Tough and Stringy add some grain to their diet marbled beef, younger and tender meat.

Just my way of thinking....

Dan

 

[jirod]

Dan, going again solely what I've read on pastured hogs, never seen an actual operation, the idea they use is paddocks. Their pasture apparently is a lot of clover and alfalfa I believe. And by systematically moving them from area to area (or paddocks) where there is a lot of food they don't root as much. Don't know if the addition of the other foods give the hogs nutrients so they aren't as apt to root as much.

But apparently, again going off of blogs and articles on the internet, as long as there is ample food available the hogs don't root as much.

 

[jirod]

As far as the cooking, could look at some brines or marinades to help with the flavor and moisture some. There are some good rub/brine/marinade recipes on this site from a lot of people who know a log more than me. Can do a search up top based off of what cut of meat you are looking at cooking.