Processing Week 2022...

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Ended up with 10.35# of pork bellies off that big wild sow. The bellies were about 1 1/4-1 1/2" thick.......so....I'm gonna make cold smoked bacon out of them! Got them in the cure right now! Will pull them off the cure Dec.15th.
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The flavor is 'porkier'....like the old school taste in a hog when they use to let domestic pigs free range in the woods on the farm. A little stronger porkiness than a pastuered hog. The commercial hogs nowadays....the meat is light in color and very bland in flavor.
Awesome thread! I always enjoy following your hunting harvest thread. I’ll bet the hogs are great if they are eating clean. They have bred the pork taste and darker red meat right out commercial pigs in an attempt to compete with chicken breast. It’s that old. “the other white meat” campaign. That’s why I like getting ahold of some of the heritage breeds like Duroc or Berkshire when I can.
 
Awesome thread! I always enjoy following your hunting harvest thread. I’ll bet the hogs are great if they are eating clean. They have bred the pork taste and darker red meat right out commercial pigs in an attempt to compete with chicken breast. It’s that old. “the other white meat” campaign. That’s why I like getting ahold of some of the heritage breeds like Duroc or Berkshire when I can.
Look at how dark the shoulder meat is on this hog...
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Man that is awesome for both the bacon and the shoulder meat.

Yeah that wild pork is sooo good. Love the dark pork meat!
 
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The flavor is 'porkier'....like the old school taste in a hog when they use to let domestic pigs free range in the woods on the farm. A little stronger porkiness than a pastuered hog. The commercial hogs nowadays....the meat is light in color and very bland in flavor.
Man that is awesome!! I love them around 180lbs, makes it worth the effort and it's a good 60 pound haul of meat or so when said and done. Crazy how much of a pig is head, hide, and bone.

Here in TX, feral hogs are considered a pest so we can hunt them day/night and with basically anything (spears, knives, firearms, archery, your car, etc.). Also we can pop'em with FMJ's as well. I wouldn't recommend that, even if taking head/neck shots. Now go to anything cheap that mushrooms, breaks up, up or goes frangible and do head neck shots and no issue.
I'd love to see a Barnes Varmint Grenade bullet put in the eye/ear or base of the skull on a hog. Those types of bullets can be soooo inexpensive and I only shoot pigs in the head/neck anyhow so I don't have to track a wounded hog and so they drop right there :)

I've got 1 more range trip to sight in my new loads for my new 6.5CM and .308, after which they will be ready to rock and roll and I can go night time on some hogs with the 6.5CM with my day/night scope :D

Found an acceptable price on Barnes 127gr LRX for the 6.5CM so will load those up to be my non-lead deer hunting option. I prefer to go lead free and I have this fantasy that I can go hunt anywhere with those rounds since they are lead free. It doesn't hurt that they are super accurate and expand like crazy too :D

Grats on the extra meat!




Inda has it explained well.
I feel like wild flavor is outstanding. It tasted like a different kind of pork meat. The best way for me to explain it is that wild hog meat is like chicken dark meat and farm raised pork is like chicken white meat.
Soo much flavor difference to me.

I've only ever hunted them in late Fall - late Winter in North TX, Central TX, and NE TX. They have all tasted fantastic and haven't been very nasty. All nasty smells and such washes off and is definitely gone when the hide comes off. Everything from 300lbs+ down to 60lbs has been good to me. When in doubt get rid of the fat, clean the unwanted tissue off the meat, and grind the meat for sausage :)

Thanks for the insight guys! Totally agree that domestic pork if far from what it should be. I bought a half a heritage hog and it was delicious but spendy. I struck out on elk hunting this year so I think I need to raise some pigs in order to fill the freezer! Lot of Kune Kune piglets for sale out here that are great on pasture but apparently almost too fatty. I have some research to do. Or maybe i just need to head down to the South and go hog hunting lol
 
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Thanks for the insight guys! Totally agree that domestic pork if far from what it should be. I bought a half a heritage hog and it was delicious but spendy. I struck out on elk hunting this year so I think I need to raise some pigs in order to fill the freezer! Lot of Kune Kune piglets for sale out here that are great on pasture but apparently almost too fatty. I have some research to do. Or maybe i just need to head down to the South and go hog hunting lol
If you grow a super fatty pig be sure to save all that fat for sausage making with your venison. Pork fat + venison sausages is how I do it :D
 
I got 84# of deboned meat and fat off that big sow....she was heavier than I thought. Over 200# for sure. That's 145# of wild hog in the freezer this fall, along with 160# of deer meat...
 
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I'm looking forward to the pics you have a nice set up
 
Your group is doing well this year looks like there's gonna be some quality eating in the freezers.
I sat out on the porch watching 2 eight pointers eating corn at the feeder late yesterday afternoon. While I was looking at them they both took off running which I thought was odd till I looked up and got a glimpse of a big buck coming out of the woods and heading across a field to another feeder. Not sure exactly how many points but he's a big boy. Big enough to scare those eights at about 100 yards away lol. We can run feeders over here to as long as they are out x amount of time before the season starts but mine run year around so I've forgotten how long before season they have to be running. Oh our general gun season isn't open right now but opens this coming Saturday. The feeder the 8's were at is 35-40 yards from our back door then wife loves watching the deer feed and if she isn't working she is usually out there morning and afternoon when the feeder goes off and the deer usually are at the feeders shortly after they go off. We've got 10 or 12 that hit that feeder a lot and I don't generally shoot them but when they get to be 8's or bigger I may as well because if I don't one of the neighbors will as soon as they roam their property.
Brother in law has only killed one hog so far and him and his brother made sausage out of it. Think he's taken 4 deer so far.
 
My Uncle got 59# of meat off that buck. He is in for processing day so more help is a great thing! Gonna do a bigger run of deer/beef grind this year, Dad and Uncle both want some along what I'll be doing for myself. Probably 150# of just ground deer/beef.

Also-I picked up another great contact at another local grocer. can get chuck, brisket, and ribeye trim fat for a great price...
 
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My Uncle got 59# of meat off that buck. He is in for processing day so more help is a great thing! Gonna do a bigger run of deer/beef grind this year, Dad and Uncle both want some along what I'll be doing for myself. Probably 150# of just ground deer/beef.

Also-I picked up another great contact at another local grocer. can get chuck, brisket, and ribeye trim fat for a great price...
Nice!
 
Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out!

Ryan
 
Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out!

Ryan
Nice and congrats!
 
Gonna be a busy day again for ya when you process them. I'm about done with my 3 deer, wife helped some with back legs the rest is just me but got about 70 lbs of burger ground so far...which is good, we were out!

Ryan
Nice! I still have about 12# of deer/beef grind from last season. That should last me until processing day. Hope to put about 100# of deer/beef grind in the freezer this season.
 
Nice! I still have about 12# of deer/beef grind from last season. That should last me until processing day. Hope to put about 100# of deer/beef grind in the freezer this season.
We always share our meat with daughter and SIL also. Loins and tenders are all packaged, do alot of jerky from roasts. Wanna do some pastrami and dried venison too in near future! Maybe someday will get better processing facilities... can't remember if it's you or tallbm tallbm has the cooler with rail system but that would be nice. I do have a car hoist which works great to use for skinning and quartering but shop is full and my Mustang is on it! Lol.

Ryan
 
Not me with the rail system....but that sure would be nice to have...

I do have a pretty sweet place to do our processing though. big double door cooler, commercial freezer, lots of counter space and an ice machine.
 
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