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.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.
Look at how dark the shoulder meat is on this hog...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.
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 :)
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 :DThanks 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
Nice, congrats to your uncle! Man 183# way heavier than the little bodied does and spikes I take haha
Nice!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 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.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
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 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.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.