Wild Hog

[wwinflorida]

I am attemping to smoke an 8 lb shoulder from wild pig we took earlier in the year. I smothered it in Jeff's rub and am smoking it with hickory and cherry (hopefully to get some killer pulled pork).

Not sure how it will come out as the only other attempt at ended up coming out with good flavor but extremely tough - to much so to really eat. I thought I might smoke this one to about 150 degrees and then transfer it to a crock pot to finish it off. I am thinking of doing this because the meat I have cooked in the crockpot previously has come out extremely tender but I do miss that smoked flavor. Any suggestions, opinions, or ideas would be appreciated - this is test run for a much larger butt I have in the freezer that I am supposed to cook up for 22 people later in December.

 

[homebrew & bbq]

Smoking it at 150 seems kind of risky to me. The danger zone for meat is 40 to 140 and you'll be just barely above that so the meat will take a long time to get to a safe temperature. I think I would shoot for 180 or more to make sure the meat was safe to eat.

Just my $.02 worth.

Oops... sorry, I misread the 150. Sounds like a good plan to me now that I read what it actually says.

 

[wwinflorida]

I agree that it needs to be cooked to a higher temperature for safety reasons. I plan on cooking it to about 190 in the crockpot - that is when it usually starts to fall apart. I am afraid that leaving it on the smoker to 180 will dry it out too much. I smoked the last one to 185 and it was too tough.

I appreciate your reply and would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[glued2it]

The theory of finishing it off in a crock pot seems to be sound. I never tried it.
I guess it would like using smoked meat to make soups or Chili.
It doesn't seem like the danger zone would be a issue. You could preheat water on the stove just to be safe.

I would like to know how it turns out.

 

[bbq bubba]

How much fat does that shoulder have, if it is a very lean piece, then maybe the crockpot is the way to go but if it is fairly fatty, low n slow will do the trick............just let it go and give it a chance to break down

Let us know how it goes!!

 

[homebrew & bbq]

I haven't done wild hog, but I take pulled pork up to 205°. The last few I've done have been in disposable aluminum pans. As the meat cooks I keep taking the juices out of the pan so the meat doesn't end up braising. At 165° (after reading lots of helpful posts here) I cover the pan with foil and let it keep cooking at about 250° until the internal temp reaches 205°. Once it's covered in foil you can either put it back in the smoker or move it to a 250° oven.

Hope this helps.

 

[wwinflorida]

Almost no fat on this pig. I think that was the problem with the first one. I will let you all know how it going as I smoke it. Been on for just under an hour now.

 

[wwinflorida]

I wa just reading Jeff's newletter about cooking it in the oven. Now I am thinking I might try to bring this up to 205 in covered foil instead of putting into the crock pot - a lot to pnder over the next 8 hours...

 

[tony111]

Would love to hear how it turns out. We are just getting some wild hog in this part of Ohio. A few taken in my county last year. I have been told by some of my southern friends that it is sweeter and leaner than domestic hogs.
Good luck to you

 

[t-bone tim]

you could also cover it with some strips of bacon to keep it moist during the smoke

 

[wwinflorida]

We have taken 4 down here in the last year and a half. 3 sows under 100 lbs and one boar hog at 230 lbs. They are definitely leaner but I don't know if I would say sweeter. The one thing I can say is except for the roast I mentioned earlier I have never had to throw any meat away! It's become a favorite of ours.

 

[wwinflorida]

The meat just hit 150 so I pulled it off and transferred it to the crockpot. I tried to attach a couple of photos but I get an error message saying the file exceed the website file size limit.

It smells fantastic and is still extremely tender and juicy. Maybe I made a mistake pulling off the smoker...

 

[sisco]

The last feral I cooked was in a pit. I mean pit like "Hole in the ground". Darn good too! We found this while pulling the meat from the bone; it's a 210 grain .41 magnum Hornady XTP

 

[bbq bubba]

Ya, put that hog back on the smoker and finish it proper!!

 

[wwinflorida]

What can I say - I chickened out. I'm finishing this one off in the crockpot. It's already starting to fall apart and the flavor is exactly what I was hoping for. I've been picking at it for the last 20 minutes and have no regrets.

I will probably cook the larger one the same way for my family when they come down and then start trying to perfect the meat (or at least come closer) in the smoker after the holidays and the pressure of serving good "wild hog" are done with.

 

[bbq bubba]

Well, how was it??
Where's the pic's??

 

[glued2it]

There's a couple of ways to post pics. you can use this image resizer.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=1872

Or you can use this.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=9916

 

[crewdawg52]

Next time, just to please bbq bubba...

try injecting it with apple juice and wrapping the meat in bacon , then smoke the thing. The juice, along with the bacon should keep it moist.

 

[bbq bubba]

Smart guy???

He said it was MOIST and tender when he pulled it out, all i'm saying is leave it in the smoker to finish!

I'm sorry im such a pain in the pork butt!!!

 

[jeremyh]

I did a wild boar hog shoulder this last thursday. I rubbed it with "dont rub your eyes" rub recipe. I smoked at 225 for 9 hours and finished off in the oven wrapped in foil until it was 200degrees. Pulled apart easy and was not tough at all.