my uncle had the same thing happened to him that RC spoke about .....he tried to cook a rank boar in his house and it ran the whole family out

You WILL be able to tell immediately whether your hog smells too bad to eat. Killed a 150# (coastal) hog a years ago that plain smelled rotten while skinning it. Didn't get any better over oak fire smothered in BBQ sauce! Nastiest thing I've ever smelled & couldn't eat one piece! Only hog I never ate & still don't know why he smelled so bad?

I wonder how much their diet has to do with it. We had a cow that got into a sack of onions about a day before the butcher showed up and we ended up throwing most of it out. Smelled like a dead skunk!

If it was run by dogs you could not pay me to eat it..lol

Most of the dog hunters out where I go catch them and castrate the boars for the next guy. My personal favorites are the 40-50 lb roasters.

I have yet to find a booar or sow that wasn't just fine on the table and we've killed some big ones. The brine recipe beaunaro mentioned is nothing fancy and has been around 800 years or so. It works great on all pork.(google: brine for pork)Just don't let it soak too long in the brine mixture, 24 hours max. It speeds up the cooking time and helps keep the meat moist.
I shoot the 50-100# hogs, more tender.
That said, I imagine pigs from one environment would taste different than from another. We hunt citrus groves mostly, the pigs grow up on citrus, whole corn, pecans, and acorns.

I'm with RC..

QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B.:
I'm with RC..

Me too.

Yeah, I don't want anyone to misunderstand me.  I wasn't saying there is no such thing as a rank boar, just that I haven't run into one yet.  Don't automatically assume that a boar over 200 pounds is going to be rank.  My butcher said that he has seen them be rank weighing only 150#, and seen others over 400# be fine.  He said that if you try to cook it and it drives you out of the house, you will know, lol.  The only javelina that I shot was like that.  Changed the liquid in the crockpot 3 times, and it was almost edible at the end.

I agree with the soaking in salt water.  I also like to cook for 10-12 hours slow in a crock pot.  Meat literally falls off the bone which I just scoop out..  I'm sure there are those out there that are rank but I think the idea that a big boar is automatically unetible is a shame, I've eaten and enjoyed plenty.

Absolutely, most are excellent !!!  

But occassionally, whew !

I've shot two rank boars. One was the morning I ws leaving florida on an afternoon flight. The guide suggested i ice it down in ice water and salt to cool it down before putting it on the flight. So for three hours i had it in a ice water salt slush and that hog smelled fine when i took it out to put it in another cooler for the flight home. It tasted great too. Another one i just made into sausage after icing down and that was great too.

i always guessed it was like black bears...many will tell you they are inedible but the bear I have eaten was outstanding...fatty but outstanding.

I think it has to do with a few things...  what they are eating, how they were taken, how they are handled AFTER the kill.

if eating acorns, grasses, roots, berries, etc...then that is a positive.

if eating winter kill, eating from garbage dumps or dumpsters.....or in case of bears immediately after they come out of hibernation they still have all those toxins and stuff in their system

then a calm animal shot with rifle or bow that died quickly is a positive...versus one that ran for a mile afterwards or was chased by hounds for 2 hours beforehand.

finally...care when dressing to not contaminate meat with various glands or secretions....keeping meat cool....and then preparation for the table.


I firmly believe all of these things come into play and I think what they are eating and how they are taken (running for miles or calm) makes more impact than anything else.