I've always wondered, when people call them rodents or say they are related to rats, more than pigs, why then, do they have hooves, and non-rodent-like teeth?

I've never hunted them, but when I lived in new mexico, a guy gave some meat from one he arrowed.  It tasted alright, of course it was free and that probably made it taste better.

"Javi" hit the nail on the head.  The young/small ones are much better.  As they get older/bigger (especially the boars) you have to be a little more "creative" in how you prepare them.  I know an old crusty South Texas taxidermist near Kingsville who prefers eating a young javelina to anything else you can kill down there.

Only ever had them as sausage and it was fine.

Marty and Greg, looks like I will soon be managing the hunting on a 382,000 acre ranch in west Texas. Good mule deer, Turkey, some whitetail, some Aoudad, a herd of wild elk, and lots of Javalina. So yep, I'm trying to figure out how to eat them. And yes we ate the Florida hogs - they were great.

Sure but then you could eat a bowling ball if you were really hungry.

We made kabobs with them after we shot some. We had pineapple, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, and Javie's. We also soaked it for a while in pineapple juice for a few hours. A couple pieces tasted like it smelled but most were alright. It is a white meat.

PS,
never cut the meat with the same knife you skin the critter with!

Here guys this should settle the question about what a Javalina actualy is.

Is it a "Pig" or Not?

Most people think of Javelina as "pigs", just a desert variety of the common barnyard animal we all know so well.  The fact is Javelina do share common ancestry to old world pigs and even similarities in appearance.  However, Javelina have many significant differences.  They have a different number of teeth, a different gestation period, a complex (versus simple) stomach, and a musk gland on their backs--the fact is, they are not "pigs".

Both Javelina (collared peccaries ~ tayassu tajacu), and pigs are members of the order artiodactyla, suborder suiformes, sharing a common ancestry dating back some 30 million years.  But, because of significant anatomical and genetic differences they, have been placed in separate families - pigs in the Suidae family and Javelina in the tayassuidae.

They claim if you soak them in milk for 24 hours all their wild taste is eliminated.

I've never hunted it or tasted it. In fact, this is the first discussion concerning it's edibility that I've ever seen. I wouldn't pass on trying it, but all this talk about the meat smelling isn't very appetizing either.

Wow Aram that is more like a county than a ranch, at least where I come from. I might just have come down and see if I can out walk you around that place. Keep me posted on hunting options.

So far it seems that the consensus is that bowling balls smell better than javelinas, but are a bit tougher and roll off the skillet.

Easy to hunt. Hard to eat.

We just got back from texas last week hunting the little devils. Yes in texas they have alot and I mean alot of fleas and ticks. But we make cherizo sausage out of most of the meat. Then take the back straps and butterfly them and make small medalion steaks. Wrap the steaks with a strip of bacon and season as you might a steak.They are not the best tasting cut of meat but Ive eaten a lot of things worse.Or just grind all of the meat, mix with pork fat and they make good cherizo though.

Are they edible ? Yes . Do you want to eat them ? NO !! Grill your shoes and eat them instead .

Aram:

Sent you a PM.

Javi salad is YUMMMMMY.  Grilled is great, also in a crock pot with vegies. I love em. Try a little cajun injector garlic butter. Now that is fine.