wild hog vs farm/store-bought pig - questions

[riseabove50]

hey guys,

got a pretty general pig/hog 101 question for you. i've never smoked a whole pig or hog but i'd like to. i know i can order a hog ready to go from a butcher (which costs more than i'd like to spend currently) and there's lots of information out there to get me going from storage (ice water), injections, cooking methods etc. but i've also got a friend or two who have pretty easy access to wild hogs and are interested in getting me involved in the smoking process. so here are my questions (apologies if they seem dumb):

store bought pigs are smoked with the skin on, but wild hogs aren't, right? why is that? and is there a different cooking method for wild hogs since there's no skin to protect them like with a pig?

and can you smoke a whole hog/pig using an indirect reverse flow smoker? any suggestions on how best to go about this? is there a better rig set-up or method to smoke a whole hog?

really i'm looking for a start-to-finish guide on how to smoke a whole wild hog and i can't seem to find anything that's all inclusive. if any of you has something like that and is willing to share, i'd appreciate it.

thanks in advance for all contributions.

Mark

 

[daninnewjersey]

Had no idea wild hogs were cooked skinless....I thought just hairless. However, there are lots of ways to cook pigs. I prefer the more simple way....pat dry, rub with olive oil, and cook at 275-ish for 1 hour per 10 lbs. Works like a charm every time....and as easy-peasy as it gets. These are 2 I did relatively recently.....

 

[riseabove50]

so what's the best way to get make a wild hog hairless? i've seen some threads where the hog is boiled and then the hair is pulled off, and some where the hair is burned off with a torch. any input on the best method for that?

those are some nice hogs! i hope mine comes out like that. did you cook them using an indirect pit or did you set coals underneath the shoulders and butts?

thanks.

 

[Smokin J's PIts]

the hair is the real issue, easiest way to remove it is burn it off with a weed burner, stinks like all heck but very efficient, a lot of guys down here just 1/4 and skin easier to handle and store that way. if its a fresh kill you can pour boiling water on them and shave the hair, but I have never done it that way, also be careful using Mesquite wild hog really takes the bitter cinnamon flavor if it gets too much.

 

[cowgirl]

They are definitely easier to skin than scald. Burning the hair off is quick and easy but sometimes leaves stubble under the skin. Best way to get all the hair off (imo) is scald and scrape. The hot water loosens the hair and it comes out fairly easy.
When scalding a pig by myself, I pour small amounts of the hot water on one spot, cover with cheese cloth or a kitchen towel, let it sit til the hair loosens...scrape that spot and repeat until the whole hog is done.

Sometimes, when I sell a pig to a buyer for their cookout. I let them clean the pig here. One method is to lay a good pile of straw down, lay the pig on top and set the straw on fire. Roll the pig around as needed. The scrape remaining hair and hose the pig down with water.

I've used a weed burner with good results too... but watch for the stubble.

Good luck with whatever you go with.


forgot to add...
If you get a pig that's hard to skin, use box cutters to cut the hide into strips and use pliers or catfish skinners to pull the hide off in strips.

 

[Lighter-Fluid]

Sounds like Cowgirl has a lot of experience. The wild hogs are mostly home processed so they are skinned rather than scalded and scraped.

 

[TuscaloosaQ]

I have cooked several wild hogs off our farm in Alabama... I skin all of them.... Some have some really long hair... Be ware that they are much leaner....I plan on cooking a domesticated hog this thanksgiving .... I've never done one seems pretty simple.... If It does niot turn out good I guess i will thhrow it in an old well on the farm... They are everywhere....

 

[Norm]

When I butcher my hogs I always skin them. Too much work to scald and I don't really care for the skin. If you do skin them do so right away, the longer you wait the harder it is to get the skin off.

 

[riseabove50]

how about cooking method? direct or indirect?

 

[daninnewjersey]

how about cooking method? direct or indirect?

My reverse flow stick burner does the job well....actually it's the only way I've ever cooked pigs. There are a few different ways to cook them...I'm sure others will chime in with their techniques. Only other advice I can give you is to have plenty of cold ones on hand...

 

[jimstocks53]

I can vouch for wild hogs being leaner. Turned one into pig jerky a while back before I realized how important fat is.

 

[RL Reeves Jr]

They are definitely easier to skin than scald. Burning the hair off is quick and easy but sometimes leaves stubble under the skin. Best way to get all the hair off (imo) is scald and scrape. The hot water loosens the hair and it comes out fairly easy.
When scalding a pig by myself, I pour small amounts of the hot water on one spot, cover with cheese cloth or a kitchen towel, let it sit til the hair loosens...scrape that spot and repeat until the whole hog is done.

Sometimes, when I sell a pig to a buyer for their cookout. I let them clean the pig here. One method is to lay a good pile of straw down, lay the pig on top and set the straw on fire. Roll the pig around as needed. The scrape remaining hair and hose the pig down with water.

I've used a weed burner with good results too... but watch for the stubble.

Good luck with whatever you go with.


forgot to add...
If you get a pig that's hard to skin, use box cutters to cut the hide into strips and use pliers or catfish skinners to pull the hide off in strips.

Lots of good advise here. We slaughter a hog a few times a year for smoking and charcuterie. We build a fire under a big cauldron filled with water and sharpen up our scraping knives. When the water boils we take burlap sacks and drape them over the pig, then pour the boiling water over the animal and let sit for about 5 minutes. Then go to scraping. We've never used cheesecloth but it would most likely work fine. We use a searzall on the ears and areas where we can't lay the burlap.

 

[cowgirl]

how about cooking method? direct or indirect?

Your reverse flow will work great.
When cooking one with open fire or coals, I use indirect heat, then crisp the skin at the end of the cook with higher heat.
Treat a skinned pig like a large pork butt, inject and season well. The bark is delicious!!

Good luck to ya.

 

[tonyjohnson619]

I have not done a wild pig but I have raised and butchered my own. I just gut and skin the pig the quarter it up to fit in freezer tell I gringo most of it. Last pig was 450 lbs on the hoof so I only needed only hind quarter to feed the party of 50.

 

[Norm]

450 on the hoof!

Lucky friends.

 

[Bob O Q Shawtee]

275 indirect,use a meat thermometer to make sure thickest portion reach's 155F.
Removeing hair is is an art requiring trial and error to prefect. You don't shave the hair but pull it out with root by scraping after scalding. Getting water hot enough and holding heat on skin without cooking skin is the tricky part. We use worn out 32 tpi hacksaw blades or back side of blade mounted in a saw as scrapers. A friend fashioned a scraper from an old handsaw blade by mounting handles on it and useing non-tooth edge. All and all it's easier to skin it.

 

[Chuckwagonbbqco]

an old fashioned round "curry comb" for a horse will remove hair from a scalded pig. I always skin any wild pigs. Wild pig can be awesome or wild pig can be inedible---and the cooking method will not make any difference. Garbage in--garbage out--what has the wild pig been feeding on?? Was it killed where it was feeding on roots and acorns? Was it killed near a barley field? The bigger the pig--the worse the taste. Old boar is not edible.

 

[gcs]

If you want to scrape them, just get to a farm store and buy a hog scraper, looks like a bell with a handle coming off the top, they're cheap and last forever. The kettle and fire to get the scalding water to temp is fine but takes a long time, the last one I did that way, my father stopped by and asked why are you wasting your time? You have a water heater in the basement, turn the thermostat up to the temp you want and run a hose from it to your scalding barrel, unlimited hot water! Works great if you have a heater within hose distance ...But, I wouldn't bother to scald anymore, just skin and get to butchering.

 

[riseabove50]

and what would you suggest as final cook temp? in other words, how do you know when it's done? i usually cook my butts to 200F and they are super tender and not dry. is this too long for a whole hog?

thanks for all the advice guys!

 

[riseabove50]

Your reverse flow will work great.
When cooking one with open fire or coals, I use indirect heat, then crisp the skin at the end of the cook with higher heat.
Treat a skinned pig like a large pork butt, inject and season well. The bark is delicious!!

Good luck to ya.

what temp do you recommend? i cook my butts to around 200F. is that too hot for a whole pig? i know the loins and tenderloins may get overcooked if i cook for that long. what do you recommend to prevent that?

thanks again for the advice.