Fresh Boar Bacon Question

[deebo65]

I'm takingm y son on his 1st hunting trip this weekend to help a buddy get some hogs off his property.  I'm 99.999% sure we will get one as he has had pics on all his trail cams and already shot 3 this month so far.  Anyhoo, it will be my son's first trip (he's 11) and he is an absolute bacon fanatic.  So, I was thinking about doing some bacon off of the belly of 1 (or hopefully more) of the hogs we get.  My question: since it is a wild animal and can be a bit gamey, should I brine/cure longer or step up on the amount of pink salt or should I give it a little heavier smoke?.?.?.  Any advice with this or any other game tips would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance

 

[daveomak]

Deebo, morning.... You might consider freezing the meat below 0*F for a month or so to insure the parasites are killed as a start...

Then curing and brining normally would be fine... As far as "gamey", the pig will have a lot more flavor than pen raised pig... the meat will be darker and should have more fat in the muscle tissue.... All of which makes for a better tasting pig... You may not want to eat store bought after eating a wild pig... Just a caution... Dave

 

[graystratcat]

Dave definitely has you covered.  The only thing I would add is regarding your question about adding more "pink salt".  I assume you mean something like Instacure.  I would highly recommend NOT using more cure than specified by the manufacturer.  Cure is one thing where a little more is not a little better....just MVH $0.02.

-Salt

 

[moikel]

Female pig much tastier, tempted to brine it x2 .Once for a day salt water,rinse start again. Do you know what these porkers are eating mostly?

 

[deebo65]

Thanks Dave.  I had not thought about the extra cold time for parasites and actually, I hadn't even really thought about them at all.  I have had several wild pigs and I actually like that strong flavor but it hadn't even been from an animal I've harvested.  Thanks for the tip. 

Gray, yea the cure is what I meant.  It is my first time making bacon or really curing anything so I am totally in the dark.  I have read and understand the process, but really a newbie at it so I appreciate the help.

Moikel, Yea I was hoping for a sow too.  The only ones he has on cams are pregnant (as far as management he wants those targeted to kep 20 more new piggies off the property) and really it is for my son to shoot, so whatever he has a good shot on is what we will take.  My buddy has been laying a bunch of corn out all year.  Some soy for the deer too, but I'm sure the porkers are getting into that too.  We have some corn in water now souring up to to lay out the night before hopefully bring em in close for my boy.  Hopefully this weekend we will get some pictures of of the before shots.  Thanks for all the help guys

 

[alblancher]

Deebo   if he has that big a problem long term attempt at a solution is building a trap.   Shooting them one at a time will never make even a dent, especially if he is trying to feed deer.    Plus you can kill them when they are not so active,  I understand that makes them taste a lot better.

Good luck,  remember cure doesn't kill parasites.

 

[chef jimmyj]

More Cure is never better and can be deadly...There are different types of Trichinella so COOKING is the most critical factor with freezing, to a lesser extent, but can't hurt. Since we are talking Bacon, I doubt anyone will eat it Rare...

  Here's some info...Good Luck on the Hunt...JJ

Trichinella

Pork products must be treated to destroy Trichinella by (a) Heat: A minimum internal temperature of 130°F(30 min.), 132°F(15 min.), 134°F(6 min.), or 136°F(3 min.), (b) Freezing: 5°F(20 days), -10°F(10 days) or -20°F(6 days) for all pork in pieces not exceeding 6 cu. inches. Double the freezing times for larger pieces up to 27 inches of thickness or (c) some combination of curing, drying, and smoking can kill Trichinella, but these are process specific (9 CFR 318.10).

FSIS approved of the use of up to 50% KCl[sub]2[/sub] in place of NaCl for the destruction of trichinae (USDA FSIS 1995c). Wild game (bear, elk, etc.) must be treated to destroy Trichinella by heating to 170°F, since some strains of Trichinella are freeze resistant (CDC 1985).

Pretty interesting read...http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/lit_rev/cure_smoke_pres.html

 

[grabber]

Don't add more Instacure than recipe calls for.  Go to texasboars.com.  Scroll down to recipes.  They have a lot of good info on everything re feral swine. 
You have to be a member to post but can read the posts.  Only one guy had a belly big enough to make bacon.  Most say it's not worth it, due to lack of size.