# Wild Pig and Sausage



## bones1948 (Nov 19, 2012)

I have been told that wild pig is leaner then store bought pig.  With that in mind do I need to get some pork fat to add to my wild pig to make breakfast or any other kind of sausage?  If so what percentage of fat do I need to add?

Thanks Bones


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## venture (Nov 19, 2012)

Hard to say?

Cut that puppy up and look at it.  You should be able to tell the fat to lean ratio?

Also, treat the wild ones carefully, as you should always anyway.  Wild game, and the way it is handled by amateurs, will often be more prone to food borne disease than commercially produced meat.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## stillsmokin (Jan 31, 2013)

I trap and process a good number of wild hogs, have for years. Its hard to determine how much fat to add because I find every wild hog is different. Have had some with almost no fat, and others with a bunch. Have even had a couple tht had enough belly fat for bacon. Best way to determine the amount of fat to add is to grind your meat, add some pork fat from a local butcher, season and fry a couple of pieces. Taste it for flavor, consistancy and fat content. Add more ground fat if needed and adjust your spices as needed. I also agree with Venture that all wild meat should be handled carefully. Keep your work area and tools clean, and make sure your wild meat remains at a safe temp. Also be sure the carcass is cleaned well if you butcher your own, as I do.


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## dward51 (Feb 1, 2013)

Depending on the diet of the pig and the actual cut, the fat content will vary widely.  If you need to add more to your ground meat, just use back fat or trimmings from your butcher.  Some of them give it away as a lot gets tossed out anyway.

Or you could buy one of those blocks of bacon trimmings and ends and grind it up to add.  They are high in fat and would also give some flavor.

Chef Jimmy J posted this in another wild meat thread.  Trichinella is the most common parasite in wild pigs.


> [h3]6.4. _Trichinella_[/h3]
> 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).
> ...


Also here is more from the Wikipedia page on Trichinosis and prevention of same....
[h3]Food preparation[/h3]
Larvae may be killed by the heating or irradiation of raw meat. Freezing is only usually effective for _T. spiralis_, since other species, such as _T. nativa_, are freeze resistant and can survive long-term freezing.[sup][13][/sup]

All meat (including pork) can be safely prepared by cooking to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) or more for 15 seconds or more.

*Wild game: Wild game meat must be cooked thoroughly (see meat preparation above) Freezing wild game does not kill all trichinosis larval worms. This is because the worm species that typically infests wild game can resist freezing.*

Pork: *Freezing cuts of pork* less than 6 inches thick for 20 days at 5 °F (−15 °C) or three days at −4 °F (−20 °C) kills _T. spiralis_ larval worms; *but this will not kill other trichinosis larval worm species, such as T. nativa,* if they have infested your pork food supply (which is unlikely).
Pork can be safely cooked to a slightly lower temperature provided that the internal meat temperature is at least as hot for at least as long as listed in the USDA table below.[sup][26][/sup] Nonetheless, it is prudent to allow a margin of error for variation in internal temperature within a particular cut of pork, which may have bones that affect temperature uniformity. In addition, your thermometer has measurement error that must be considered. Cook pork for significantly longer and at a higher uniform internal temperature than listed here to be safe.

Internal TemperatureInternal TemperatureMinimum Time(°F)(°C)(minutes)12049126012250.057012451.127012652.212012853.46013054.53013255.61513456.7613657.8313858.9214060.0114261.1114462.2Instant
[sup][26][/sup]

*Unsafe and unreliable methods *of cooking meat include the use of microwave ovens, *curing, drying, and smoking*, as these methods are difficult to standardize and control.[sup][13][/sup]


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## boykjo (Feb 1, 2013)

No experience with wild hog but I would take the meat and seperate the fat from the lean then add them together accordingly 80'20 lean to fat ratio.. If you dont have enough fat from the wild hog I would add some fat from the butcher............


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## mike johnson (Feb 1, 2013)

if its a boar id remove all the fat and add fat i bought from the butch.The 1 boar I shot was the stinkiest damn thing ever. I almost couldnt cook it in the house.


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## linepipe (Feb 1, 2013)

Stillsmokin and dward are correct about adding fat if it is needed. One thing I would add:  take some of the meat with the fat that came off of the pig and cook it to check and see if the taste is something you can deal with. Pigs eat everything and some can throw the taste into the "gamey" zone that many don't like. This time of year around here their diet will be mostly wheat grass and deer corn, so the fat is good. Other times of the year, not so much. 

Pigs are truly omnivorous when they need to be- acorns, pecans, grub worms, carrion, wild plums, cow turds - it all goes down the belly hatch, so it's best to test the flavor if you have those who don't like strong flavors they ate not used to. 

Good luck!  That rooter will be excellent on a smoker!!!


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## roller (Feb 1, 2013)

I hope yours was not like those that Pig Man was shooting on his show the other night...Skinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnny !  I have some I need to do up..


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## lennyluminum (Feb 1, 2013)

I love that show i really do!!


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## stillsmokin (Feb 1, 2013)

Yup, a wild pig's diet will definitely affect the flavor of the fat. If you find one that has truly lived life on the wild side, and has a diet consisting mainly of acorns and watever else it can scrounge, the fat can be a bit sour. A wild pig will eat anything, even the discarded guts and hide of previously killed game. Many folks won't even try to butcher an old boar because of the smell, but this is a waste. Treat it right and its just as good as a young pig. I butcher mine as far as quartering and trimming, then ice it down in a chest. Drain the water once or twice a day, add fresh ice, and do this for three days. This will bleed the meat well and get rid of much of the wild taste/smell. You can throw a couple of handfuls of salt into the icewater if you want. Pull meat out and rinse very thoroghly. Now you're ready to further process the meat. If you take the time to do this right, even a crusty old 350 pound boar will provide melt-in-your-mouth pork. I trap pigs year round, and we will process 6-8 every year, and give away lots of meat. Along with deer, they are a big part of our diet. My wife and boys would rather neat wild game over purchased beef or pork. Good thing, too. Anybody else trying to feed 3 teenage boys?


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## linepipe (Feb 2, 2013)

From hard-gained experience- stillsmokin comments are spot on. 

They way I do it is to wash them before I skin or gut if possible. I string them up and spend time Washing them down. This keeps everything much cleaner and keeps my knife sharper longer ( no cutting through dirt). I then clean it out, wash it again thoroughly and then quarter and throw it all into a water and mild salt solution got at least a day. Even bled pigs will release a lot of blood into the water. This bath does wonders for the meat, even big boars. 

Treat the meat right and the should be no waste, even what people call too big to eat.  That is a myth. Proper handling determines that more than anything. 

We joke that my kids came out made of eggs, deer and pig. They still eat those a lot.

Not to take the thread off topic, but my point is that there is some flavor that is blamed on fat that can be poor handling - store bought fat wont ever get that "wang" out.


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## rexlan (Feb 2, 2013)

These Crazy Horse hogs here in FL are really rank ... don't use any of the fat!













hybrid hogs.jpg



__ rexlan
__ Feb 2, 2013


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## lennyluminum (Feb 3, 2013)

Wow man i aint ever seen hogs with stripes like that!!  Thats awesome!! Where are you at in fl im in pinellas park its about 15min north of the sky way.


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## boykjo (Feb 3, 2013)

He lives right down the street from the Zoo..................


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## roller (Feb 3, 2013)

Never seen anything like that...


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## driedstick (Feb 3, 2013)

rexlan said:


> These Crazy Horse hogs here in FL are really rank ... don't use any of the fat!
> 
> 
> 
> ...









     
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





thems some funny lookin piggys


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## rexlan (Feb 4, 2013)

Amazing what you can do with some Krylon white paint .... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Was posted on the hunting forum ......


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## watersdogs (Nov 10, 2016)

My brother gave me a backstrap off a hog he killed close to Dike in east texas. The friendly game warden said to keep it on ice for at least 7 days and it would be fine. This was about a 225 pound hog. I waited 5 days and sliced off a little for breakfast. It was good, didn't stink but was a little tough. Saw my brother the next day, he said, by the way, you are supposed to freeze that hog for a minimum of 20 days to get rid of some kind of disease. Thanks alot bro! Not sick yet, hopefully I cooked it enough! Going to grind the rest up along with some regular pork fat for breakfast sausage and freeze this time. I figure 20% fat ought to work unless I hear different.


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