I heard somewhere that you can cook wild pigs to medium done but farm raised should always be well done. Something to do with wild pigs being free ranged vs farm raised. Anybody heard this and if so why?

There's three things I don't mess with:

1) Undercooked pork

2) Undercooked fish

3) Undercooked chicken

There's a reason you can't order a medium rare pork chop, fish filet, or chicken in a respectable restaurant.

Trichonosis (sp?) is supposadly eliminated in this country and in some places you can in fact order medium rare pork in a restauant. You will never catch me doing it.....

David

I got Trichinosis once, man that girl was...... Nevermind!

no differece,pork needs to be cooked.

Never heard the fish thing. I've eaten raw fish a few times. I wouldn't recommend it for flavor though.

With chicken & pork, juices need to run clear before eating.

i agree with comments above, but i did have a medium rare pork chop in vegas last month. it was at a very expensive restaraunt at the MGM grand...

i was a bit concerned at first, but the chef came out and reassured me that it is the way he designed the dish and he eats it that way.

it was the single best pork chop i have ever eaten.. of course it was almost a 3" thick pork chop

^1, I had a med. rare pork chop @ the Chicken Farm in San Angelo a few years ago that stands out as the best piece 'o pig I've ever eaten. The chef assured me that it was safe as he'd gotten sick from undercooked pork on his honeymoon and made damm sure it wouldn't happen to his customers.

A chef's comment: Maybe I'll try it Maybe Not.

Well the FDA state that beef, lamb, and pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 155F, which is way past well done. But we cook lamb chops and steak to rare temperatures all the time. Well, you can do the same with pork chops and pork loin too, but the people that don't realize that it's no less risky than a rare steak will send it back (most people). Fact is, there hasn't been a reported case of pork-related trichinosis in the U.S. since 1976. I always cook my pork chops and pork loin to medium and no one has ever gotten sick.
Source(s):
Culinary grad, executive Chef, ServSafe certified

Wild hog should be cooked through if they've never been frozen.. wild hogs can still carry trich... The farm raised ones are (supposedly) free from that concern now. But, (once again - supposedly) freezing the meat will kill the trich.. best to cook till done. If you cook it slow and baste the meat it'll stay juicy. The backstraps tend to be the driest cut, but brined or injected prior to cooking will help.

X2

Undercooked fish? Are you joking?

Sushi, anyone? I eat the hell out of completely uncooked fish all the time.

Love sushi & ceviche IF its prepared in a credible place.

Remember that the standards for cooking meats were established a long time ago. I think back in the 50's. Back then the way they processed and handled meats were much different. So the recommended internal temps were established for those times. These days meats get to the shelf quicker and are handled in a much more sanitary manner. Also Trich has been eliminated in the states so that is not a concern anymore. Its absolutely safe to cook pork to medium and even medium rare. I've had it several times and its delicious. Never got sick once.

DO NOT DO THIS!!! I am with USDA Wildlife Services we are dealing with the big pig boom and are studing the diseases they are carring and to our suprise many of them are coming back with brucelosis , psuedo rabies, and foremost trichinosis. WATCH OUT!! Always cook it to 165 degrees!!! We have had several hunters get brucelosis here in Texas in the last year and also a family came down with Trichinosis from a wild pig a few years ago.

Clarification...I was not talking about wild pigs. I'd follow justhuntin's advice on that.

Errrrrr...you CAN get medium pork chops at respectable restaurants. Most good restaurants will recommend it. When was the last known case of trichinosis? It just doesn't happen. I will usually cook store bought , whole cuts, like pork chops and tenderloins to medium. For wild pigs, I cook all the way, due to brucellosis.

It has not been eliminated and probabaly never will be because of life cycle and vectors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinosis

Good enough for me! Fully cooked it is...

Justhuntin, can you verify if the threat is eliminated by freezing??

I work for the state with the Meat Safety Assurance and here is an e-mail we received recently concerning Tularemia:

Hunters in Texas should take precautions if they hunt feral swine. Processing or handling the raw meat from feral swine can potentially expose a person to the organism that causes tularemia (Francisella tularensis) based on research conducted by a Texas Tech team of scientists from The Institute of Environmental and Human Health. Tularemia is a zoonotic disease, meaning it is shared by humans and animals. Dr. Steven Presley’s group sampled over 100 feral swine from three Texas counties: Coryell, Bell and Crosby. Blood samples from swine in the two Central Texas counties averaged 20% positive for tularemia while 31% of the Crosby County hogs exhibited positive test results. These results indicate a significant exposure of the feral swine to this disease organism. Of greater concern is the additional finding that when four of the Crosby County animals were tested for the active presence of the organism, three were positive. Funding limitations have precluded the testing for the organism in the Central Texas hogs so they have only been determined to have been exposed to the tularemia bacteria at this point but active infection would not be unexpected.

Several forms of tularemia may occur in humans, each being dependent on the route of exposure. Skin ulcers and/or swollen lymph nodes can result if the infected fluid from the animal enters the body through skin cuts or abrasions. An oral cavity or throat infection can develop if undercooked meat from an infected animal is eaten. Inhalation of infected droplets of fluid while processing an infected animal can result in pneumonia, while an eye infection may develop if the droplets enter the mucous membranes of the eye. Even deer flies and ticks are capable of transmitting the bacteria through their bites, usually resulting in skin ulceration or swollen lymph nodes.

Due to the different potential routes of exposure, it is important for hunters to practice good personal safety while hunting or processing feral swine or handling their fresh meat. The use of insect repellent is always recommended anytime someone is going to be entering environments containing ticks or other disease vectors. The use of eye protection and gloves (latex or nitrile) are strongly recommended for people who will butcher feral hogs and disposable masks can reduce the risk of inhaling infectious fluid droplets. In addition to tularemia, feral swine may also be infected with the bacteria that cause another zoonotic disease, brucellosis. The same protective measures for tularemia will help prevent infection by the brucellosis bacteria. Since eating undercooked meat from feral hogs can also transmit these two diseases, thorough cooking is advised.

While feral hogs from only three counties have been sampled, the magnitude of the positive portion of that population suggests that feral swine from other counties can be expected to also be potential sources of F. tularensis. It is estimated that 1.5 - 2 million feral swine occur in 215 of 254 Texas counties while 32 of the 50 United States have reported their presence. The overall national population estimate is ~4 million. Since feral swine are commonly hunted and harvested for human consumption, particularly during the fall and winter deer hunting season, hunters should be made aware of the potential to become exposed to and infected with F. tularensis while handling feral swine carcasses and tissues – particularly bodily fluids.

Thanks bryceban and Pull up a stump and grab a iced tea.

Going to CP this to another information thread.

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/u...READ#Post265666

Thanks for the welcome!

Well, I didn't really think about sushi because we were talking about cooking stuff. Sure you can eat any fish you want raw. But there is inherent risk and there are some fish, especially those used in sushi and sashimi, that are deemed safe to eat raw when prepared correctly.

My rule with eating raw fish is....if the Japanese eat it raw, so will I. If they say it needs to be cooked, then I cook it

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/rawfish/a/sushi_fish.htm

So I can go down to my local Applebees or Outback and they're gonna make me a medium rare piece of pork? I don't think so. Maybe a mom & pop place. Heck many restaurants won't even cook a steak less than Medium.

From the CDC website directly: