How big of a hog will yall eat? I hear that some of the bigger ones dont taste too good. Is that true? Thanks for he help.

-Tom

see they are killed constantly, the only ones i ever think about eating would be the 60-70lb range. if i really need one, an 80lber would work... but prolly not more than that.... any thing 50lbs or smaller is really not worth skinning

We eat parts of all sizes. We skin them to where no guts come out but we still get the front shoulders the loins and the back hams. The rest is Yote bait!

You can eat any size hog.Preperation is the main thing.Ate them up to 515lbs.and never a gamey taste.Have heard about folks eating bigger hogs and tasted bad but always wondered what they do wrong.Kill the hog,hang by head not back legs because if you accidently hit the wrong thing with the knife you are ok cause it dont run through the meat.Skin the hog and rinse good,take another knife and procede gutting very carefully,once gutted look in side cavity for marble size glands and cut out.Rinse good and put in ice for three days and drain water each day.Fourth day pull out of cooler and clean cooler and merinate and use your rub,wrap with aluminim fiol very tight.Cover with ice and drain for two or three days till you are ready to bar b q or cook.Cook 275 degrees till done.This is my way may not be everyones way but works for me.

I will only shoot 1/year to eat. I try to find a nice sow in the 100-175 lb range that isn't the typical lean pineywood rooter....after season is over, I shoot every one I see and use them for coyote bait. The best size hog to eat is one a 4H kid has raised that didn't make sale.

I ate a big one and it was fine

usually throw out anything past 175#'s
the bigger ones would be good for sausage though

I haven't found one big enough yet that's been too big to eat. My largest has been around 300 pounds so far. Venison and wild pork makes up 95% of our meat diet.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to try that trick of hanging them by their head.

-Tom

IMHO,I don't think it really matters how big they are. You have to pack them in ice and let them bleed out for at least three days or until the water is clear. Then it's all about the way you cook them. I always smoke the shoulders and hams. I pull them off the smoker when the internal temp reaches around 165 degrees, wrap in foil, and put back in the smoker or oven until the internal temp reaches 200 degrees. It ALWAYS turns out great. I've had a bad one no matter how big the pig was. That's why I say it's all in the preparation.

I can promise you I can cook a 250 lb boar and a 80 lb sow and you could tell the difference in any way.

I always shoot the smalls one.

dnttang, that's pretty impresive your boy shot that buck with his bb gun, LOL

ill eat anything under 200+ lbs..mainly cause i dont like draggin the big suckers and the itty bitty ones are too darn lean to give any worthwhile meat

anything about 80-120 lbs is PERFECT for me!

ac

cut them little ones up like a chicken and fry em.

I've put a couple hundred feral hogs in the freezer, ranging from piglets to about 300lbs. The only time I ever tasted that gamey flavor (and I am pretty picky) was when I went to a new processor to have a batch of pan sausage made up. I kept some cuts off of 5 hogs, and had the rest processed. The cuts I kept were super, but the batch of sausage they delivered was not good. I suspect they either mixed my hogs with others that were not handled properly, or they just gave me some other hog. Anyhow, they lost my business for good.

I definitely second the ice bath approach. To me its like aging beef. Works great for me. I would add that I get the meat in the cooler as soon as possible after its shot, like within an hour (or 2 at most depending on the temp). I know a group of hunters that will hang their hogs on their cleaning rack the whole dang weekend cape on, even if its pretty warm out. Couldn't pay me to eat that fly bait, but they do.

And small hogs/piglets... great to throw in a crock pot with veggies and stuff till the meat just falls off the bone, or smoke em whole. Well worth the little time they take to clean. Once I trap them I am not setting them loose, so I might as well eat em.

It amazes me how some people will choke down some of the most God-awful deer sausage and act like its good cuz they shot it, but won't touch feral pork. Now, I like venison done right, but come on, if you gotta mix it heavy with cheese & peppers & pork fat etc, and its still only "OK", what does that say?

you sure that isn't a nutra rat?