How good does Javelina taste

[azmetalman]

I think we have a bunch of optimists on the forum.

The question is "how good does javelina taste?". The quick and direct answer is not very good. Lark and Tucson John have a good approach....bury it. Bill Quimby adds an interesting twist. He places it on a board and then buries it. Perhaps Bill meant to say that he puts it in a plywood casket and then buries it. When I was in college we had a Basset Hound that really enjoyed barking at the cooked meat and then rolling on it. I was born and raised in Southern Arizona and consumed more javelina meat than I care to think about. All kidding aside, if you can't give it away, it can be disguised pretty well in green chili stew or in tamales.... but good.....???? Nope I haven't tried the jerky but think I will stick to other red meat for jerky.

[CouesWhitetail]

I have never had any javelina meat that wasn't good! It is just like any game meat when well taken care of in the field. I have grilled the backstraps marinated in lawrys citrus grill marinade and they were excellent. I have made some amazing jerky that everyone loved. Chorizo and sausage is another great way to use the meat.

 

link to a recipe:

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23518

[Huntr Pat]

Thank you for all your replies. Any game start with good field care. Getting the meat dressed out and cooled down. I carry a 5 gal jug of water when Ever I hunt. I always wash the insides after dressing out my game. Especially after dragging it some distance. I have heard two side of the storys. I wanted know where are the glands. I here they have a gland in the rear of its back. Anywhere else?

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

The only way I've liked them is as meat sticks, chorizo, in burros after being deep pitted.

[rogeti]

Take care of it in the field. Dont shoot it and wait 3 hours to clean it. And NEVER touch the meat with a hand that has touched the hide!! Pressure cook the meat and it falls off the bone. We make tamales mostly with it. It makes great bbq sandwiches. My friend made some great jerky out of his. If you arent eating it then why kill it?

[.270]

Bill, only mistake you made was diggin' it up. Lark.

[Elkhunter1]

Let me ask all of you one question. Do you eat beef? If you answered yes, then you have solved the old time problem of the tuff and smelly Javelina meat. If you clean the animal thoroughly in the field you are on the right track.

Back to the question, have you eaten beef? The beef you get at any store has been aged 21days minimum! With that in mind, I take and skin the pig and clean it some more. Let him dripdry then I place him in a new garbage bag "unused." Leave the bag unsealed and place in an old refer set at 34° to 36° for 14 to 18 days. When time is up, you have meat that you can poke your finger through the ham. I make steaks and roasts with it, season and cook as desired. The process for deer is the same except I leave the hide on and the time is extended depending on size.

It all comes down to how well you prepare the animal.

 

Have the respect to care for the meat that the animal deserves! When you meet this you will be rewarded with great tasting tablefair.

[couesobsession]

I guess I am in the minority,too. Any Javelina that I have ever eaten has been just fine. It does not taste like pig like I have had some people tell me (ay least not the ones I've killed). It does make a big differnece whether the one you take is male or female, or at least I have heard that, Seems like I alwasys pick out the biggest one and it ends up being a female. Anyways, proper care of your game,cutting out the lower half of the leg at the joint (musk glands), constantly cleaning your knife or better yet using multiple knives, putting the carcass/meat on ice asap, and marinating the meat has always given me good results.

[billrquimby]

"Bill Quimby adds an interesting twist. He places it on a board and then buries it. Perhaps Bill meant to say that he puts it in a plywood casket and then buries it."

 

 

I think you are confused about a post that commented on mine.

 

I take a half of javelina slathered with barbecue sauce, salt, pepper and crushed garlic, and place it in a clean but old pillowcase, then wrap it with about 1/4 inch of wet newspapers and tie the package up with baling wire. I then repeat the process with the other half, and any other meat I want to cook.

 

About an hour before I put the packages in a hole I've dug in the arroyo below my house, I fill the pit with mesquite and set it afire. When the wood has turned to coals about 10-12 inches deep, I put a half sheet of tin roofing directly on the coals and place the packages on the tin. Another half piece of tin goes over that, and then I cover the hole until no smoke leaks out of the ground (this is important). I dig it up 24 hours later and use a hay hook to pull out the packages

 

When unwrapped, you can grab a bone and shake the meat off it! I think even Lark's old boots would come out of a pit tasting delicious when cooked this way.

 

I've cooked bears, raccoons, mountain lions, as well as beef, pork, deer and elk, of course, in pits. Problem is, it is a lot of work and it isn't worth the effort unless you are feeding a lot of people.

 

Friends and I used to host three-day pig and quail hunts for 40-50 people every January from the Lander Wyoming One Shot Antelope Hunt, and we'd cook all the javelinas we'd killed the previous season and serve it and tortillas, boiled beans, salad and sangria to our guests. We stopped holding these events when permits were required for archery javelina hunting.

 

We would use an entire cord of mesquite to cook eight or nine javeinas.

 

Bill Quimby

[Tucson John]

"Bill Quimby adds an interesting twist. He places it on a board and then buries it. Perhaps Bill meant to say that he puts it in a plywood casket and then buries it."

 

 

I think you are confused about a post that commented on mine.

 

I take a half of javelina slathered with barbecue sauce, salt, pepper and crushed garlic, and place it in a clean but old pillowcase, then wrap it with about 1/4 inch of wet newspapers and tie the package up with baling wire. I then repeat the process with the other half, and any other meat I want to cook.

 

About an hour before I put the packages in a hole I've dug in the arroyo below my house, I fill the pit with mesquite and set it afire. When the wood has turned to coals about 10-12 inches deep, I put a half sheet of tin roofing directly on the coals and place the packages on the tin. Another half piece of tin goes over that, and then I cover the hole until no smoke leaks out of the ground (this is important). I dig it up 24 hours later and use a hay hook to pull out the packages

 

When unwrapped, you can grab a bone and shake the meat off it! I think even Lark's old boots would come out of a pit tasting delicious when cooked this way.

 

I've cooked bears, raccoons, mountain lions, as well as beef, pork, deer and elk, of course, in pits. Problem is, it is a lot of work and it isn't worth the effort unless you are feeding a lot of people.

 

Friends and I used to host three-day pig and quail hunts for 40-50 people every January from the Lander Wyoming One Shot Antelope Hunt, and we'd cook all the javelinas we'd killed the previous season and serve it and tortillas, boiled beans, salad and sangria to our guests. We stopped holding these events when permits were required for archery javelina hunting.

 

We would use an entire cord of mesquite to cook eight or nine javeinas.

 

Bill Quimby

 

Sorry Bill......I didn't mean to goof up your post......I just didn't know how to use the "quote" function.

 

TJ

[Coues79]

I didn't know "good, taste, and javelina" could be used in the same sentence.... yuck.

 

I guess its just one of those things that people have to overcome to eat them. I don't like shooting em because I won't eat em. I personally can't get over that nasty little nipple sticking off their back oozing disgusting skunk stench oil all over themselves. They're nasty little critters IMO.

 

Looks like some folks like em though and have gotten over my issue with em. Have a fun time cooking em up!

[goinhuntn]

I cut it into small pieces marinate in teriyaki and make fajitas, they're preety good.

[billrquimby]

Get a couple of friends together and try my pit-barbecue method, and you will change your mind.

 

Bill Quimby

[elkster9]

I think they taste fine, if cared for in the field, as mentioned before. We had steaks this year and the rest we turned into burger and made spaghetti sauce with it. I found it to be neutral tasting, prior to seasoning.

 

 

[tjhunt2]

Get a couple of friends together and try my pit-barbecue method, and you will change your mind.

 

Bill Quimby

 

Sounds exactly what I have done but many years ago. I now turn all mine in to sausage I make myself and only wish I could get more meat off one of those pigs. If someone close to me in Mesa shoots one and cares for it properly and gets it on ice right away I will be more than happy to take it off your hands. It's all in the way you care for your meat once it's on the ground. Lots of good advise in this post.

 

TJ