How did you process your pig?

[rclouse79]

_{I tried something new I read on the internet. I skinned the javalina, took of all four quarters, backstraps and tenderlions in the field. I came home and cut all the meat off and threw it in a cooler. I added just enought water to cover the meat and added salt, apple cider vinegar, ice, and stirred it up. Morning and evening I drained the cooler and added more ice, salt and vinegar. After three days I used kitchen scissors to cut up everything except the backstraps and tenderloins into stew meat. I am going to let it hard freeze for a week before I give it a try. If it turns out any good I will post. From what I reasearched on line it is suppose to make the meat more tender and get rid of any game taste.}

[azslim]

if you want to hang meat it should be in temps no higher than 40 degrees, the gamey flavor you will hear people complain about is actually the meat going bad. I have hung meat and night and coolered it up during the day with no problem. I have on old fridge on my back porch I age stuff in now, works good.

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

if you want to hang meat it should be in temps no higher than 40 degrees, the gamey flavor you will hear people complain about is actually the meat going bad. I have hung meat and night and coolered it up during the day with no problem. I have on old fridge on my back porch I age stuff in now, works good.

That's what I thought.

I will tell you what, I am very picky about my food and have a hard time eating others food for this reason, they just cant treat it as good as I do. I cook alot and have done some catering and private dinners for clients so the meat care was #1 for me. I skinned and qtrd and stripped as much meat as I could with the gutless method then put it in game bags and then in a trash bags all within 1 hr of killing. On the way to the truck I burried the bags in the sand in the cool bends of washes and then waited for the sun to go down before finishing the trip. I packed Ice all around in the cooler until it got home then a day later I boned out trimmed and ground with pork fat into breakfast sausage and man was it good. I also fried a backstrap in butter, sage, salt and pepper and man was it good. First butcher job and first time javi eater and not my last.

Thanks for all the info.

[CouesWhitetail]

I get my game meat cooled and processed as quickly as possible and then when I get home, I clean and trim it more, then I freeze it in portions that I would normally use for a meal. When I want to eat some I let it thaw in the refrigerator and plan on a letting it age in the fridge for several days before eating it. I guess I like the idea of aging it in a controlled temp environment better than hanging it in the up and down temps we get here in AZ. Seems to work well for me.

[azslim]

I used to butcher on my tailgate, tip something over today and put it in paper tomorrow. Go home with wrapped packages of meat and put them in the freezer. Was nice to just fling stuff over your shoulder to feed the coyotes and crows. Would thaw it out gracefully, like you, let it sit in the fridge for 3 or 5 days before cooking, letting as much blood as possible drain out. Worked great for me. Now with the fridge I have left things in it for a month before I took it apart, just check the temp every day. Makes for some tasty steaks.

 

I am anal about my meat care, throw away an ounce of questionable meat rather than chance a pound of good meat going bad. The big thing is get it cooled as soon as you can. Frozen water bottles are the best thing I have found for the meat cooler, put down a layer, stack in the qtrs then shove bottles wherever they will fit. I never open my meat cooler until I have something to put in it, keep your food and beer in their own cooler.

[tjhunt2]

I always carry a game bag in my pack just in case I can't get back to camp or a cooler in my truck. I'm with Bill on this one. I like to get that hide off as soon as possible and start the cooling down process. I then can hang it a while in the shade if I'm with another hunter who is still chasing pigs. If it's cold and I'm close to home I will throw a bag of ice in the cavity and then skin in my walk-in after returning home. NEVER NEVER touch the meat while skinning. If it has hair then wait after the hide has been removed and use another knife or clean the one you used and then handle the hair removal and handling of the meat. I'm usually tired at this point so I let it hang for a day or keep it iced as Bill recommended.

 

I debone and add pork shoulder or pork butt. A gutted pig weighing 35lbs. will yield you around 8lbs of deboned meat if it isn't shot up. I then add the same amount of pork. Grind and add sausage mix of your liking.

 

TJ

 

ps...if I'm at home I hose down my pig with a garden hose, pat dry with paper towels, and hang over night in my cooler. Some may not agree but my sausage taste great

[corkin it]

Can you get burlap at Home Depot?

I either get them in hatch.....leftover bags from the fields or at the local feed store here in Cruces. Im sure they are easy to find in Gilbert area. Try a feed store. They can at least send you in the right direction.

[Shanachie]

I took mine to Miller's Southwest. I got snack sticks and chorizo made.

[azslim]

TJ, take a weed sprayer you've only put water in, works great to rinse hands, wash of dishes, etc. and for carcasses add some ice to cool the water down and you can pressure wash it, granted not much pressure but enough for the big chunks

[Gut Pile]

I dropped mine off at Sanchez Wild Game. They make an excellent chorizo. Dropped it off yesterday and picking it up today! They do a great job and very friendly folks. # is 602-375-1646.

[Petey7215]

First thing is to cut a 4-5" square out around the scent gland on the back then I take it back while to camp skin and quarter it and donate to the Adobe Mountain Wildlife Center or to a local soup kitchen...that's the best recipe I have found .

[Couestracker]

I process the entire javelina into chorizo. cut it about 50% with pork butt, add spices and fill casings! I prefer to do it myself than drop it off with local processors.

I would like to make some chorizo with some of my javelina.

Would be willing to share your recipe?

 

Thanks, Couestracker

[azslim]

recipes posted in the beginning of this thread by Amanda

[Coach]

I won't take my game anywhere. It takes some time but it's worth it. Trim everything white off the meat. Fat, sinew, that thin film between the muscles. Whether it's an elk, deer, Javi, bear or lion, the goal has to be spitting the red meat from everything else. If you server wild meat with fat and tissue, it tastes horrible. That's where the gamey flavor comes from. I've had buddies who bought a cow that was grazing wild, and when they butchered it, it smelled and tasted like what it was eating.

 

You don't have to be smart to figure out that fat storage is the "garbage can" of ingested food. On cows (boline) , it's good that they build up fat storage, when they are on a feedlot eating corn with all its sugar. On game, that tat storage is what keeps them healthy through the winter, but it tastes really bad - whether it's elk or deer or javi's or turkey - wild game fat tastes BAD.

 

I've made javi backtsrap that taste like good elk or deer, I've eaten elk that was full of fat an sinew that made me never want to eat elk again. You get that bad smell and taste, and it is hard to overcome.

 

Bottom line, don't trust your meat to anyone. Take the time, get a good fillet knife that is super sharp, and separate your meat into nothing but the cleanest red meat you can produce. Clean little scraps go to snack sticks,.Big chunks you can do almost anything with.

 

The "bad case scenario", is don't take care of the meat, toss a hunk on, and try to put a lot of dry seasonings on it to "save it"..You'll end up tossing it and eating some hotdogs or something.

[bigfatbeginner]

Ok, I'm going to show my newbness here. I never knew javelina were good to eat. Where can I get some jerky and sausage to try? I only hunt what I intend to eat (coyotes being the exception). Thanks in advance for your responses.