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RowdysLady
RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
My son in law shot a pig today. Guess who's reaping the benefits? Yep. Rowdy is on his way now to bring the sucker home so we can process it. I hope I'll be smoking some bacon this week (if it's a big enough pig) and making some sausage for sure. Ooh..and chops, and ribs and, and, and....PORK!

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  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    Wild boar or the neighbour's? Hahahahah, jk!
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
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    canadjineh wrote: »
    Wild boar or the neighbour's? Hahahahah, jk!

    Giggles, I got a couple of pigs living nearby too lol

  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    canadjineh wrote: »
    Wild boar or the neighbour's? Hahahahah, jk!

    :D:D .... I've been going crazy waiting to process our own freaking pig...but Rowdy's waiting til the cooler weather hits...yeah...that ain't happening this year it seems it was 70 degrees today....that pig may eat me out of house and home before I get to eat it. At this point I'd take the neighbors...but it was a wild boar. If they are not too big when shot and during the right time of year when they aren't all filled with parasite wild boar is pretty tasty!
  • MyriiStorm
    MyriiStorm Posts: 609 Member
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    I thought it was deer season. Didn't realize pig was in season, too! :wink:
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    oh let's not talk about deer...He's been hunting nearly every day since opening day and barely has seen anything, no less been able to take a shot at a deer. I reviewed the cam footage last night...pigs and raccoons all over the place, not a deer in sight on the wild game cam. It's sad and I would give anything to find a new lease for him. But I don't know enough people who know people who want to lease their land reasonably for him to hunt (he hunts for free now).
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Oh! I LOVE wild boar. I think it is my favorite meat. I'm so very jealous!!
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    So the "200 lbs" wild boar is actually closer to 400 lbs...yeah, not much to eat off that puppy at that size. We took the back strap and I have it ruminating in some lemon juice to hopefully take some of that wild flavor away but the rest is no good. We also took the head as my son in law wants Rowdy to European mount it for him. So that's in the freezer.
  • Midnightgypsy0
    Midnightgypsy0 Posts: 177 Member
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    So 400 pounds is too tough? We don't have pigs in southern Ontario.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    @Midnightgypsy0 Yes. They become very tough and the wild game flavor that we like in a smaller pig or in deer gets really gross. Just butchering it, you can smell the ick. It's nearly impossible to get decent flavor even with a "game taste" removing plan - vinegar, lemon juice, or whatever you like to use. Normally we don't worry about the gamey taste because it's not enough to worry about but we are trying a lemon juice bath with the back strap. The the ham hocks on that sucker were mostly testicles - the bigger the boar the bigger the, well you know... so there was no eating any of that. At least not in this house. :D
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    Ah, sorry you weren't able to get much out of that. I'm aware there are a ton of wild hogs there in Texas, but not so much where I live in Iowa.

    As for deer (rant ahead - plug your ears if you don't want to hear it), I have hunted for the last several years in a large state forest. Most hunters here won't shoot anything unless they can drive right up to it and load it up (they are not willing to drag a deer very far). So my theory has always been that I should be able to go deep (miles) into this state forest where motorized vehicles aren't allowed and hunt a deer where nobody else will go. Here's what I missed when I had that plan: The DNR issues handicap permits for people to ride ATV's on the forest. The requirements for what qualifies as handicapped for these permits: Apply. In other words, there is no definition of handicapped. I've noticed that everyone who lives near the forest must be friends with the DNR officer in the area because they all are out there driving deep into the woods with their ATV's despite then getting off of the ATV and walking around just fine or climbing a tree even. It really bothers me. And then there was the jerk who was out during archery season, had built an illegal tree stand (only temporary tree stands are allowed, and they must be labeled and removed at end of season), killed a buck, and cut the antlers off while leaving the rest to waste. I reported that to the DNR, but I'm sure nothing ever was done about it. The DNR did remove (or at least move to a different location) the carcass, though. So anyway, my deer hunting is ruined by unethical hunters and game wardens who help them out. It has been several years since I got a deer, and I just skipped last year. Will probably skip this year too.

    For the few wild hogs we have in Iowa, they are considered an "invasive species" and you can shoot and kill as many as you see. I've never seen one, though, and there really are not very many... but a few of them do turn up every once in awhile.
  • RowdysLady
    RowdysLady Posts: 1,370 Member
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    @midwesterner85 Rowdy hunts in a State Forest a couple of times a season here. It's a long drive so he only goes a few weekends. Otherwise he has permission to hunt on the land owned by the company he works for. These last two years have just been really bad. We had horrible flooding last year and this year between the heat and some noisy work going on at the plant nearby the deer seem to be hiding. Rowdy would carry a deer 5 miles if needed to get it out of the woods. He's "all in" when it comes to hunting. I bought him a crossbow just before bow season because he can't use the compound any longer but was still trying t use the compound because well, it's hunting season and he's supposed to hunt. He has arthritis in his elbows and the draw/hold on the compound isn't steady any longer. I hate to see/hear of those who kill just for the trophy. Drives me over the edge. We use the edible meat for us and dogs get scraps around here. Heck, even the spike he took last year he made a key chain from the spikes.

    Bobcats and coyotes here are invasive and can be killed year round. Pig laws are weird here: The feral pigs are considered exotic livestock in Texas and subject to those rules. The laws say you can kill them on your property or have permission to hunt them on other's property without a licence and year round if they are tearing up the land (and they do). But if you are going to eat them or they are for trophy you need a licence. They can be hunted at night with spotlighting and can be hunted from the air and silencers may be used. There is no bag limit on them. Yeah...they are a problem here.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
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    If you are struggling to eat all that meat, I'll be happy to help you out >:)