backhoeboogie
Well-known member
My "inbox" is getting questions.
This is how I process hogs.
Get yourself a pair of loppers and wash them. Lop the armor plate in half, right up the middle, that run up the chest. The heart and lungs are inside that plate, in front of the front legs. Lop off the front and back legs below the hocks before you skin them (lopping the legs works great on deer too). After you skin them, lop their ribs adjacent to the backbone. You'll have to cut to the rib with your knife first. Keep the knife edge right against the back bone and go up the hog bouncing along on the ribs. Have someone pulling out that half while you are lopping the ribs (chiefgriz is good at that part). Take the whole half and put it in the ice chest, ice it. Then go back and lop the backbone out of the other half and then put it in the ice chest as well, another layer of ice. Those halves are beautiful looking when you're done.
I put one quart of vinegar in a 150 quart 5 day ice chest. I put 1 whole lemon, squeezed in there. I put one cup of salt. Some others put in 3 cups of brown sugar too but I have not tried that yet. Let that set for 8 hours and it will brine the meat just fine. (You could do that with a really rank buck too). Drain the water and brine, then re-fill the ice chest with water about every 6 hours for a couple of days draining it. That rinses everything well.
I have to admit that I am not an old time hog person. Kind of new at this but everything I do I learned over on Texasboars.com forum about 2 years ago.
I smoke the entire hog and the meat falls off of the bone. Baby back ribs are best on hogs over 200 lbs but pretty darn good on 100 pounders. The best meat is in the front shoulder in my opinion, once smoked.
While you are smoking them it might be best to cut the halves in half if you are going to turn them (big slab of hot meat) or rotate them from the cool front to the fire in the back. Half of a 100 pound dressed hog is a heavy piece of meat, especially when its hot. You'll need some good glaves.
You can rub them down with any kind of rub before you smoke them. You can baste them while they are being smoked. Just remember that everytime you open the smoker hatch you loose most of your heat and you add to your cooking time. Cook them very thoroughly.
Chiefgriz and I smoked two at thanksgiving. Sister-in-law was cautious and cooked a turkey. The turkey wasn't eaten. They were calling up friends and neighbors, "come on over here and try this hog...." Even the little kids had hog on their faces. No one wanted turkey. We cooked two and there wasn't much pickings left.
Chiefgriz or anyone else can jump in here for anything I forgot to mention or missed.
This is how I process hogs.
Get yourself a pair of loppers and wash them. Lop the armor plate in half, right up the middle, that run up the chest. The heart and lungs are inside that plate, in front of the front legs. Lop off the front and back legs below the hocks before you skin them (lopping the legs works great on deer too). After you skin them, lop their ribs adjacent to the backbone. You'll have to cut to the rib with your knife first. Keep the knife edge right against the back bone and go up the hog bouncing along on the ribs. Have someone pulling out that half while you are lopping the ribs (chiefgriz is good at that part). Take the whole half and put it in the ice chest, ice it. Then go back and lop the backbone out of the other half and then put it in the ice chest as well, another layer of ice. Those halves are beautiful looking when you're done.
I put one quart of vinegar in a 150 quart 5 day ice chest. I put 1 whole lemon, squeezed in there. I put one cup of salt. Some others put in 3 cups of brown sugar too but I have not tried that yet. Let that set for 8 hours and it will brine the meat just fine. (You could do that with a really rank buck too). Drain the water and brine, then re-fill the ice chest with water about every 6 hours for a couple of days draining it. That rinses everything well.
I have to admit that I am not an old time hog person. Kind of new at this but everything I do I learned over on Texasboars.com forum about 2 years ago.
I smoke the entire hog and the meat falls off of the bone. Baby back ribs are best on hogs over 200 lbs but pretty darn good on 100 pounders. The best meat is in the front shoulder in my opinion, once smoked.
While you are smoking them it might be best to cut the halves in half if you are going to turn them (big slab of hot meat) or rotate them from the cool front to the fire in the back. Half of a 100 pound dressed hog is a heavy piece of meat, especially when its hot. You'll need some good glaves.
You can rub them down with any kind of rub before you smoke them. You can baste them while they are being smoked. Just remember that everytime you open the smoker hatch you loose most of your heat and you add to your cooking time. Cook them very thoroughly.
Chiefgriz and I smoked two at thanksgiving. Sister-in-law was cautious and cooked a turkey. The turkey wasn't eaten. They were calling up friends and neighbors, "come on over here and try this hog...." Even the little kids had hog on their faces. No one wanted turkey. We cooked two and there wasn't much pickings left.
Chiefgriz or anyone else can jump in here for anything I forgot to mention or missed.
