The Hog Blog

When I shoot an animal, a deer, hog, elk, or whatever, I’m always looking forward to the great meals I’ll get from it.  Of course there’s steaks, chops, sausage, and such… but there’s more meat than meets the eye.

Like many hunters, my field-dressing and butchering usually consist of cutting out the primals from the base of the head to the tail, sawing off the ribs, and usually trimming the “trim” from the areas that don’t have much substance (e.g. belly meat, brisket, etc.).  When I get done, there’s skin and head, a bare spine, some feet, and the entrails.  Pretty good work, right?

Well I’ve got ancestors who probably turn over in their graves at the edible food I’m leaving for the coyotes in four major organs… the heart, liver, kidney, and brains. 

The thing is, they knew how to get the most out of these parts and, to be honest, I think folks were a bit less squeamish in those days… not to mention that you got your protein where you could back then.  There were no all-night fastfood joints where you could slide in and grab a nice processed food product and cholesterol sandwich… and even if there were, nobody could afford that stuff.  Food was precious, and not to be wasted.  That’s actually an idea that could stand a good resurrection.

But I’m not sure I’m the guy to do it.  I hate liver, and didn’t really care for kidney the only time I had it.  Besides, I’m a little slow to go dining on the parts whose function is primarily removing impurities from the animal’s system. 

I used to love brains, scrambled with eggs, or served up on a tortilla with grilled green onions… now that right there is good stuff.  But with all the madness about mad cow, chronic wasting disease, and some of the other stuff running around out there, I’m a little hesitant to eat them any more.  A shame maybe, and a product of the modern, information age (without the Internet and TV, most of us would never know about these things), but the fact is I have taken brains off my menu. 

And that leaves the heart.  Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t have a lot to write about today, but I did want to mention that I’m finally getting the hang of this Bradley smoker.  However, this success did not come without tribulation…

When I first received the smoker, there was a problem with the electrical wiring.  I was very disappointed in Bradley’s customer support.  I called in the first time and described the problem.  The lady informed me that I should open up the controller box, examine the wiring, and solder the loose leads into place.  I must say I was a little peeved.  First of all, to assume that I was able or willing to solder a brand new piece of equipment struck me as pretty poor customer service.  Secondly, the fact that they know this is a common problem and still ship the units also seemed mighty inconsiderate of the customers.

I wrote a fairly heated letter to Bradley, complaining about the service experience and the new smoker.  I received a mail response, apologizing for my experience and requesting a mailing address so they could send me a replacement unit.  Unfortunately, the replacement had the same problem!  I got mad, but since I was travelling a lot at the time, I set it aside and didn’t get back to it.  Luckily for me, my wife has some background in electrical engineering, and one afternoon she figured out the problem and fixed it! 

For folks who are unfamiliar with the Bradley smoker, it has an automatic feeder that drops disks of wood chips onto a conveyor, and allows you to smoke meats without having to stand watch over the danged thing all day.  The electric oven is controlled by a thermostat.  Simply load it up, set the timer, and come back several hours later to serve up dinner… no checking the temperature every half-hour, adding or removing coals and chips, or fighting flare-ups.  You really can set it and forget it.

Sure, some purists may consider this “cheating”, and I can understand.  I’m a bit of a traditionalist too, and my old “Smoky Joe” certainly turned out some tasty treats.  But I found myself avoiding smoking meats because of the hassle involved.  Doing a ham or shoulder required an entire day of running back and forth to check the temp, the chips, and the coals.  I seldom have that kind of time and initiative.  It was always easier just to put it in the oven or crock pot instead of smoking.  So, if it’s a question of having smoked meats or not… well, I can turn my back on tradition.  Besides, as Thoreau said, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds!”  Expand your horizons!

Anyway, last night I experimented with a ham shank.  I rubbed it real good with Pappy’s seasoning, and put it in the smoker at 220 degrees for about six hours.  With the exception of applying the rub, that’s all the work it required.  The result was a piece of nicely smoked wild pork, moist and tender on the inside with that slightly crispy, smoked skin on the outside. 

I’ve got about 50 pounds of meat in the freezer that’s waiting for grinding, so you can expect to hear more about this smoker. 

Just a short one for the evening.  There’s actually a lot going on in the world of wild hogs, but I’m still trying to get back on track in the real world after my trip to Colorado. 

So here goes..

The big one for tonight is the explosion of wild hogs in Australia.  I knew they were getting bad, but this article puts it in a whole new perspective.  We already know wild pigs are fecund and adaptable, but apparently they’re booming at an unprecedented rate in the land of Oz.   As the headline suggests, there are now more wild hogs than people in the Land Down Under.  So, pig hunters… where hell are ya? 

And here’s a great tidbit from the Land of the Rising Sun.  A Japanese farmer, apparently tired of the ongoing invasion of wild boar and crows has created a full-fledged family of scarecrows to guard his crop.  Check it out here, in the Mainichi Daily News.

And finally, just to bring it back home, there’s a cool article on KABC (a Los Angeles news station) about a wild game restaurant in Calabasas, CA that specializes, among other things, in wild boar.  Game meat is a trendy thing across the country, and it appears to be surging again in the market place.  Maybe this time the trend will stick, and we can get a good elk steak, or roast loin of venison at our favorite diner?  Not likely.  But it’s a nice thought.  In the meantime, I’ll keep cooking it up at home, and reading articles like this one.

‘Nuff for now.  Stay tuned for the next installment of the Porcine Press!

OK, so it wasn’t quite that dramatic, but everytime I dive in this part of the Pacific, I have to remember that I am in the heart of great white country. 

Actually, a more appropriate intro is, to paraphrase one of my favorite literary characters…

“Well, I’m back.”

And I am.  No great big fish pictures to share, although I did tie into a pretty good sized ling cod that I couldn’t get out of the rocks… but it’s a pretty boring fish tale.  He sat there and held on, and I sat there (in my kayak) and pulled on him.  After many minutes, the hook came free.  I cussed.  He cussed (in fish language).  And the story ends in heartbreak…

So anyway, when I got back there were several great comments and emails waiting for me.  Thanks to all of you who posted something, and I hope I was able to reply adequately to each of you.  If not, sorry… my clients have this unreasonable expectation that I’ll actually provide some sort of output in exchange for all the money they throw at me.

One of the cool things I found in my inbox was a note from the Suburban Bushwacker, regarding a hunt in France.  You’ve gotta read about this one.  I enjoyed his site so much I had to add him to my blogroll.

Oh, while I was there, I tried something tasty and new.

I had about a pound of wild pork backstrap in the freezer, along with some shoulder steaks. 

Saturday morning, as soon as I woke up, I dropped these into a ziploc(tm) bag with a bottle of Chimichurri marinade from World Marinades, and they soaked all day long.  About 6:00, I dragged them out and laid them high over a bed of mesquite coals and let them just slow smoke/cook for about 30 minutes.  It’s about as simple a recipe as I could ever offer, but man it was tasty! 

We also made up a big batch of fried abalone.  You can do this with clams too, but abalone is second only to conch as my favorite shellfish (they’re actually very similar).

So first you clean and cut your abalone.  It works best if you keep your slices between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.  Then pound them until they’re nice and flat, but not until the meat starts to separate. 

Dredge the pounded slices in flour, then dunk in egg.  Finally, the last dredge is the secret, although you can do with it as you will… my friend Dave Allen, the one who turned me on to abalone diving in the first place, prefers a straight mix of crushed Ritz crackers with some salt and pepper, and maybe a little garlic powder and oregano.  Me, I like to mix in some corn meal, and some cayenne pepper. 

At any rate, once you’ve got them good and battered, they go into a cast iron skillet (no aluminum, please) about 3/4 inch deep in very hot olive oil (just before it starts to smoke is best).  When the pieces float, they’re done.

An important tip…  just do a few pieces at a time.  It’s tempting to dump the whole bunch in, but if you do the temperature will drop too far and you’ll end up with soggy, oily pieces.  They still taste OK, but it’s much better to cook in small batches.

Serve them hot, preferably with a dash of habanero sauce (or something milder for the weaker palates). 

It’s the perfect appetizer to a big, wild game dinner.

It was bound to happen.  First, I try to capture news from the world of hogs, and then I try to do a little recipe sharing…  and now it’s all mingled together, inextricably (or inexplicably).  Maybe it’s because I’m running on about two hours of sleep today, or maybe because I’m just typically befuddled, but here it goes. 

All over the news today (and in my email box) are the reports of the world’s costliest pork!  This is not simply high-dollar ham!  At about $160/lb, this stuff gets the raves usually reserved for more refined stuff, like hummingbird tongues! 

Really, though, this is nothing.  I added up the cost per pound of my last hog, and let me tell you that $160 would have been a bargain!  Heck, and for that price, my hams haven’t even been cured or smoked. 

By the way, if anybody has any information of the whereabouts of my car, please let me know.  I ran in the store to pick up a box of ammo, and when I came out, it was gone.  The gun store had a camera out front, though.  Here’s the photo they caught of the perpetrator! 

Thanks to Rex for sending this to me.  Brightened up my Monday! 

Anyway…

I know I’ve promised a few things on the HogBlog over the past week or two, including a write-up/interview about the Coon Camp Springs project, as well as a recent cooking video.  I also need to get the photos and video of this weekend’s hunt cleaned up and ready to be presented to you, my fine readers. 

I still promise, it’s all on the way.  Gotta deal with a day job, loved ones, and a hunting addiction… but it’s all coming. 

Honest.

So, I realize now why I have never published recipes.  I suck at following any kind of formula, and I can’t keep up with what I do while I’m cooking.  Maybe I’ll get someone to video the whole thing next time.  Hmmm…. the HogBlog Wild Game Cooking Show?  I doubt it.

Anyway, I did sit down to do a batch of my infamous chili (not famous, infamous…I’m using it correctly, trust me) last night, with camera and notepad at the ready.  Unfortunately, I also rolled out the makings for my equally infamous margaritas.  The results are to be expected.  Chili came out great, but I still have no idea how I did it. 

By the way, one of the reasons for this chili’s infamy is that it is definitely on the spicier side… it can be toned down as needed, but the recipe below will create something on the level of a two-alarm chili.  Some milder palates may even think it’s three alarm, but I have had three-alarm chili and this is not that. 

Here’s my best guess at the recipe.

First you have to kill a pig (or a deer, elk, whatever… for this batch, I used blackbuck antelope and wild boar).

I cut the meat into chunks, about an inch or so, dust it real good with Pappy’s seasoning, and brown the meat in a skillet.  I do all of my browning and saute in olive oil, by the way.  Bacon fat is a great alternative for some different flavor.  Something I’ve done in the past that worked really well was to brown the meat on a grill, over charcoal.  It does a great trick with the flavor.  Just don’t cook the meat through… you only want to brown it.

Once the meat is browned, I toss it into a big stock pot.  How big?  How much chili are you making? 

I made a good-sized batch last night, so there’s probably about two pounds of meat in it altogether.  I used an eight-quart (two gallons) stock pot.  You can use pretty much any kind of meat in chili, by the way.  Just consider it a really thick stew…

So what goes in this thick stew?

I’ll list the basic ingredients.  All of the vegetables are fresh and cut by hand, with the exception of the crushed tomatoes.  I have used a food processor and you can too, but it seems to take some of the “love” out of the cooking to use a machine. 

Unfortunately, I’m really fuzzy on the proportions.  I never measure and seldom count when I cook.  I just add what I like, and do the rest by smell and flavor. 

• Meat, as already described 
• Tomatoes - about six, diced
• Celery - four or five stalks, chopped
• Red bell peppers - two big ones, chopped
• Anaheim peppers - one big pepper, diced fine
• Wax, caribe, or yellow peppers - about four or five, sliced
• Pasilla peppers - two, sliced
• Habaneros - three, chopped
• Jalapenos (I like the red ones) - four or five,  chopped
• One big (not jumbo) sweet onion - chopped
• One medium bulb of garlic - don’t worry, there are enough peppers to equalize the garlic
• Ground cumin - if I had to guess, I’d say a tablespoon for the size batch I made last night… do it to taste.
• Cayenne pepper - a good, heavy shot
• Ground cinnamon - maybe a real light tablespoon (secret ingredient)
• Coarse ground black pepper - a good, heavy dusting
• Salt - about a heaping teaspoon.  You could use more, but I don’t care much for salty chili. 
• Big can of tomato sauce - I used crushed tomatoes last night, because I was out of tomato sauce…not quite the same, but it worked OK

There may be something else in there… can’t recall.  This is a good start.  The wonderful thing about dishes like chili, gumbo, jambalaya, stew, and the like is that there’s no hard-and-fast rule.  If you like it, put it in there.  Don’t be afraid to push the limits a little bit. 

So anyway, after browning the meat as described above, I like to sautee the “trilogy”…onions, bell peppers, and celery (I’m not a trained chef… if this isn’t the “right” trilogy, you’ll have to get over it…this is my blog).  Don’t cook it down, just sautee until the onions start to get a little clear.  They’ll cook the rest of the way in the chili. 

All of the other ingredients go in the stock pot with the meat.  Once the trilogy is done, toss it in too.  Stir it all together over medium high heat until you get a pretty good boil going, then bring it down to simmer.  Keep stirring occasionally and let it simmer on low heat for as long as you think it should, then add another hour.  If you keep the heat low and stir to keep stuff off of the sides, it won’t burn. 

You can use a crock pot instead if you like.  I’ve done it both ways.  The crock pot is good for letting it cook overnight, which does some really cool things to the flavors.  However, slow cooking in the stockpot also has it’s own sort of unique flavor… you have to decide what you want to do.  I’d recommend the crockpot if you are using particularly tough cuts of meat, since you can cook for 8 or 12 hours as needed to break down the chewy parts. 

Speaking of that, you might be wondering which cuts of meat I use or recommend.  There are two schools of thought on that.  Maybe more than two.  One school says to use prime cuts of meat for the best chili.  That sort of makes sense, but then the other school says that’s a waste of prime cuts, so use the lesser cuts.  That makes sense too.  The slow cooking process tenderizes tougher cuts, and the blend of flavors makes up for anything the sub-prime cuts are lacking. 

But I finished school a long time ago, so I have my own approach.  I use whatever I have most of, but what I use most is the “scrap” from butchering.  That includes the ends of various roasts (primals), as well as smaller bits that didn’t quite make it in the first cut.  I try not to waste anything when I butcher, so all those little pieces parts become either “scrap meat” or sausage. 

So, for better or worse, there it is.  Give it a go if you’d like.  If you do, let me know how it came out! 

I have a lot of catching up to do for you folks here on the Hog Blog, and hope you can bear with my multiple absences of late.  I’m back now, though, so onward and upward.

Had a great weekend working up at Coon Camp Springs.   Among other things, we’ve installed some new irrigation systems on some of the planted areas, and also managed to get some fence repaired.  I did a little scouting for our upcoming hunt as well.  I’ll upload photos tonight, but let’s just say that I think our clients are gonna get their money’s worth on this hunt. 

On to another topic… hey it’s Monday.  I can do that.

From a couple of messages I’ve received, it sounds like some folks would like me to share some wild game cooking suggestions/recipes.  Since I love to cook and eat wild critters, I think this’ll be fun.  Look for the first recipe to come across the line in a day or so.

But here’s the deal…  I’d like to see some of your recipes too.  Share them up in the comments section.  If something sounds really good, I’ll try it.  If it IS really good, I’ll post it up on the main blog (with due credit, of course) along with my personal review. 

Let’s keep it interactive.  You, the readers (all three of you), are as important to this blog’s existence as I am.