Wild pork

Hello - Thinking about growing up in the Pelorus Valley (Marlborough) with the Three Oh thread reminded me how much we liked wild pork - it was literally the "prince of meats" up there, we ate a lot of it, and so did everyone else we knew or that Dad gave it too.

On moving among the Nth Cantabs at secondary school I found their enthusiasm a bit more muted, and when we shifted to Southland, hardly anybody valued wild pork. I've tried (Southland) wild pork several times since and consider it pretty mediocre.

I know pork is very inclined to take on a flavour from whats in its diet, but what varies so much in a wild pigs diet that causes these regional differences in it (and that's if I'm not imagining the differences, but they seem real enough to me)?

What is Nth Island wild pork like - any variations up there ??

Good. I've only eaten pigs from one spot, but nothing bad to say about it at all. Very slightly gamier version of supermarket pork in my uneducated opinion.

Tentman, you're not wrong about regional diffferences in taste.Even in Marlborough I notice different taste between Northbank and South side of Wairau, Molesworth and lower Awatere also different. Always just put it down to what they're eating. Doesn't matter where you get wild pork it generally tastes better than a lot of the supermarket crap.

Absolutely wild pork can taste very different from one area to the next actually even from the same area it still can taste different. Yes it can depend on how it was taken but not always. Last year the difference between to both very large pigs and both were shot not dogged, both were unaware that a bullet was coming. And yet one was very palalable whilst the other not so much.

They are what they eat. Also if there have been domestic releases in to the population it mellows the flavour right out too. Anything off the berries or any description is tops for me. Like it was marianated in it. Or grass fed tammy crosses. Mmmmmmmmm

Hopefully I feel better to day and get out and check on pest issues.

@Gapped axe - wishing you a good day from down South - may the wind be in your face!

I agree that wild pork tastes different from different areas. I shot plenty in Pureora bush fringes during the 80’s and they were great eating. The last one I nailed was from the northern Kaimais, bordering on pine plantations. Upon cooking and sampling, both the smell and taste reminded me of turpentine; inedible and I guess the animal had been living/eating pine-associated food.

I tell people what a fantastic meat Wallaby can be. When you think of what their food selection is compared o what pigs will eat, I'm surprised that pork even gets eaten a times.

The wild pork I ate when I lived in Motueka was the best I've ever tasted.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gapped axe

I tell people what a fantastic meat Wallaby can be. When you think of what their food selection is compared o what pigs will eat, I'm surprised that pork even gets eaten a times.

---

Must try it sometime. I saw a few pretty close in the bush last time I was in your part of the world, but had my mind on another things.

From my experience it pretty good, we even had a 160lb boar done into sausages and salami just before lock down and i gave a bunch of it to a friend who hunts but refuses to eat boars and gives them away.
i didnt tell him it was boar obviously untill he asked who did the sausages because they were bloody good :thumbsup:

Without a doubt wold pork can taste quite different from different areas. From someone thats eaten wild pork for over 30 years i have noticed wild pork
does taste much better now than years gone by. Murchison pigs have always been the best, more fat, weight more in size compared to other areas and taste brilliant.
Pigs down the sounds used to taste crap, skinny and not great eating. Now, with many areas having escapees from farms, released pigs from other hunters etc the pigs
are just better all round in most areas.
Shot pigs are better than dogged pigs in taste as well. Sows taste a little better but had many a good boar thats been pretty darn good.
Have met a couple of people from the North island that swear after tasting south island pigs they a heap better.
My GF comes from up North, she wouldnt eat wild pork because she thought it was crap.
When she tried some of the ones ive shot she loves it, generally around here the wild pig is getting tamer and tamer in taste as the years go on.
Prob by so many farm pigs breeding with wild ones as years ago hunters releaseing pigs into the bush was going on everywhere and still happens today, esp on private blocks.

Big variance up this way too, depends on if they are native pigs or pine pigs. Sometimes it's just like and as tender as bought pork other times it is strong and less than tasty. I think it doesn't always matter if it's shot or dogged as I have had dogged pork which was very good. What they eat certainly adds to the flavor, sometimes its strong other times it's not.

I'm an avid wild pork cannibal,,eat it at least twice a week.I shit you not:)

A real old pic..The pig mobile..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by doinit

I'm an avid wild pork cannibal,,eat it at least twice a week.I shit you not:)

A real old pic..The pig mobile..

---

Great photo ,way cool[emoji106]

Sent from my TA-1025 using Tapatalk

Pork dropped on the spot will always out way pork that's been dogged and chased over any distance in my opinion.
Same goes for most wild game..younger mostly always rules when it comes to tender eh. Tough pigs make darn great small goods all the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NRT

Great photo ,way cool[emoji106]

Sent from my TA-1025 using Tapatalk

---

Cheers there bud...I was behind the camera at the time...the hands on the hips crack me up.
Great thread Tentman...

Without a doubt, I agree mate
Growing up in Aus we had a lot of opportunity to eat wild pork. Everybody shot them Nobody ate them..
They ate rotten sheep, rotten gut shot roos and other assorted carrion.
Here in NZ the pigs have a great range of fresh green feed and simply taste so much better.!

The last wild pork I ate was a boar, dogged in the pines in cricket season on the coromandel. That was 25 years ago and I haven't touched it since!

I took this lot up to “feed” the feral pigs a few weeks ago. Western Ruapehu.

I won’t eat them from this particular area. They taste like shit. Just the thought of what they’ve been eating gives me worms.

Attachment 138097

But the purely grass and native fed pigs that I shoot from time to time here in the northern Kaimais (no pines near here) taste like the best damn pork you’ll ever eat.

So yeah, the answer is yes, @Tentman.

BTW that trailer load was gone - literally - in less than 36 hours.

Dropped some venison off today to my butcher for salamis. I asked Tony about Wild Pork for salamis, absolutely worth the effort of doing it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by woods223

Tentman, you're not wrong about regional diffferences in taste.Even in Marlborough I notice different taste between Northbank and South side of Wairau, Molesworth and lower Awatere also different. Always just put it down to what they're eating. Doesn't matter where you get wild pork it generally tastes better than a lot of the supermarket crap.

---

Yip for sure
Depends on what they're eating, and that can depend on what the season is like. Like Pigs that live in the Pines can be pretty average compared with pigs that are living in the the scrub and feeding on pasture, but in a dry summer like we've had, even "good" pigs can be in poor nick and pretty rangy.
If you can afford to be a bit choosy about which pigs you shoot and eat, then your meals of wild pork should be good.
Young pork ribs marinated in honey and soy-sauce - bloody beautiful!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by deer243

Without a doubt wold pork can taste quite different from different areas. From someone thats eaten wild pork for over 30 years i have noticed wild pork
does taste much better now than years gone by. Murchison pigs have always been the best, more fat, weight more in size compared to other areas and taste brilliant.
Pigs down the sounds used to taste crap, skinny and not great eating. Now, with many areas having escapees from farms, released pigs from other hunters etc the pigs
are just better all round in most areas.
Shot pigs are better than dogged pigs in taste as well. Sows taste a little better but had many a good boar thats been pretty darn good.
Have met a couple of people from the North island that swear after tasting south island pigs they a heap better.
My GF comes from up North, she wouldnt eat wild pork because she thought it was crap.
When she tried some of the ones ive shot she loves it, generally around here the wild pig is getting tamer and tamer in taste as the years go on.
Prob by so many farm pigs breeding with wild ones as years ago hunters releaseing pigs into the bush was going on everywhere and still happens today, esp on private blocks.

---

I have shot a serious lot of pigs from Murch and agree they are pretty much always in good order - but - beware the Ferny boars. When big pigs eat Bracken Fern roots all winter they get a real bad taint and a boar roast will drive everyone out of the house with the stink. A good solution is to get a butcher to do the back lets of a boar into hams and cook them yourself when you want one. If they are raw from the Butcher they can be frozen and kept and then slow baked in an oven bag to cook them. Grass fed pigs from Canterbury are very good and maybe Otago grass and berry pigs are the best. If they are on dry grass in the late summer they can eat grass seeds and that 'finishes' them like grain in a sty

wild pork in a camp oven is a nice way to eat it just place the pork on green teatree sticks with the bark peeled off in the bottom of the camp oven then place the pork on top make sure the meat is not wet (pat it dry with handy towels) then put it on a gas ring or embers from a fire and cook it slowly then you can put spuds, kumara ect on top when it is half cooked then your greens on top half an hour before its cooked:) meat cooks in its own juice and smokes for a start till the juices stop that happening you can do other meats like this as well lamb chicken beef veno is good veno and some beef cuts can dry out abit so put tinfoil around them or on top if this happens and don,t forget low heat is best Bonaparte

Otago tussock pigs are excellent, as were a couple i shot up in the Gowan Valley. Others not so much

Pigs from pureora in the winter that have been eating a lot of miro berries are the best pork you will eat.

Pine pigs that are fat on Huhu bugs after rooting up rotten pine stumps are pretty dam tasty.