Javelina hunt

[JEMBO]

#3484

I’m heading out this week on my first Javelina hunt in SW New Mexico. For those who’ve had success hunting them how are they as table fare? I hear everthing from un-eatable to very tasty. Any recipes are welcomed.

[David Petersen]

#20582

Lloyd — Since no one else has spoken up … I have many friends who regularly kill and eat javalina, and almost none pretend it’s delicious. What they say is “it’s OK if you cook it right.” And that amounts to cooking big chunks of meat very slowly on low heat, like a crockpot, then shredding it like shredded pork and eating as sloppy Joe’s, etc. In other words, best for forget porkchops and roasts and plan to use only shredded and preferably in sauce. One friend in AZ swears he can cook it so that unsuspecting diners think it’s pork. But he’s been doing it all his life. I see javalina all the time when hunting Coues in AZ but have bought a license only once and of course saw nothing. I’ve quit hunting javalina in AZ due to the ridiculously high tag price (even in hunt areas with plenty of pigs and many leftover tags), the time it takes to find them and get one, and the very short archery pig season. And too, yes, because I don’t want to have to force myself to eat one. Instead, I’ve turned by fantasy to feral hogs, but they’re all so very far away. Good luck on your hunt and let us know how it tastes. 😛

[lyagooshka]

#20598

David Petersen wrote: …I’ve turned by fantasy to feral hogs, but they’re all so very far away.

Dave, really? If you can drive to AZ, you can definitely hit TX. You can even hunt them from helicopters there, though your Java Man might hit the rotors unless you cant the bow a little more. 😆 😆 😆

Anyway, I think I read in an old TBM exactly what you said. People who hunt them are into the chase and the area more than the flavor of the meat. Reminds me of woodchucks. I could have had a few shots at some this year, but I just can’t bring myself to even look for a recipe for one, so I passed. Wouldn’t mind trying it, but don’t want to be the one to cook my first. Be well.

Alex

😀

[Alexandre Bugnon]

#20634

lyagooshka wrote:

Reminds me of woodchucks. I could have had a few shots at some this year, but I just can’t bring myself to even look for a recipe for one, so I passed. Wouldn’t mind trying it, but don’t want to be the one to cook my first. Be well.

Alex

😀

I hear that, Alex! I’ll add squirrels to that!

[Raymond Coffman]

#20639

Jembo –

young ones are pretty good if you marinate them first and slow cook or smoke–But they will never be as good as feral hog. Check out Javelinahunter.com for all kinds of info {bunch of recipes] on the little musk pigs. Speaking of which – the real reason people have problems eating them is the scent! Be sure to Clean your Jave right away – the musk gland will come off pretty easy when you skin it [Mostly attached to the skin at top of rump]. The trick is to make sure the skin{hair side} and the musk gland DO NOT Touch the meat during /after removal. I use gloves [surgical] while skinning and a different blade. then handle the meat barehanded [or another set of gloves if cold]and a different or thoroughly cleaned original knife-

If you don’t mind saying what unit you are Hunting I might be able to give some insight. I have hunted the desert of SW NM and SE AZ a lot.

Scout.

[William Warren]

#20680

I have no experience with the javalinas but wish it did! If I had the chance I’d definitely try the hunting and the meat if I could. Good luck with your hunt and hope you have some pics to post when you get back.

[JEMBO]

#21422

Thanks for the input guys. Friends who’ve tried them suggest making sausage. If success comes I’ll experiment with a little of both. I’ll post a report next week.

Cyber – sent yoou a PM

[archer38]

#21771

I don’t know about Javelina, but there was a pretty good article in a recent past issue TBM about woodchucks and it had a few recipes. Also, for the squirrel, My Mother used to make the most delicious meat pies with squirrel and pigeon meat when I was a kid.

[David Petersen]

#21783

Well sorry Jembo, but wandering far afield on threads is often a good part of the fun here. On squirrels — maybe nostalgia has flavored my memory, it’s been so very long ago, but I grew up hunting cottontail, squirrel, and bobwhite. I loved them all but pan-fried squirrel was tops. These were fox and gray squirrels in Okie. Here in the Rockies we have only Abert’s, which are big and look like good eating, but very slow and unspooky and consequently rare, and amazingly lovely, so I don’t hunt them. And the pine/red squirrels, though some will argue, I find inedible, though I’ve done it.

I think I’m saying “it depends on the species of squirrel” how good it is, and definitely a young female is better than a big old male, and of course how it’s cooked. I wish to heck we had some grays or foxes here so I could refresh my memory on their flavor. I love elk (just finished a delicious stew for dinner), but we are short on variety here in the high mountains, with no upland bird other than blue grouse (good but not anything like quail) and our bunny population has been near zero for a decade now, fire and drought related no doubt. And no edible squirrels I want to kill. And while I love to hunt turkey, unless it’s a jake or fall hen, it’s an obligation rather than a pleasure to eat them (I can’t do the drown in grease technique that’s so popular in the South). Guess I need to spend more time fishing … but then, trout, like wild turkey and javelina, are more fun to catch than to eat. Whereever we live and hunt, we win some and lose some so far as good wild meat. I think the standard eastern abundance of whitetails, cottontails, squirrels, quail, catfish and crappie would be pretty hard to complain about. And feral hogs would be icing. 😀

[JEMBO]

#22476

DP – I appreciate the rabbit trails. And speaking of that it’s hard to beat well pan fried rabbit. This past Sept. with no luck in drawing an elk or deer license I had the pleasure of helping my oldest Grandson on his first succesful small game hunt. At our bi-annual family gathering we feasted on grouse, rabbit and squirrel (Abert). I’ve never had quail. Frustrating thing is we have dozens of them come to our bird feeder – Gambel’s and Scaled. Beautiful to look at but off limits to shooting where we live. Whitetail tenderloin for dinner last night… yum. The earth is bountiful!

[David Coulter]

#22499

This reminds me of the classic recipe for shad caught on the Delaware River. Clean the shad, lay it on a pine board and bake it for twelve hours. Take it out of the oven, throw away the shad and eat the pine board. dwc

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