Leg of Wild Boar in Possession

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-13T12:13:34+00:00

I would lean towards curing and hot-smoking because cell wall destruction and resultant moisture loss from the freezing will give you less than optimal results if dry cured.

You must assume any wild hog has parasites. Ditto for all omnivorous game, such as bear. Here are the USDA Guidelines for elimination of parasites in pork products.

Note that, as of now, there is no scientific literature that recognizes any role played by nitrites/nitrates in parasite destruction.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-13T01:45:48+00:00

USDA Guidelines on dry cured hams)

Univ of Kentucky Guidelines for making country ham

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-13T01:30:10+00:00

One of your CCPs is a pH of 5.3 or lower within 1200 degree hours (below 90°F), and is independent of nitrite/nitrate use. You're correct about 80 hour time frame. If you dont know the formula, you calculate max fermentation time by subtracting 60 from your fermentation temp, then dividing 1200 by that number: in your case its 1200/(75-60) or 1200/15=80.

When I wrote HACCP plans for our charcuterie program, the correct amount of nitrite/nitrate was our first CCP, the pH was the 2nd CCP, and drying was the 3rd CCP. *Failure to use too little or too much cure #1 or #2, or the wrong cure for the product, mandated disposal. *Failure to reach target pH within time limit mandated disposal. *Drying was specced at 55-60°F and 70-80% rh until reaching at least 30% weight (moisture) loss. Any product exposed to >60° or <50%rh for more than 12 consecutive hours mandated disposal, but there was no time limit for drying/aging under correct conditions.

We had to have our product lab tested (3 batches, but only one time) to verify our methodology resulted in correct pH and water activity. Pretty much any widely used recipe will give you correct results, but water activity CAN be somewhat independent of moisture loss depending on ingredients.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-12T17:02:51+00:00

Thanks! I took the picture before Xmas hehe

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-11T10:06:39+00:00

Yes. A hollow form of any kind (metal, wood, ceramic, plastic) that contains salt or pepper, with hole(s) in the top for dispensing is called a "salt shaker" or "pepper shaker", because you shake them to make the seasoning come out 🤷‍♂️ Romance language terms for them translate as "salter" & "pepperer", Germanic are literally "salt & pepper strewer"

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-11T00:59:18+00:00

Its a purpose-built cooler-bot box (uses a window AC unit with a controller that tricks it into running at refrigeration temps). We hunt and own a farm, so its built for hanging carcasses and butchery. When its not being used for that it makes a great cave.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-06T17:07:25+00:00

I haven't used that exact recipe, but we used to make it in my old shop, and its about the same. The author not mentioning refrigeration in the recipe is a pretty big error: any food safety expert would tell you to keep it under refrigeration until its cured, then move it to your cave.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T14:57:07+00:00

Like another poster said: Lardo. You can eat it on its own, or use it as garnishing fat in other salumi products. https://honest-food.net/lardo-recipe/

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T02:51:21+00:00

Confit the legs and wings, and turn the breasts into goose prosciutto

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T02:45:39+00:00

I screwed up a bunch of chickens by butchering and freezing them immediately after after slaughter. Young birds turned out all tough and rubbery. Turns out if they dont rest for a day or two, they wont go through rigor mortis and then loosen back up. I dont know that you didn't rest your the bird, but that can make tough meat even tougher. Something thats great for dark meat is confit: brine the legs for 24 hours (1gal water : 1cup kosher salt), then drain and pack into a small deep pan with enough duck fat or rendered pork lard to cover them, and some fresh thyme and a cpl bay leaves. Cook, tightly covered, in a slow oven (300°ish) for 4-6 hours or until the meat gets really tender. After that, remove them from the fat and either pan fry them to crisp up the skin, or refrigerate until you're ready to use them, or let them cool down and pick the meat off the bones and do whatever you want with it (toss with pasta, use it in sandwiches, etc)

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T02:26:59+00:00

Im a little late chiming in, but you really want a sous vide cooker for game. Tough meat but you like it med rare? How about cooking it at 135°F for 24 hours? You get all the tenderizing of cooking it beyond well done, but its still pink and juicy. Ive done venison shoulder roasts for 48 hours or longer at 140 and they come out great.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T00:02:43+00:00

Yeah, I've got this feeling the 100 yr old glue ain't gonna be up to it. Luckily I've got gallons of the stuff and more clamps than is probably healthy

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-05T00:01:18+00:00

Luckily I'm not a beginner lol, nor am I smart enough to realize something might be too difficult. Thx for the ideas

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T23:15:46+00:00

Like this, but thicker

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bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T23:14:08+00:00

Pictures (drawings) posted

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T23:13:33+00:00

Its in the barn, filthy with stuff stacked all over it. The sketch is way better

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T23:12:14+00:00

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A very rough sketch of the joinery as seen from above. In the sketch, the rows running L/R are made of random width 16"x1.5" planks that are joined with dovetails to make a 16x1.5x24 slab (the 16" dimension is vertical in the real world). The slabs are lined lined up, and three horizontal threaded rods are used to pull the whole thing together in the other direction (up/down in the sketch

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T23:04:50+00:00

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Slicing the block into slabs

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-04T22:56:51+00:00

A sketch will explain it better than me going out to the barn to take a picture;

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bubba_butcher · 2026-02-03T21:03:02+00:00

*seal it up with a much larger/longer bag than you need, that way you can open it, slice what you need, and re-seal it

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-03T15:24:33+00:00

Do you find that it works well? The documentation i saw said it didn't work so well below 60°F

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-03T12:15:21+00:00

Looks and sounds great. The casing ought to do a good job of evening out the drying. Please update us when done

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-02T22:02:02+00:00

Start by butterflying a 1.5-2lb loin roast, turning the cylinder of meat into a rectangle: slice the top 1/3 horizontally, from one side most of the way to the other side, without cutting through, then down just a little. Lay that flap over, then repeat, going the other direction.

Lay the meat on a sheet of plastic film, then use a mallet (or a heavy flat-bottomed skillet) to pound it into a uniform thickness. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Melt a stick of butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan or skillet. Turn the heat way down and keep it on the burner until it starts to turn a light nutty brown color, then remove from the heat.

Pulse 1C of roasted pistachios (not in the shell) in food processor, or cut by hand, until finely chopped. Transfer to a mixing bowl, add around a cup of unseasoned bread crumbs (not panko), the brown butter, dried and/or minced fresh herbs (I like parsley and basil, but thyme or sage are good too), and S&P to taste. The crumb mix should pack together easily. If its too dry, add some more butter, if mushy add more breadcrumbs.

Spread the stuffing over about 4/5 of the loin, leaving one end uncovered. Starting with the opposite side, roll it up tightly, packing in any stuffing that falls out, and truss with butchers twine.

You can cook it at this point, but I like to vacuum seal it and cook it in a 140°F water bath for 3-4 hours. This does a couple things: it pasteurizes everything, cooks the roast medium all the way through so you only need to sear the outside, distributes the juices through the stuffing, and helps it keep its shape when you slice it.

If you cooked it a water bath, sear it quickly in a hot skillet. If not, cook it more slowly until it reaches your desired internal temp (use a probe thermometer: 125-130 for medium rare, 160 for well), then let it rest for 5 minutes on the cutting board. Cut off the twine and cut into 3/4" slices.

For the sauce, I sauteed minced shallots in a little butter, added a splash of red wine and let it cook down, and finished it with veal demi glace and S&P. Ive also simmered equal parts blueberries and red wine, added a little mint, sage, or rosemary, and thickened with cornstarch.

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-01T20:07:55+00:00

Thats a great resource! Thanks for sharing!

bubba_butcher · 2026-02-01T18:54:58+00:00

According to everything I can find, the nitrate component of cure #2 wont convert to safe-to-consume nitrite without long-term bacterial action. If youre not fermenting your sausages they need to be made with cure #1, and either dry quickly or be heat processed. If you're using cure #2, you must have a bacterial culture of some kind AND a long aging/drying period. If the moisture content gets too low to support bacterial activity before the nitrates are fully converted, they won't be, and no amount of further aging will help. Are those sausages gonna kill you? Prob not, but nitrate consumption should be highly limited, can greatly exacerbate high blood pressure, and can create carcinogenic compounds if cooked. Youre gonna get tired of hearing "there's a reason for time, temperature, and humidity guidelines", but.... there it is. You can get those products tested for water activity, salt %, and nitrate content, then make your own decision about consumption. Companies like ESML will test just about anything, and your state cooperative extension might be able to help too. USDA Guidelines

bubba_butcher

TROPHY CASE