Wild Boar Jerky - help needed

Sardy · Newbie Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 54

Hi guys--

While I've got a bit of experience making beef jerky, I've never tried wild boar. My neighbor just dropped off 5 pounds of wild boar meat, trimmed and sliced to jerky thickness that his brother in law got on a recent hunting trip.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. And the most imortant question is temp. While I plan on brining it first, what internal temp do I need to achieve to make this safe to eat? (With beef jerky, I'm comfortable with 150-160, I assume that pork should be higher).

My plan is to brine overnight in a mixture of pineapple juice, salt, black pepper, honey - possibly garlic and cider vinegar, too).

Smoke at 150 w/ hickory, until done. Mabe glaze with honey and black pepper at the very end.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks!!

--Scott

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Mar 31 2008 Post subject:

Before trying jerky with that, I would freeze it solid for a few weeks to try and kill off any trichynosis critters that might be ripping around through that meat.

Why?
jerky is more dehydrated as opposed to being fully cooked, And that may not kill any critters that might be present. Domestic pork is treated properly to not have trichynosis, Wild is rampant with it, along with bears being a huge carrier too.

The USDA and several sausage making sites have the proper freeze-time charts to follow to kill that particular parasite.

If you are set on doing jerky with it, maybe cut it 50/50 with beef after that required freeze time.

I posted up a pepperoni recipe a week or so that might be good for that pork, I used a jerky gun and made some great sticks out of it as opposed to thick cylinders.
_________________
Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Sardy · Newbie Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 54

Actually, it has been frozen for a some time (I'm thawing now) - I will inquire how long it's been frozen.

The request was to make jerky, and I'm hesitant to grind it up or mix with beef - my preference would be to brine & smoke the meat as is... unless for some reason, this is an absolute no-no?

gil · Newbie Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 92 Location: iowa

Harry or someone else might be able to tell you better but i'm not sure i would include pineapple juice in your brine. Maybe for the last hour or so but that long i think the acids will give it a bad taste & texture. Again someone might answer that better than I.

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Apr 01 2008 Post subject:

I didn't see pineapple mentioned anywhere in his post's, but;

Fruit juices will break down the muscle structure and it tends to make meats mushy due to the enzymes and one particular strong enzyme is named papain.

Seriously, be careful with wild pork, wash your hands very well after handling it raw, Don't even rub your nose, eye's or mouth before a good scrub.

Most of the jerly products available commercially are a ground-meat product (Chopped & formed) that is piped through a stuffer-like piece of machinery. And adding beef to exotic's meats is very common to both enhance flavor and texture.
You can still use a cured meat recipe designed for ground meat on whole muscle pieces, just consider a longer cure time before smoking.

You will need to (Or should) remove as much fat as you can, it will go rancid quite quickly.

Good luck,
_________________
Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Sardy · Newbie Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 54

Will do!

What temp. should I bring it to? It was frozen for four weeks, had a 24 hour brine (salt, venegar, a little bit of pineapple juice, L.E.M. cure, black pepper). I trimmed as much fat as possible, and pounded some of the thicker pieces to be thinner.

I am planning a long slow smoke at around 140-150, but definitely want to bring it up to a safer/higher temperature at some point. Thoughts?

--Scott

Sardy · Newbie Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 54

Any help?

It's in the smoker and looking really good. Internal temp is 142.5, and I need to know how high to bring it to assure safe eats.

I want to quickly bring it to temp, then remove and dip in honey so it doesn't burn to a crisp...