Recipe: Wild Piglet Luau

We turn a wild piglet from a destructive pest into a flavor fest.

The sad truth is so often hog hunters leave their kills to a muddy grave, rarely dragging the beasts from the muck and butchering and feasting on the flavors invasive swine has to offer. Then, others are willing to eat sows, or younger pigs, but never boars. Thanks to my friend Ronny Katzenberger of Texas JAGD (based out of Austin), I’ve hunted, butchered, and cooked several wild pigs and found all — small, big, sow, boar — quite tasty.

Like any wild game, preparing and cooking the beasts comes down to a methodology that varies from that of its domestic counterparts. For starters, wild hogs are often leaner than store-bought pork and their fat, in general, has a different flavor to it. Both when you butcher a fresh wild hog and then cook it later, more often than not, you’ll get both the smell and subtle taste of maple syrup. It’s kind of a sweet, wild flavor, and unique to these feral animals responsible for $2.5 billion worth of annual nationwide agriculture damage.

The recipe here calls for roasting a whole wild piglet, though the same techniques referenced here could be applied to any cut of wild hog. I did think there was some novelty to a pig roast and simultaneous semi-luau theme with friends (Hawaiian shirts mandatory), so I woke up at 3 a.m. to make certain this pig was done by dinner.

A note on food safety with wild hogs: they can carry trichinosis. Because of this, I make a point to serve at no less than 145 degrees F, a temp that will kill trichinosis. However, with this recipe here, the internal temp will likely exceed 200 degrees F, so you’ll be more than safe to consume.

For pig roasts using a domestic hog, those hogs are shaved, so the skin keeps in moisture. With wild pigs, rarely will you be able to shave and roast. Generally speaking, you’ll likely remove the hide, which is a process. In doing so, a skinless wild pig will dry out quicker. This is why we religiously spritz while smoking with a mix of apple juice and apple-cider vinegar. Doing so both keeps the exterior moist, and — fun fact — the smoke adheres better to moist, cold meat.

And while with a domestic pig you could roast or smoke all day while fat and collagen denature, turn to gelatin, and add succulence to the meat, because wild hog is so lean, we smoke it only long enough to add that smoky flavor. Then, we want to basically reconstitute with the addition of beef stock and red ale. I love me some Walnut River Brewing Warbeard (a red ale only found in Kansas, but soon to appear in Wyoming and Missouri, too).

With the addition of liquids, then covering and cooking at a very low temp in the oven, we braise the meat over several hours until it falls off the bone.

If making this recipe — or any authentically smoked barbecue, for that matter — make sure to plan ahead. You want to rub down the meat the night before. Not only does this give it time to absorb spices, but it also allows time for salt to bind to muscle fibers, which helps retain moisture during cooking. Then, the entire smoking-braising process is approximately 14 hours.

So, set your alarm, don your best luau shirt, and maybe crack a beer for yourself when it’s time to start braising the pig.

Luau Piglet Recipe

Ingredients (approximately 20 servings, potentially more)

• 1 whole wild piglet, skinned
• Meat Church The Gospel rub
• Meat Church Honey Bacon BBQ rub
• Spray bottle with 50:50 mix of apple juice and apple-cider vinegar
• 6 medium yellow onions, sliced and caramelized
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 6 jalapeños, sliced
• 48 ounces (minimum) beef stock
• 4 12-ounce cans (minimum) of red ale (Walnut River Warbeard used here)

Procedure

• Liberally apply rubs to all sides of fully thawed piglet and allow to red in cold cooler or fridge overnight.
• Smoke piglet at 200 degrees F for 4 hours with your favorite wood flavor. (I went with Traeger’s Cherry blend mixed with their Mesquite.) Spray with apple juice and apple-cider vinegar mix every half hour to hour and flip the piglet if necessary to make sure all sides get an adequate smoke and spray.
• Prior to finishing the 4-hour smoke, start an open fire with either wood or lump charcoal or a combination of both.
• While the fire builds, in a large, deep cast-iron skillet, add a thin layer of olive oil and place on the stove over a medium-high burner. Add sliced onions and lightly salt and pepper. Once slightly softened and seared, turn heat to low and stir every so often to caramelize onions.
• After smoking the piglet for approximately 4 hours, start carving off quarters (so front shoulders and hindquarters) and searing directly in fire. Turn to get an adequate char, then add to a large aluminum tray and cover with equal amounts of beef stock and red ale.
• Continue to sear all quarters and place in aluminum tray. (You may need more than one large tray.) Carve off flanks and pop off ribs at spin and sear. Chop off spine to sear loins (or just carve out loins and sear). Lastly, try to remove the head and sear the neck. Add all seared parts to an aluminum tray and try to keep mostly covered with beef stock and red ale.
• Turn oven to 200 degrees F. Add caramelized onions and sliced jalapeños overtop seared hog and cover aluminum trays with foil.
• Leave hog bits covered in oven at 200 degrees F for 5 to 6 hours. You may wish to check every hour to make sure liquid still covers most of the meat. If necessary, add more beef stock and red ale.
• When finished, the hog meat should easily shred and fall off the bone. Feel welcome to lightly salt all to taste (meaning if it tastes slightly bland, add a bit of salt, but do not oversalt to where it tastes salty).
• Yes, you can serve a bottle of barbecue sauce alongside shredded hog. To reheat, add shredded hog (bones optional) to a skillet and warm with red ale (and maybe a bit of barbecue sauce).

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Carnivore Magazine Issue 10.

More Great Wild Game Recipes:

• Venison Philly Cheesesteak
• Sous Vide Wild Boar Shank
• Elk Jerky
• Easter Bear by Hank Shaw
• Mediterranean Spiced Ground Venison Kofta