How to Quarter and Butcher a Wild Hog

Feral hogs run wild in large areas of the southern United States.

Quartering and butchering a wild hog is essentially the same process as for a domestic pig. However, wild hogs are known carriers of several diseases and parasites, making it important to protect yourself from exposure by wearing protective gloves and avoiding contact with bodily fluids when possible. Chill the meat after butchering the animal to arrest bacterial growth and disinfect the tools and butchering area when done. Always cook wild pork to 170 degrees Fahrenheit to kill pathogens.

Things You'll Need

• Protective gloves
• Knife
• 2 large hooks with attached ropes or chains
• Tree limb, scaffolding or tractor front-end loader
• Hatchet
• Twine
• Large container
• Meat or carpenter's saw
• Ice, cold water or meat cooler
• Soap
• Bleach

Instructions

1. Position the dead hog with its head facing downhill to facilitate bleeding. Wearing protective gloves, cut through the jugular vein in the side of the neck with a sharp knife until the blood flows freely. Let the hog bleed until a gurgling noise can be heard from inside the carcass and the blood slows to a trickle.

2. Cut through the connective tissue between the hock joints and the tendons behind them. Pass large hooks attached to ropes or chains through the cuts and hoist the carcass up to hang upside down by the hocks from a large tree limb, tractor, front end loader or sturdy scaffolding.

3. Slice through the skin in a circle around the shin of each hind leg and continue the cut down the inside of each leg, finishing with a circular cut outlining the vent and genitals. Cut another circle through the skin around the tail head. Peel and tear the skin away from the hind legs and hams, using the knife to cut through any tough attachments. Make another cut through the skin down the belly from the genitals to the neck and continue to pull the skin downward around the torso and front legs until you can cut it free around the head and remove the hide completely.

4. Remove the head by cutting and twisting, using a small hatchet to chop through the spine if necessary. Cut through the abdominal wall from the vent to the neck, being careful not to puncture any internal organs. Break the front of the pelvis with the hatchet and cut through the breastbone with a heavy knife to access the viscera.

5. Tie off the urethra and lower intestine with clean twine to prevent contamination with waste. Cut around the vent to free the end of the intestines and pull the viscera free of the body cavity, allowing them to fall into a large container or onto a clean tarp. Cut the liver free of the green gall bladder, remove the kidneys and separate the heart from the blood vessels. All are edible.

6. Cut off the tail and saw through the spine lengthwise with a meat saw or carpenter's saw to divide the animal in half. Remove the feet and cut off the hams and shoulders. Cut the loin area free and saw the ribs into the desired portion size. Chill the meat thoroughly in cold water, ice or a walk-in cooler.

7. Discard the animal waste products according to local regulations available from the health department. Wash your hands and any skin that came into contact with body fluids thoroughly with soap and water. Clean and disinfect all tools used for butchering with a bleach solution, following the bleach manufacturer's recommendation for dilution with water.

Tips & Warnings

• Hoist a heavy hog into the air by pulling the ends of the ropes or chains with a truck or four-wheeler. If the area is inaccessible by vehicle, use a fence stretcher attached to a nearby tree trunk to ratchet the carcass up into place.

References

• Mississippi State University Wild Pig Info: Public Health
• "Storey's Guide to Raising Pigs"; Kelly Klober; 1997