S4-E02: Full Boar: Whole Hog Cooking Special

Rendering Wild Lard for Cooking

Sportsman that are lucky enough to harvest a black bear should try rendering the fat from the animal.  Once rendered, this lard will become a staple in the house hold for cooking many different meals. When butchering black bears or wild pigs, if you get a fatty one, it’s very important that you trim away all fat before freezing the meat. The fat will gradually spoil in the freezer and create off-flavors or downright inedible meat. Rather than...

Hog Carnitas Recipe

There are endless ways to make carnitas, or “little meats,” as it translates from Spanish. What makes this version so delicious is that the hog roast rests in a rub for hours before cooking. The salt and warm spices keep the meat juicy and add dramatic flavor before you braise with the citrus. You can perfect this dish by giving the meat a quick fry or broil to crisp up the small bits before serving. My carnitas tacos include fried plantains, a...

Tips for Cooking on a Backcountry Hunt

My dad always liked that old Napoleon quote about how an army marches on its stomach. During hunting season, he kept a plastic milk crate full of assorted goodies, jarred venison, corned meat, dried fruit, jerky, coffee nips, crackers, and toffee peanuts in the back of his Jeep Cherokee so that he could keep me and my brothers’ spirits up when we might otherwise have turned tired and whiny. For sure, he and Napoleon understood something elemental...