Wild Boar Cooking Times
There are many ways of cooking wild hog, but each of them has the same end goal-getting the internal temperature to 145F
This is because wild hogs can carry trichinosis, and reaching at least 145F internal temperature will kill this, making the meat safe to eat.
The time it takes to reach this temperature depends on your meat cut and cooking method.
Frying/Grill
One of the fastest methods of cooking wild boar is by frying or grilling. This method is best reserved for smaller cuts of meat or ground meat.
This is because both methods typically cook at high heat, so the outside will cook faster than the inside on larger cuts.
Ground Meat
This could be in any form; the same principle applies to cooking. Typical ground hog samples would be meatballs, burgers, and sausages.
Ground wild boar is very lean, so it is typically mixed with pork fat. This allows the meat to cook faster, as the ratio is usually around 70/30.
Cooking ground meat on the pan will take around 10 minutes. This will vary according to what you are cooking.
Not all sausages are the same size; the same goes for other things you can make with ground meat.
Steaks and Chops
Another typical cut of wild boar meat cooked on a pan or grill is steak.
Wild boar steak is not like venison or beef steak and is relatively dense and much tougher.
The tenderness will depend on your steak type; for example, a tenderloin steak will cook faster and be more tender than a leg steak.
Typically wild boar steaks are either marinated or flattened. This allows the meat to cook faster.
Wild boar steaks take approximately 8-10 minutes to cook. This is 4-5 minutes per side for a 1-1.5 inch steak, not including the resting time in which the meat will continue to cook.
The resting time for wild boar steak is about 10 minutes.
Wild boar chops take a little less time to cook due to being a tenderer cut.
| Cuts | Time |
|---|---|
| Ground Meat | 10 Minutes per pound |
| Steaks and Chops | 8-10 Minutes 1-1.5 inch steak |
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Pressure Cooker
Pressure cooking is a great way to cook wild boar fast and is suitable for nearly every cut of meat you can take from the hog.
Due to a pressure cooker’s high boiling point, the meat reaches an internal temperature of 145F very fast.
While I love using a pressure cooker to speed things along, I typically only use this for tough cuts of meat, such as the ribs, shanks, or thick cuts for pulled wild boar.
Pulled Wild Boar
Everyone loves some pulled meat; whether it’s venison or wild boar, we can all agree it’s delicious.
However, cooking this without a pressure cooker can take numerous hours, 6+. With a pressure cooker, you can reduce this time to less than two hours, and depending on the size of the meat; you may do it in one hour.
When pressure cooking wild boar for pulled meat, aim for 15-20 minutes per pound.
Osso Buco
While there are many great recipes you can make with wild game shanks, perhaps the most famous is osso buco.
Shanks are probably the toughest cut of meat on any wild game animal, especially on wild boar.
Trying to cook this cut any other way than in a pressure cooker will take an extremely long time, which is the preferred method if you have four plus hours to spare.
The instant pot is an excellent alternative for those who don’t have this time.
Pressure cooking wild boar shanks takes 40-50 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cut you have.
Wild Boar Ribs
Cooking wild boar ribs is a similar story to the shank. Ribs on a wild boar are not like pork ribs.
While removing the membrane is relatively easy, there is still excess fat and silver skin to deal with.
So, just like the shanks, you can cook wild boar ribs low and slow or toss them in the instant pot and cook them fast.
Not counting the sear, which only takes 2-3 minutes, the cooking time for wild boar ribs in an instant pot is 20-30 minutes.
| Cuts | Times |
|---|---|
| Pulled Wild Boar | 15-20 Minutes per pound |
| Osso Buco | 40-50 Minutes |
| Wild Boar Ribs | 20-30 Minutes |
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Roasting/Baking
Roasting or baking wild hogs is suitable for some of the best cuts of meat, ground meat, and tougher cuts.
Roasting and baking are somewhere in the middle of cooking times. It’s slower than pressure cooking or frying but faster than slow cooking and smoking.
Ground Meat
Ground wild boar meat can come in all shapes and sizes; it could be wild boar chili or sausages.
However, for roasting or baking, we are mostly talking about sausages, meatballs, etc.
Typically ground wild boar meat is mixed with pork fat to help maintain moisture, slightly reducing the cooking time than if it were wild boar alone.
Prime Cuts
Roasting is one of my favorite ways to cook wild boar meat. It works so well for many of the cuts, especially prime cuts.
There are two cuts that I am talking about in particular, the tenderloin and the loin. These cuts need careful handling when cooking because they can quickly dry out.
For this reason, marinating them for a day or more before roasting them helps with the cooking process and the flavor.
Cooking times vary, but a tenderloin and backstrap average is approximately 12 minutes per pound. However, it’s important to ensure that the internal temperature has reached 145F.
After removing the meat from the oven, there will be a resting period of 10-15 minutes.
Large Cuts
Larger cuts of will boar take a long time to cook. And much of this depends on what dish you are making. A 3.5 lb roast, for example, could take 90 minutes, whereas a barbecue could take 3 hours.
| Cuts | TImes |
|---|---|
| Ground Meat | 20-30 Minutes |
| Prime Cuts | 12 Minutes per pound |
| Large Cuts | 30 Minutes per pound |
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Slow Cooker
One of my favorite methods of cooking is using the slow cooker. It requires time and patience, but the reward, in the end, is worth it, in my opinion.
All of the cuts and dishes I mentioned above can also be cooked using the slow cooker or any slow cooking method, as well as multiple other cuts and dishes.
Tough Cuts
This is typically ribs and shanks, which in my opinion, are great candidates for the slow cooker. Slow-cooking shanks is the traditional way of making osso buco.
Large Cuts
Large cuts can also be slow-cooked, and most usually are. However, this typically takes a long time; you could expect up to an hour per pound.
Ground Meat
There is no set time for slow-cooking ground meat. In my opinion, the longer you cook it, the better. Sometimes I will cook chili for a whole day.
However, if you are looking for a minimum time, I wouldn’t cook it for any less than two hours.
| Cuts | Times |
|---|---|
| Tough Cuts | 2+ Hours |
| Large Cuts | 4+ Hours |
| Ground Meat | 2+ Hours |
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Smoking
Smoking is about the longest method of cooking wild boar. Often smoking wild boar can be a whole day ordeal.
Like slow cooking, you can smoke nearly every cut of wild boar. However, some cuts are typically smoked more than others.
Sausages
Smoked wild boar sausages are one of the easier meats to smoke. The size of the sausage plays a part in smoking times.
It’s best to keep an eye on sausages when smoking them, and once they get to 160F, pull them out and let them rest a little.
You can check the temperature when you are turning them, which should be done every 45 minutes.
The ideal smoking temperature is between 225-250F.
Ribs
Wild boar ribs take a long time to smoke. Unlike pork ribs, wild boar ribs are much tougher with lesser meat.
However, if you have ever smoked wild boar ribs, you know it’s worth the effort. The time it takes to cook ribs depends greatly on the temperature. I prefer to cook them at around 225F, which takes about one hour per pound.
It’s possible to go lower in temperature, but this would increase the time, although I find there is no need to go too low for ribs.
Shoulder
The shoulder is another cut of meat that is often smoked and also typically takes a long time. However, similar to the ribs, it is worth the effort.
Like the ribs, a good temperature to set the smoker is 225F. Wild boar shoulder should take about 1.5 hours per pound at this temperature.
| Cuts | Times |
|---|---|
| Sausages | 2-3 Hours |
| Ribs | 1 Hour per pound |
| Shoulder | 1.5 Hours per pound |
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Final Thoughts
Cooking wild boar can be as long or as short as you want it to be. As with all wild game, wild boar has some tougher cuts of meat that take a little extra cooking to become tender.
These cuts can be done in a smoker, slow-cooked, or cooked relatively fast in a pressure cooker.
The most important thing when cooking wild boar is to give it enough time to allow the internal temperature to reach at least 145F.
