# Can you eat a pot belly pig?



## freedomfrom4

Can you eat a male pot belly pig that has become mean? Or would the hormones ruin him. We would be processing him ourselves so not having as much meat as a comercial pig would be ok. He is to vicious to keep around.


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## marvella

yes. 

but is he intact? it might make the meat strong and i'm pretty sure it would be tough too. at least the one we killed last year was. and he was cut.

i've eaten PB pig before that was raised to eat, kept confined and fed to make good meat. it was some of the best pork i have ever eaten.

be warned they can be hard to kill. their skull is thick and hard. you need a large caliber gun. draw an imaginary X between each ear and eye and aim carefully. if you don't kill him on the first try you may need to cut the jugular and bleed him out.

this is one of the reasons i usually recommend that pb pigs not be kept for pets.


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## Ryan NC

marvella said:


> it was some of the best pork i have ever eaten.




I must agree, can't really explain the difference but there is a slight difference in a good way. 

I butchered uncut PB's without problem, I've heard of boar taint being possible with them but I've also heard they carry so much fat that it isn't worth cleaning one and many other derogatory comments about using them for meat... To date I've never had boar taint or one with enough body fat to amount to anything. We do butcher fairly young (4-8 months) which might also play a part in it but I'm not sure. Shy of here there are very few people that know that we eat PB's, to an extent many people still see them as "pet animals" even if they'd never give one a home under any circumstances. It's just not something I make public knowledge outside of people that might understand... although we did butcher one back in may and threw a pit BBQ for about 50 folks and Mr. Pot belly disappeared MUCH faster than the store bought chickens did with many great comments given. =)


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## animalfarmer

Hi freedomfrom4,I sent you a P.M. It may be of interest.Best of luck.Regards,John.


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## marvella

well there's the difference. the one we killed was about 5 years old and had free ranged all his life. very very tough meat. inedible.


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## bbbuddy

We just took a whole male pig, probably 6 to 8 months old (slow roasted on the BBQ) to a family get-together, and people were going back for 3rd's and 4ths. Several commented that it was the best pork they had ever had.


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## dezeeuwgoats

We butchered an intact half pb boar who was in with females his whole life. He was maybe two years old. He was tasty!


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## highlands

freedomfrom4 said:


> Can you eat a male pot belly pig that has become mean? Or would the hormones ruin him. We would be processing him ourselves so not having as much meat as a comercial pig would be ok. He is to vicious to keep around.


He's a pig. He's edible. If he's vicious then he's definitely dinner. I have a firm policy on that - I eat mean people. It isn't worth the risk to keep dangerous animals. Nice ones are easier to keep and make life a whole lot more pleasant.

If it turns out he has boar taint then separate the fat from the lean as much as possible. The fat is where the taint chemicals are deposited for the most part. The fat can compost. Take the lean and make spicy sausage. The spice covers the remaining taint. Use beef, barrow or sow fat if you need some.



marvella said:


> be warned they can be hard to kill. their skull is thick and hard. you need a large caliber gun.


I have killed 4 year old 800 lb farm pigs with a .22 caliber rifle. I'm sure their head was harder than that of a Pot Bellied pig. You don't want an overly large caliber because you want the bullet to enter the brain cavity and bounce around scrambling the brains. The key is properly placing the bullet at the X like you described.



marvella said:


> well there's the difference. the one we killed was about 5 years old and had free ranged all his life. very very tough meat. inedible.


Even shoe leather is edible...  Just have to slow cook it.  And be hungry.


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## bbbuddy

dezeeuwgoats said:


> We butchered an intact half pb boar who was in with females his whole life. He was maybe two years old. He was tasty!


Hey, Nicki, how did they work out for you? Are they easier to keep around than your regular pigs were? Or have you gone back to regular pigs?

The goats turned out very prolific, we need to eat a few!


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## marvella

highlands said:


> He's a pig. He's edible. If he's vicious then he's definitely dinner. I have a firm policy on that - I eat mean people. It isn't worth the risk to keep dangerous animals. Nice ones are easier to keep and make life a whole lot more pleasant.
> 
> If it turns out he has boar taint then separate the fat from the lean as much as possible. The fat is where the taint chemicals are deposited for the most part. The fat can compost. Take the lean and make spicy sausage. The spice covers the remaining taint. Use beef, barrow or sow fat if you need some.
> 
> 
> 
> I have killed 4 year old 800 lb farm pigs with a .22 caliber rifle. I'm sure their head was harder than that of a Pot Bellied pig. You don't want an overly large caliber because you want the bullet to enter the brain cavity and bounce around scrambling the brains. The key is properly placing the bullet at the X like you described.
> 
> 
> 
> Even shoe leather is edible...  Just have to slow cook it.  And be hungry.


point taken. when you are hungry everything looks pretty good.

the advice about the big gun came from my vet. turned out my pig WAS shot with a 22, which is why i said he might have to cut the jugular. all the 22 did was stun him a bit and make it easier to get near enough to finish him off. he was a pet and i wanted him put done quick and easy. oh well.


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## Rogo

It's difficult to find true Potbelly pigs. It's even more difficult to find Potbelly meat growers since they hide to avoid the flack from the pet folks.

If anyone knows of any entire (NOT spade/neutered) true Potbelly pigs and/or growers in Arizona, I'd appreciate knowing who they are or have them contact me. Thanks.

rogo16 @ yahoo.com (remove spaces)


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## johnghagen

Got to tell this story,A few years ago my buddy and i read this add for free Pot Belly Pig,family pet to good home.LOL. Well after a few bers at the Legion we decide we could BBQ this critter and have a party.Well we get the pig and it is as big around as a ten gallon crock and just about that long,And a year or so old.We scalded him and scraped him and got him ready for the BBQ and i kid you not he rendered out so much fat that there was a 1 inch level in the bottom of the smoker.Had to cut thru so much fat to get to meat it was not funny.The meat what there was was great just not much.My wife said it served us right but we still laugh about it. God Bless John


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## liquorlawman

I have eaten them several times. Always tasted fine to me


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## bbbuddy

johnghagen said:


> Got to tell this story,A few years ago my buddy and i read this add for free Pot Belly Pig,family pet to good home.LOL. Well after a few bers at the Legion we decide we could BBQ this critter and have a party.Well we get the pig and it is as big around as a ten gallon crock and just about that long,And a year or so old.We scalded him and scraped him and got him ready for the BBQ and i kid you not he rendered out so much fat that there was a 1 inch level in the bottom of the smoker.Had to cut thru so much fat to get to meat it was not funny.The meat what there was was great just not much.My wife said it served us right but we still laugh about it. God Bless John



The "family pet" part is the culprit, NOT the pig itself. It was fed wrong.

My PBP's have very little fat on them. The last one I did, took up the entire 4 burner BBQ, and he was on a "sheet" made of heavy duty tin foil with the edges turned up.
6+ hours of slow roasting and he was done, tasty, tender, and NO FAT in the BBQ and not much in the tin foil sheet...


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## dezeeuwgoats

I raise mine on grass and alfalfa - plus a few scraps (leftover milk, kefir, etc). Snacks really - not very often. Mine are NOT fat either. Just enough. 

Now, a friend of mine took my sow and she farrowed over there. She fed her all the milk she could drink for about six months or so. She had a good two inches of solid, hard, white fat over her back and sides. I made lard yesterday. The pork chops were divine - just trimmed it and used trimmings to make lard.

Feed makes a huge difference.


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## Gailann Schrader

...and it depends on the TYPE of PotBelly you get and it depends on whether you WANT lard. I do. I make soap. Or trade the lard to someone that makes soap!

Or feed the dogs! Fat is great for them in the winter...


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