Red Wattle Hogs

[jeff42nd]

A local farmer in my area raises the Red Wattle Hogs and he was telling me that this is one of or the best tasting pig that there is. I have never heard of this bread, I am just wondering if anyone has tasted this bread?

Better yet, has anyone tired to use this breed for a competition?

Jeff42nd

 

[palmerbbq]

I have never tasted one, but I find it hard to believe they are one of the best tasting when they have a lower fat content then other breeds. I could be wrong but in my mind more fat equals better tasting in most cases.

 

[3 Olives]

I have never tasted one, but I find it hard to believe they are one of the best tasting when they have a lower fat content then other breeds. I could be wrong but in my mind more fat equals better tasting in most cases.

You are wrong. The "heritage" breeds came close to extinction because they didn't produce enough lard, do not do well in confined spaces, and take much longer to grow to full size. Many of them produce excellent pork and bacon. I have 4 racks of Tamworth baby backs in the freezer - don't confuse leaner with lean.

 

[Rhys15]

The Red Wattle hog is a large, red hog with a fleshy, decorative, wattle attached to each side of its neck that has no known function. The origin and history of the Red Wattle breed is considered scientifically obscure, though many different ancestral stories are known. One theory is that the French colonists brought the Red Wattle Hogs to the United States from New Caledonia Island off the coast of Australia in the late 1700’s. As they adapted well to the land, the Red Wattle quickly became a popular breed in the US.
Red Wattle hogs are known for their hardiness, foraging activity, and rapid growth rate. The sows are excellent mothers, who labor litters of 9-10 piglets, and provide good quantities of milk for their large litters. They adapt well to a wide range of climates, making them a good choice for consideration in outdoor or pasture-based swine production.
Red Wattle pork is exceptionally lean and juicy with a rich beef-like taste and texture.
The Red Wattle hog is listed on the ALBC Conservation Priority List as being critically endangered meaning there are fewer than 200 annual registrations in the U.S. and estimated to have fewer than 2,000 individuals of this breed globally.

 

[Bob In Fla.]

I love it when someone digs up an old post with new information.

From the part

Red Wattle pork is exceptionally lean and juicy with a rich beef-like taste and texture.

I don't think it would do well in a competition like the original poster asked. Them judges most likely wouldn't like "Beefy" pork. If I had any, I'd kep it for myself.

I can't remember the breed right now, but I tried a heritage pig in a competition (it was raised in Georgia, by some friends), and it scored poorly. Comments came back saying that it was too strong, not "real" tasting, artificial chemical taste. No! It was pure HOG, with only a little salt and black pepper sprinkled on. We all (many of the other competitors) LOVED it, but the palates of the judges weren't expecting such a strong pork flavor, and they scored it down. The color wasn't "the new whie meat" either.

BOB

 

[bigwheel]

Well glad somebody kicked this one back to life. Guess I missed it on the first go around. Now my old dearly deceased pal Joe Ames could deliver entire cyber dissertations on why the pork tastes like chicken and vice versa nowadays. They both taste like frog legs. He claimed on chickens they was raising and slaughtering too quick before it could mature enough to develop any chickeny flavor. He recommended roasters instead of fryers because they was older...which is apparently not the case in current poultry practices. The roasters are simply fryers which grew bigger than their kin for some reason. Now he blamed the current crop of tasteless pork on a fat shortage..skinny hawgs etc. Fat is where the flavor is at. At least in Joe's view. Big old fat slop fed sow should taste purty good. Especially if it got red wattles on it. Course it sounded like an endangered species. Might go good with Whooping Crane. Who knows?