Can you eat wild boar? Yes — here is how to do it safely

Yes, you can eat wild boar, and you can eat feral hogs and wild hogs — in the US those names usually mean the same animal. It is pork from a leaner, harder-working pig, and people have hunted and eaten it for thousands of years. The two rules that make it safe are simple: wear gloves when you handle the raw carcass, and cook the meat to at least 160°F (71°C).

We cut and pack wild boar every day at our plant in Hubbard, Texas. Here is what we tell customers and hunters who ask whether feral hog is safe and good to eat.

Why feral hogs are edible

Feral hogs, Eurasian wild boar and the pigs on a hog farm are all one species, Sus scrofa. Texas Parks and Wildlife calls all free-living ones "wild pigs" and notes that feral hogs are domestic pigs that went wild, while Eurasian boar were brought in for hunting (TPWD). So the meat is pork (wild boar vs feral hog explains the differences). What changes is the life the animal led: a feral hog walks miles, roots for its food and carries far less fat than a market hog.

That life is also where the risks come from. A wild animal has not been vaccinated, tested or fed a controlled ration, so you treat its meat the way you treat any wild game.

Is wild boar safe to eat?

Yes, when it is handled and cooked properly. Texas A&M's feral hog program puts it plainly: feral hog meat should be eaten "only after it has been heated to 160 degrees Fahrenheit," and anyone handling carcasses or raw meat should wear gloves, glasses and a mask (Texas A&M AgriLife). These are the diseases behind that advice.

Trichinella (trichinosis)

Trichinella is a parasitic worm that lives in muscle. People get it by eating raw or undercooked meat from an infected animal, and wild game such as feral hog is a known source. The CDC warns that freezing wild game "may not effectively kill all worms because some worms that infect wild game are freeze-resistant," and that curing, drying, smoking or microwaving alone does not consistently kill them (CDC). Cooking does.

Brucellosis: mostly a handling risk

Swine brucellosis is a bacterial disease that feral hogs carry for life. USDA APHIS explains that people catch it when blood, fluids or tissue from an infected hog get into the eyes, nose, mouth or a cut — usually while field dressing or butchering, and also by eating undercooked meat. APHIS advises eye protection and rubber or latex gloves, no bare skin contact with fluids or organs, and washing hands and tools afterward (USDA APHIS brochure). Early symptoms look like the flu, so tell your doctor you handle wild hogs if you get sick.

Toxoplasma and other parasites

Toxoplasma is another parasite people can get from "contaminated undercooked meat," and the CDC's advice is to cook meat to a safe internal temperature checked with a thermometer (CDC). Texas A&M meat scientists also note that feral hogs can carry parasites such as hookworms, and that wounds from fighting can lead to infection and discolored meat (Texas A&M Animal Science). Trim away anything that looks abnormal.

The one number to remember: 160°F (71°C)

Cook every cut of wild boar — chops, roasts, ribs and ground meat — to an internal temperature of at least 160°F (71°C) at the thickest point, measured with a food thermometer. That is the temperature in the USDA APHIS hunter brochure and Texas A&M guidance above. Do not cook wild boar rare or pink in the middle, even though some farm-pork charts allow a lower number.

Why meat sold to the public comes from hogs inspected alive

You are free to eat a hog you took yourself. Selling it is different. Under federal law, feral swine are treated as pigs for meat inspection, and inspection must begin with the live animal — a hog killed in the field cannot be inspected before slaughter, so its meat "cannot enter commerce" (Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021). In Texas, a hunter can have a hog processed for their own use, and that meat is marked "Not for Sale" (25 TAC §221.14).

That is why all the wild boar meat we sell for people comes from hogs that arrive alive from trappers. Each one is examined alive, and the carcass and organs are examined again after slaughter. Field-harvested hogs follow a separate path into pet food. The full story is on how we source and process.

Is wild hog good to eat?

Yes, if it is handled well. Wild boar tastes like richer, deeper-flavored pork. The meat is darker and firmer, with a fine grain, and there is very little fat between the muscles. A feral hog's diet changes through the year — roots, grasses, acorns, pecans and, too often, crops — and that variety is part of why the flavor has more character than farm pork.

Most "bad hog" stories come down to handling, not the animal: a hog left in the sun for hours, a punctured gut, or a carcass that was never chilled. Clean, fast processing and quick freezing are what keep the flavor clean.

How to cook lean wild boar

Wild boar has less fat to protect it, so it dries out sooner than farm pork. The aim is to reach 160°F (71°C) without going far past it.

• Use a thermometer. Take tender cuts off the heat at 160°F (71°C), then rest them 5–10 minutes.
• Brine chops and loin. A simple saltwater brine for a few hours helps lean meat hold moisture.
• Add fat. Bacon, butter, olive oil or a fattier sausage in the pan all help lean cuts.
• Go low and slow for hard-working cuts. Shoulder, leg, shanks and ribs are full of connective tissue. Braise, smoke or slow-roast them well past 160°F (71°C) until they pull apart.
• Mix ground boar into recipes you already know. It works in chili, meat sauce, burgers and meatballs. Cook ground meat to 160°F (71°C).
• Thaw in the fridge, not on the counter. A 1 lb (450 g) pack takes about a day.

Cut	Best method	Done when
Tenderloin, boneless loin, chops	Quick sear, then oven or indirect grill	160°F (71°C), rested
Shoulder roast, bone-in leg	Braise, smoke or slow roast	Well above 160°F (71°C), fork-tender
Ribs, shanks	Smoke or braise, covered	Well above 160°F (71°C), meat pulls from the bone
Ground, sausage, burgers	Skillet, grill, sauce	160°F (71°C) throughout

Which cuts to start with

If you have never cooked wild boar, start with cuts that forgive mistakes. Ground wild boar goes anywhere ground pork or beef goes. A shoulder roast is hard to ruin in a slow cooker or Dutch oven. When you are ready for something special, try the tenderloin or loin chops — cook them hot and fast, and watch the thermometer.

The sampler box puts tenderloin, chops, ground, sausage and stew meat in one order, so you can try several cuts before you pick a favorite.

If you take your own hog

• Wear gloves and eye protection to field dress, and keep fluids off your skin.
• Do not eat a hog that looked sick or was found dead.
• Do not harvest hogs where toxicant baits are used.
• Keep the carcass clean and get it cold quickly.
• Cook everything to 160°F (71°C).

If you want to sell hogs instead, see sell your hogs and our field-dressing rules.

Sources

• Texas A&M AgriLife — feral hog diseases
• Texas A&M Animal Science — safe practices for processing and cooking feral hogs
• USDA APHIS — brucellosis and hog hunters (PDF)
• CDC — preventing trichinellosis
• CDC — about toxoplasmosis
• Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2021) — feral swine slaughter under federal inspection
• Texas Administrative Code, 25 TAC §221.14
• Texas Parks and Wildlife — feral hogs