Killing wild boar in Texas is a classic hunt, and I had a good time doing it this winter. However, I continually hear from many people who insist that wild boar is inedible. I shouldn’t be surprised, though: I’ve been told that all the other “boars” are inedible, too.
Not only are wild hogs called boars, but so are bears and raccoons. This may be why some people have spread the rumor that bears are related to pigs (which is absolutely not true). Still, all these boars make a good burrito.
I’ve been asking around lately to determine what makes the perfect burrito. It needs to be hearty, tasty, cheesy, and tangy. This burrito build fits the bill, and I’ll show you a great way to roll your burritos, too.
I used this Silax knife from CJRB Cutlery to gut, skin, and butcher this entire pig. It’s a good steel that stays sharp and is easy to sharpen, but I think it is an excellent shape. Every time I use it, I think to myself that if I had to use only one knife for everything from hunting to cooking, this would be it. There are better specialty knives, but this one is exceptionally useful for everything. Check it out.
It’s essential to cook the meat from bears, hogs, and raccoons to 160° F. A great way to prepare a roast from any of them is using a slow cooker and a can of rootbeer. This will make a tender pull-apart roast.
What You Need
- Meat: Hog, black bear, raccoon, rock chuck, deer, elk, etc. Shoulders and Rumps are a good choice.
- Rootbeer
- Onion
- Rice
- Beans: Black, pinto, or refried
- Avacado
- Shredded cheese
- Pickled red onion
- Taco sauce
- Flour tortillas
What You Do
Start by slow-cooking the meat. I used an Instapot, but a crockpot works as well. I sliced an onion and put it in the pot with the meat on top, but the onion is optional. Season the meat and add it (this shows a sirloin from a black bear) and add about 12 oz of rootbeer (or Dr. Pepper) to the pot. Even though there is a lot of silver skin, the slow cooker will render it into moist gelatin that makes the meat more tender. Because the bear meat was so lean, I also added a pat of raccoon grease on top — coconut oil or lard would also be good.
Slow cook for 6 to 8 hours until pull-apart tender.
Before you remove the meat from the pot, prepare your other ingredients so they are ready to go while the meat is still hot.
Open cans, make portions of cheese, slice your avocado, etc.
Next, remove the meat from the pot and shred it with forks or those neat meat pullers that came free with your latest kitchen doo-dad. Add the meat back to the juice in the pot for moisture and flavor.
Immediately after shredding the meat, warm a tortilla on a griddle or in the microwave for a few seconds. Then add all your ingredients in lines to one half of the burrito. It’s important to place the avocado with the meat so they are mixed together on your tongue. Place the pickled onions near the meat, too, for a tangy and sweet flavor. Add sauce near the rice so the rice doesn’t feel dry in your mouth.
I used to place all my fillings in the center of the tortilla, but I could never get it to roll well — it would always drip and I’d get too much tortilla in some bites. When I learned this method for rolling a burrito, it changed my life 😀
Serve the burrito hot with a glass of cold horchata.
Any of the boars we hunt — pigs, bears, raccoons (rock chucks?) — are good candidates for a pulled meat burrito. The slow cooker tenderizes anything. I think I’ll try it with jackrabbits next time, too. You don’t even have to remove the meat from the bones before cooking.