Passport to Texas

Not boar, but another wild game treat: Marinated, grilled venison loin from one of the Central Market Wild Game Cooking Classes; photo by Cecilia Nasti

Hunt | Food: Cheffing it up with Jack Gilmore Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hunters call them feral pigs. Chefs call them wild boars. Names don’t matter as long as the end result is delicious.

03—We use wild boar for a lot of chilis and things like that.

Feral pigs cause millions of dollars in damage to cropland in Texas, and destroy wildlife habitat, too. Hunting and eating these animals can help control their populations.

Chef and restaurateur, Jack Allen Gilmore, serves game at his namesake restaurants in Austin and Round Rock, and says cooking wild boar offers challenges and rewards.

29—You really can’t write a recipe for it, because each time it’s different because it’s wild. It might be a little gamier, or a little fatty – or it may not have enough fat in it. You really have to be a chef again and say: ‘Well, if it doesn’t have enough fat in it, we could add bacon to it. If it has too much fat in it, we have to render it.’ You never know what a wild boar eats. You just don’t know. But, if they’re raised in the Hill Country, you know they’re eating persimmons; you know they’re eating acorns; you know they’re eating pretty good. But, sometimes you just have to realize what you’ve got and make it taste good.

When you are a hunter you can harvest your own organic, sustainable meat. Learn more about hunting in Texas on Texas Parks and Wildlife website; and check out our wild game recipes, too.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.