stick your pig!

so it appears to be true-- boar hunting is the thing to do in southern california!

who knew? i guess boar is coming close to overtaking deer as the top game animal in the area. and you know what? i think i'm for boar hunting on several levels.

• i sure don't want wild boar taking over los angeles. they are mean creatures and seem kind of dirty (perhaps that's a misconception, but any omnivorous animal lacking in a moral foundation has the potential to be kind of gross-- i.e. eating their young)... and i'm having horrible thoughts of a "hollywood swine: invasion of the boar" screenplay.
• seems like a good thing for a hesitant hunter to start with. boars are actually quicker and more clever than i imagined, but they sure aren't pretty (see below)
• wild boar will be completely happy and free of nasty chemicals
• wild pig "weighs about 50 pounds, yet is compact enough to fit into the trunk of a mid-’80s Camaro" (see this article)
• there are only minor restrictions on hunting wild boar, and no seasons or daily limits
• wild bacons, need i say more? i'm in!

here's a great article about boar hunting.

but here's a real kicker-- find out exactly how to exactly stalk, take, prepare, and dine upon your own wild pig from some bay area "swinologists." really. it is a definite must-read. along with exploring practical aspects of the hunt and the idea of hunters having, well, a conscious, it ends in a fabulous description of the resulting meal--

"...once you decide to cook your boar, quickly alert a team of gastronomes who are willing to eat a hog on short notice...[then] watch the expressions on the faces of your dinner guests when they first see the beast, turning on the spit, atop a roaring blaze... as guests feed, an odd silence will wash over the spectacle, interrupted only by an occasional mewl or groan...a certain barbaric poetry emerges from the ritual of slaying a beast and feeding it to friends..."

still feeling hesitant? check out these reads.

The Whole Beast: Nose to Toe Eating by Fergus Henderson



Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin W. Schwabe