How To Skin and Clean a G-hog

[longislandhunter]

A couple of members asked me if I could put together a tutorial on how to skin and clean a g-hog.  About a week ago I shot a nice sized g-hog and I took pics of each step of my skinning and cleaning process.  I just finished editing the pics, adding step by step instructions, and they are finally ready to post.  There are a total of 12 pics, posted in step by step sequence and each with notes to explain each step.  I realize that 99% of you GTA hunters already know how to do this but hopefully this will be of some use to the members who want to try eating a g-hog they've shot but don't know how to clean it. I did the best I could with the pics.  Sorry that the instructions on the pics is so small, it looked larger when I edited the pics, but I did the best I could.  Anyway, here's the pics in proper order. 

























Jeff  

[wahoowad]

Thanks Jeff, very helpful. May be doing my first this weekend.

[redsoxvw]

Wow, thanks for all that info Jeff. Nice pics and good descriptions. This is sweet, thanks for taking the time to post this, I will be using it as a guideline this weekend LOL........Eric

[longislandhunter]

My pleasure, glad you found it useful.  One further tip.... make sure the knife you use is not to large, it should be small enough for you to manuever accurately and also make sure it's scary sharp... and I do mean scary sharp.  If you're not afraid of the blade then it's not sharp enough.  Using this technique it takes me a whole 5 minutes to completely skin a large g-hog. 

Jeff

[JimH]

Very well done indeed.  A man of many talents.

[redsoxvw]

My pleasure, glad you found it useful.  One further tip.... make sure the knife you use is not to large, it should be small enough for you to manuever accurately and also make sure it's scary sharp... and I do mean scary sharp.  If you're not afraid of the blade then it's not sharp enough.  Using this technique it takes me a whole 5 minutes to completely skin a large g-hog. 

Jeff

Dont worry about sharp LOL, I have a professionally honed straight razor, dedicated for this task LOL.....Yup Im old school, I use a badger brush and a Straight on my face as well........I have yet to find a razor sharper than my Wade an Butcher circa 1873

Cant wait to slice and dice the first Ghog of the year .............Eric

[longislandhunter]

Yup, that there razor will certainly get the job done alright

Jeff

[only1harry]

Very nice presentation Jeff!  Thanks for taking the time to edit and post the steps.  I see there is still fat throughout the meat after it's been quartered.  G-hogs are naturally high in fat I guess.  I have tried a very similar method (among others) on raccoon, but it took me a lot longer than 5min,   You must work very quickly.  The 5-incision method on the underbelly/skin was actually my uncle's favorite way of skinning most animals other than squirrel and rabbit.  I watched him skin a few goats and sheep that same way (without cutting the head off), and always taught me to cut from the lowest point on the belly up towards the neck/head.  If I didn't know any better, I 'd be calling you uncle Jeff! (Jimmy was his name)  hehehe 

[Perry]

Wow Jeff, you are handy with a knife!

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Perry, thanks Harry.  G-hogs are a tough animal to skin and the hide really clings to the carcass,, this method makes them a breeze to skin.  This is the technique I use to skin out all my deer as well, except the deer I'd have hanging from a gambrel instead of lying on a cutting board.  As for the bit of fat on the meat in the final picture, you can even trim off all of that as well if you'd like as it comes off very easily.  I find that that little bit left on the meat cooks off when the meat is prepared so I don't usually worry about it to much.

Jeff

[only1harry]

Yeah I figured that little fat would melt on the pan.  I will try this method again on a coon.  I did it the 1st time I got one but then switched to hanging the coons on a hook and trying it that way, but found it a little harder.  Probably because the coon kept spinning and moving around.  I will go back to this method as I think is the easiest with smaller animals.  I think I will be keeping the meat this time and just sell this other guy the skins, although he wants the whole raccoon with meat intact.  This would be a good time to raise my prices, so I can keep the meat   If he wants it bad enough, he 'll have to pay   

[TheKnot]

As the son of a butcher i have to say thats a amazing tutorial on how to work .And i'am jelouse to the fact that i have no axcess to some Ghogs i have lots of room in my smoker for a tasty critter like that. Thanks for the lesson your work in flawless you made it look easy .

[airiscool]

Excellent job Jeff - very clear and concise.  Thank you !!!!

I've printed it out to add to my wild game cook book.

Paul.

[longislandhunter]

Thanks "Knot"  

Thanks Paul  

Harry, like you found out smaller animals like bandits are difficult to work with when they are hanging because due to their relatively light weight they tend to swing around as you work on them.  Hanging works well on larger, heavier animals such as deer because their size and weight work in your favor and keeps them from moving about to much.  I skin all my deer while they are hanging and also most of the butchering with it hanging as well.  Then I'll do the fine cutting and trimming on the larger cuts on my large cutting board.  So you're going to try some bandit meat huh ?  Good for you.  I'll be looking forward to your review on the meat.  

Jeff

[bradyman1]

I never realized you could eat groundhog. What do they taste like? (don't tell me........chicken, right ) What about racoon, and possum what kind of flavor do they have?

[longislandhunter]

I really enjoy g-hog.  Chicken ?  Nope, don't taste like chicken to me 

I find it to have a very nice taste to it.  I really don't know how to describe it other than to say it has a full bodied taste but not overly strong and if handled and cooked properly it's not gamey.  Young ones are very tender and lend themselves exceptionally well to frying or quick cooking methods.  As one would expect the older ones tend to be a bit tougher and are best used in slow/moist cooking methods such as crock pot stews and pot roast.  My absolute favorite is g-hog pot roast.  The meat thoroughly takes on whatever spices you use and it comes out "fall off the bone" tender and melts in your mouth.  You really should try it.   As for raccoon, I like that meat as well.  The ones I ate had a very distinct "wild" taste but not "gamey".  I really liked it.  As for possum, you'd have to ask my hunt brother Ed (Shadow) about that as I haven't had the pleasure to try them yet, but I will if I can harvest one.

Jeff

[shadow]

Outstanding Jeff and that help's our first time critter skinners out and I skin mine basically the same way. The Bandit's I hang em like a Deer with a catch all pail below. Ed

[Mebits]

Jeff, that's very nice work and a wonderful resource.

Well done.

Mark

[Mebits]

I'm thinking that recycling my old Gorgonzola recipe (now archived on the old site) will work well with groundhog:

Gorgonzola Bunny
(takes 1/2 hour to prep, and 2-2 1/2 hours to cook.)

For 4 people:

2 large rabbits
2 Tbls Tarragon, divided
1 cup flour
ample salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and whole
2 bay leaves
3-4 springs of thyme
2-3 onions (based upon taste and size/room)
2 large turnips
3/4 lb carrots (less or more to taste)
2 cups Chicken broth (enough to cover--best quality made with feet*)
1 cup of dry white wine.
1/3 lb Gorgonzola (Italian is better, if it's not really sharp, try Maytag instead)
Fresh Tarragon for garnish or to add to sauce (optional)


First, bone the rabbit. I separate the back legs and then simply cut the meat off each in as large pieces as possible. Then I cut the meat from the front legs, and slice the saddle off both sides. I then cut the loins off by running a sharp blade down either side of the back bone. This is tricky and a bit like filleting fish, pulling the meat out with your thumb and scraping along the spine and ribs with the knife. It's worth the effort however. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, you can cut the whole loin section apart from the ribs and worry about pulling the meat once it's cooked. If you REALLY don't want to bone the rabbit at all, you can have the butcher cut it into pieces, but your guests will have to eat the meat from the bone and some may be squeamish.

Once boned, dredge the rabbit pieces in flour seasoned with 1/2 of the tarragon and ample salt and pepper. lightly brown in a non-stick pan and place in your dutch oven or covered pan. De-glaze pan with wine and pour in with the rabbit pieces.

Peel and coarsely chop the carrot, onion, and turnips. Add to the pot with the rabbit. Add remaining tarragon, thyme, garlic, and bay leaves. Cover with best quality chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and then place in a 350' oven for 1 1/2 hours. Add about 1/3 of the Gorgonzola to the pot, in small pieces. Return the pot to the oven for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve on plates or wide bowls. Arrange the rabbit and vegetables so that you can place small pieces of gorgonzola on each. Pour hot broth from the pot over the pieces of rabbit so that it melts the Gorgonzola into a glaze. Serve with a nice pinot noir and a salad of bitter greens.

Note, if your broth/sauce isn't thick enough, feel free to make a little roux and add into the pot (but not too much!). Bring the sauce to a simmer (not a bad idea anyway, as it will help the Gorgonzola melt when you pour it over the rabbit.

[renowntwo]

thanks for instruction with pics