Ch. 11 of ’69er Viral Recipes & Remedies: Brined Wild Boar by John Wehrheim ’69

Post #1039, 27 June 2020

Classmate John Wehrheim recently spent three weeks living with a group of illegal residents in a remote valley in Hawaii. He captured this experience in a photographic essay that appeared on the blog—at the link below. During that time, John documented a wild boar feast, and how he shares his recipe for brining such a beast:  

Directions for Obtaining a Wild Boar

1. Catch and kill pig. Avoid tusks prior to killing.

2. Cut off head and hooves. Skin, gut (very carefully) and remove glands (very carefully)

The following brine recipe is good for forty to fifty pounds of mountain pig. Make sure all of the meat is covered in brine. To figure exactly how much brine to make—ice to have on hand—put the pig in a cooler the day before, cover it with water, take out the pig and measure the water needed to cover it. Pat the pig dry and refrigerate. Get enough ice to equal or exceed the weight of the water.

Ingredients: Brine Concentrate

* 5 gallons water
* 3 cups brown sugar
* 3 cups granulated sugar
* 8 cups Hawaiian or kosher salt (rock salt)
* 1/2 cup mustard seeds
* 1 cup crushed black pepper and 1 cup roasted/ground Szechuan pepper
* 32 oz. (2 lbs.)  garlic, crushed/ chopped or minced
* 1/2 cup (packed) fresh thyme
* 10 bay leaves
* 1 bottle red wine, and 2 cups balsamic vinegar

Cooking Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot (or pots) and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool. After cooled, add the brine concentrate to the cooler with the pig.

2. Add ice to the brine until the pig is submerged, using a weight (rock) to keep the pig under the brine if needed as the ice melts.

3. Soak in iced brine for (min.) 12 – (max.) 24 hours. Keep brine at 40 degrees or below.

4. The meat should be patted dry and allowed to rest for several hours and up to 24 hours before roasting.

5. Slow roast at 250–275 degrees until internal meat temp reaches 155-160. Allow it to rest one hour before serving.

6. When camping we prefer roasting in the traditional Hawaiian imu: 

7. At home, the China Box is very convenient and does a similar job:

­­

Mea’ai Maika’I (bon appetit) and Aloha.

Editor’s note: Classmate Dave Sim designed the graphic at the top of the page. Thank you, Dave.

Related Blog Stories:

* The ’69er COVID Chronicles, Issue XVIII: Sheltering in Place in Remote Kauai by John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

* An Interview with '69 Domer John F. Wehrheim, Writer/Producer of the 2010 Emmy Award-Winning Film “BHUTAN: Taking the Middle Path to Happiness” (link)

* An Interview with Controversial 1960s Notre Dame English Professor Peter Michelson – by John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

* Summer 2017: ’69 Domers in the News – A Review of John Wehrheim’s Two Books by former Notre Dame English Professor Peter Michelson (link)

* ’69 Domers in the News (2016): John Wehreheim’s “Taylor Camp” Featured in the 25th Anniversary Issue of “The Surfers Journal” (link)

* May 4 and 6, 2018: “The Bhutanese View of Happiness” – A Speech by John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

* 2 June 2018: World Premiere of “The Edge of Paradise” – a film produced by John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

* One Grammy and Two Emmy Award-Winning ’69 Domers: Mike Cerre, Bob Keefe, John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

* May 30, 2019: Introduction to The Edge of Paradise Film Screening by Writer and Producer John Wehrheim ’69 (link)

Indexes to the University of Notre Dame Class of 1969 Blog:

* Index by Subject for the University of Notre Dame Class of 1969 Blog (link)

* Index by Classmate for the University of Notre Dame Class of 1969 Blog (link).

* In Memoriam: The Deceased Undergraduates of the Notre Dame Class of 1969 (link)

John P. Hickey Jr. Editor