DERWENT, Alta. — Think of wild boars and you conjure up an image of a tusked, snarling animal poised to attack.
But that’s the opposite of what’s at Oral and Leon Unland’s two farms where these brothers raise European wild boars.
With a shout of “here pig, pig, pig” the boars charge out of the bush, looking for snacks and a friendly scratch around the ears.
While wild boar was once the exclusive delicacy of the aristocracy of Europe, the Unlands are hoping others will develop a taste for it.
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The meat is dark red, lean and fine textured. Because these are wild animals, any back fat is deposited under the skin rather than intramuscularly or around the kidneys, said Leon.
Cooking techniques
Leon’s wife, Orlene, is a home economics teacher at Myrnan. She’s been experimenting with cooking techniques of this very lean meat to maintain the flavor.
The lack of quality standards with the wild boars has created a problem with preparing the meat. Restaurateurs sometimes shy away from wild boar. In the past some meat wasn’t what they expected because the boars were grainfed or crossbreds.
“The European chefs know the difference between the more natural-style meat and the domestic-style meat. So some weren’t that anxious to try our meat because … they’d paid a lot of money for something that wasn’t that great,” Leon said.
“We raise ours as near natural as we can. A lot of other producers are feeding them grain for the main part of their diet and it changes the meat texture and the taste and color,” he said.
At Oral’s farm at Alcomdale, culled vegetables and fruit from local grocery stores are fed along with some oats. Leon supplements the sows’ diet with a commercial feed mix.
The boars are fed once a day to keep them tame and close to home. Otherwise they might wander looking for more food.
The boars are in pastures surrounded by electric fences. They thrive in bush country where they forage for roots and greenery.
“They’re never indoors,” Leon said.
Sleeping accommodations
He has shelters but noticed the boars prefer large round bales that they burrow into and then sleep together for warmth.
Leon and Orlene have 140 feeders, 25 sows, one main boar and three market boars at their Derwent farm.
Producing breeding males
Oral and Holly are building a supply of breeding males at Alcomdale.
Boars are marketed at about 100 pounds at around 18 months old. A male will grow to about 450 lbs. and a sow reaches 180 to 200 lbs.
Gestation is just over three months with piglets born in March and again in August. Farrowing sows hide their piglets in a nest and as soon as they can run she returns to the sounder where all the sows help raise them.
Although production is difficult, the key is marketing, said Leon.
“People don’t show up at the door. But once you have your market established, it’s a repeat market.”
