Joe Rogan Experience #1676 - Jesse Griffiths

Texas alone may have around 3 million feral hogs causing billions in damage; Griffiths argues we should be killing more of them but also eating far more of the ones we kill, rather than leaving carcasses to rot.

Pigs gorging on acorns and pecans can taste as good or better than domestic pork, while stressed animals (e.g., snared or badly handled) can become inedibly gamey regardless of age, showing handling matters as much as the hunt.

Griffiths strongly advises never putting skinned meat directly on ice; instead, bag carcasses, ice around them, and keep drain plugs open so meat gets cold and stays dry, avoiding waterlogged, mushy, off-flavored flesh.

He categorizes pigs (large boar, large sow, medium, small) and uses different butchery and cooking strategies for each—e.g., sausage and long-braise dishes for big boars, more delicate cuts and quick cooks for small pigs.

Participants learn to sight in rifles, hunt, gut, skin, break down, and cook their own game; even if they never hunt again, many report a permanent shift in how they value meat, vegetables, water, and material goods.

Griffiths sees himself as a craftsman, not an artist: the real skill is building relationships with farmers, ranchers, and fishers to get impeccable ingredients, then often doing as little as possible—like a perfectly cooked fish with lemon, greens, and olive oil.

To sell feral hog meat legally, pigs must be trapped alive, inspected pre- and post-slaughter, and processed in approved facilities, which ensures safety but makes it impossible to simply commercialize helicopter-shot hogs.