Bear Eaters....How tasty are bear you hunt?
 

Obviously for those of you with a black bear season, and if you hunt them to harvest for food, how are your bears for taste, and what do the bear you harvest eat that you know of?
Here the bear in some parts of the district are excellent if they feed near the farmlands on some grains and in cut over log areas for berries and such. If near dumps....no good.

Also, give any tips on how you prepare your bear regarding the harvest, especially if it's still warm September weather. How do you manage your meat cuts, fat, and so on?

I've shot 5 bears so far and consider them excellent table fair. Nothing smells better than a bear roast in the oven. It is best to cool the bear quickly after the harvest by placing ice in the chest cavity before you have a chance to skin. Trimming all the fat off when proccessing is a must. We mostly only eat wild game, so I would cook it like any red meat. Bear meat is best in roasts and also makes the best sausage you can eat. Some of the older ones aren't as tender as the young ones, but that applys to any meat. Here in Wi the DNR takes a specific tooth to age each bear. The last one I killed was 13 years old, but still great for roasts and sausage, however the back straps needed to be roasted, cause even grilled were on the stiff side.

I think it is the worst thing you can ever eat......taste bad, smells bad cooking.

I concur with what Brownegg said. An additional comment is that for native bear hunters here the meat gets prepared basically the same way wild pork is prepared because bears may be susceptible to trichnosis. I don't know if trichnosis in bears is a problem in other parts of the continent. Also, west coast bears generally won't be taken after the salmon start spawning because once they start gorging on the salmon it causes the bear meat to have a fishy taste and smell.

NL,
Black bear here are very good to eat. No worse than a deer, moose, or other large game animal. It DOES depend on what they forage, thus to be aware of the particular bear one is after and where they habituate to eat the food they do is going to make a difference for taste. Berry and agriculture area bear eaters that are 'wild' and not nuisance garbage dump bears is what I have in mind. I've eaten bear, and consider it excellent table fare. As for trichinosis, it's like pork. You don't want to eat raw or undercooked bear meat, for sure.

ETA:
Sorry, I didn't expect that this thread topic would be a debate about those who don't like eating bear, but was more interested in knowing what people that DO eat and hunt bear for the table considered ways best to keep them good eating, and what the bears were like you your neck of the woods for eating. thanks.

In the North Eastern USA I was taught to add one bear roast, several onions, several head of garlic, several potatos, carrots and what ever other vegis you like into a roasting pan and roast for several hours until done....then throw out the bear roast and eat the vegis;)

I find black bear to be quite tasty; but as with anything, the meat must be properly handled, and as a writer mentioned above, the harvested bear needs to be quickly cooled for best results. Bear season here is in now and I'm working on a big boar in the Tamaracks and Cedars south of the Back-Sixty; it's too warm today (80's), and will be too warm tonight (60's), for me to feel comfortable having a dead bear to handle, so no hunting this evening. Once down, and in warm weather, a hunter hasn't nearly the time to work up a black bear as one has with a deer in the same temperature range. Perhaps those who have a distaste for the flavor and aroma of black bear have had poorly handled meat?

moonwolf and others..i ahve ate several beares over the years and it is good stuff...IF...it is not a dump bear or like NL saud been eating salmon.if it has been in bluberry bushs,apples,hickorys ,acorns oat or wheat field or thigns like this then it will be exellent table fair....if you hadle it correctly.dont go hauling ti around showing friends "i killed a bear" for half a day and then hope to eat it.i seen a guy cook one on the hood of a truck form ebgine heat casue he wanted to bragg about it.nobody would eat it if it was a cow that was hauled around like that...so...take care of bear the same way you would a deer,beef,elk or pig.gut it and cool it fast....but i dont cook the fat at all with the ones i have cooked.it has been along time since i killed a bear...but hope to get one this year and be eating some nice steaks and sausage soon.

Recipe for Bear:
http://homesteadingrecipes.blogspot.com/search?q=bear

by the way...if the meat is frozen for 30 days it kills the tricinoisis .

Pressure-canned bear meat in jars is excellent too.

Okay, now I got a question about bear fat?
Do you keep that to render lard or other use, such as soap? or do you just pitch that out with the garbage guts?

I get a lot of trimmings and bones from the local butcher to feed my Fila Brasileiros. Recently, a bear neck and rib cage, pelvis, leg bones were part of the score. My Filas refused to touch it! I was so surprised.
But, I'd primo'd off the best meat chunks from the bones, later stewing them with the grains that I cook for the Filas. The Filas sure ate their bear meat when it was cooked up tasty with their grains and legumes.
Here in North Idaho, the guys have hounds for bear hunts.

Rendered bear fat makes absolutely excellent dubbin for leather shoes, boots, gloves, saddles, etc. Take equal parts of rendered bear fat, beeswax and cod liver oil, heat together slowly until thoroughly liquified and blended then pour off into containers and allow to cool to solidity. I have also used this product rubbed in to protect wood.

It also metabolizes in your system better than Crisco. We render all of our bear fat and use it for most of our fried foods and many baked goods. My wife used to get bad head aches when she ate something made with sugar. If she uses bear fat instead of shortening in the recipe she doesn't get them.

One other thing I forgot she loses weight when we use animal fats for cooking.

Rendered Bear fat
 

I've rendered pig fat before and the lard turned out really well; white and solid by morning. Yesterday afternoon, into the evening, I rendered bear fat...this morning it was still liquid. Is this normal? Did I do something wrong?

Thoughts?

Going by my experience and everything I have heard and read about freezing bear meat, it does not "keep" as long as most other meats. It seems to decline in excellency after 4 months or so. So if you have a LOT of it and there's not a LOT of ya'll to eat it, you may want to be more generous than usual in sharing it. TIP: wrap it well, to exclude all air. Vacuum pack is great.

Also, everything you have read about icing down the meat ASAP is true. The only time I have found bear meat not delicious is when it was not cooled off immediately after harvesting. Get the hide off right away and cool the meat down as fast as possible. During hunting season, I like to keep a lot of frozen 16 oz. water bottles handy in the deep freeze, to supplement store-bought ice. The water bottles are easier to stash here and there in the freezer and come in so handy.

I love bear chili, bear gumbo, bear roast, and bear pot pie so much I can bear-ly stand it, lol. I have been the happy recipient of bear meat that was properly handled. I have not gotten my own, yet... but I have moved to a part of Arkansas that has the longest bear season in the state. I am certain there IS one out there with my name on it. The prospect of so much delicious meat is a good motivator.


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Sheesh... I just now noticed the dates of most of the posts on this thread, lol.:indif: Here I sit, gabbing away at someone who has probably forgotten all about the question...six years ago! :rolleyes:


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A few are still around. In the meantime, we've probably had a dozen or so threads about bear meat but not all in this particular forum. I got into most of them since I have eaten bear and loved it. In fact, still have a pint of canned meat left from 3 or 4 years ago. I like it because it's sweeter and finer than venison. Also had bear summer sausage which was really great. In fact, may still have a short stick in one of the freezers.

Martin

Bear is great eating but like any game you need to handle it with care. You can't be leaving hair and stuff all over the carcass after skinning. I trim all the tallow and fat away also. that makes into great tallow cakes for the birds to feed on. Lots of great recipes to be found in wild game cook books published in the past and with the internet today a search will probably turn up hundreds of recipes.
We don't just do roast either. we slice some into steaks and grind a bunch into burger also.

:D Al

I haven't shot any myself but we get some meat from an uncle from time to time that gets one every 4-5 years

some of the best tasting wild meat i ever had , sweet meat

Diet is the number one determinant of taste. Avoid bears getting fat on salmon. Shoot all the bears you can eating acorns or blueberries.

Also, cook up some of this: http://wp.me/p3bCKM-4s Verde Bear Pozole. Wish I had some right now!

Yes, I just saw the date as well. I don't care. I love bears and any talk of bear hunting or eating.

I have shot two bears, both made pest out of themselves so I removed them. Like others have said diet is a huge issue and the meat. One was a "dump" bear turned him into a rug and the rest of him went back to the dump, the second was shot in berry season and put her in the freezer, roast, sausage and jerky, Love summer sausage made from game. that one became a shoulder mount and a bed throw.

A tip soak roast or steaks in milk or buttermilk first.
Both critters in the 450 - 550 pound range Black bears.
I would like to see a limited Grizzly season in Montana imho we have enough of them now.

Shot the boar with a 30-06 and the sow with a .450 marlin

Just going to add chili or chili verde or a bear steak cooked with onions yum!

I would like to add, that I second the OP who said to share it liberally as it doesnt keep all that well after 4 months (unless canned i am guessing)-- I would LOVE to try some.....

I see this started as an old thread, but I thought I would put this info up. I think I'll also start a new one to get the word out better.

The CDC has changed their out look on freezing to kill Trich.

Look this over. Freezing is at the bottom area.

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichin...info/faqs.html

Besides the pork we raise, wild(hunted or trapped) meat is it for us. So we have always cooked everything to a well done product.



Owl

Bear is amazing. I haven't killed one or prepared it myself but luckily I have a camp in western pa Amish country and they share it with neighbors around Christmas time. It gives you a lot of energy and fills you up good.

I have trouble with eating bear because of the mental image. Hanging there skinned they look just like a human!

Marinade roasts and steaks. Garlic, worcester, and soy sauce all make for good bases.

Bear is excellent, but like any wild game, if it runs hard or a long chase the adrenaline will effect the taste.

Bears make great table fair and their harvest helps keep the populations healthy and in check.

American Indians used bear fat in the same manner to keep bugs from biting them while they traveled between their lands. It stinks.