Anyone tried bear?

japan2020

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May 19, 2022
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I'm really into exotic meats. Well more of a curiosity of the taste. Is bear any good?
i've never tried meat from a carnivore. Is there a noticeable different compared to a herbivore?
 
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It will depend on how it was cared for right from the start. Mountain lion is real good, and bear can be real good also. Some say it is greasy, some don't like it....personally I like it. I've had some strong bear meat though, not sure what caused that.
 

Marble

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Depends on age, sex, what it has been eating and how it taken care of. I've had delicious bears that have been eating berries and disgusting, tough bears that have been eating something else.

They are not a carnivore they are an omnivore. They are opportunistic and will eat whatever they can when they can.

Like any wild game, they care post kill can make or break it for meat quality.

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hodgeman

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Best answer...it depends.

Bear meat is highly variable and greatly depends on what the bear has been eating and how it is cared for. Oddly, the best and the worst piece of venison I've eaten were both bears.

Best meat I've had was a fall black bear feeding on berries way up in the alpine above tree line. Worst meat, a black bear that had been feeding on spawned out salmon in Homer before being KO'd by a truck.

Typically, think about it like dark meat pork for the most part- I've made cured ham, sausage, and some of the best brats you've ever had. Bear meat is also wonderful in chili Colorado as well.
 
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We killed one last fall in Colorado for the first time. 3 year old Sow that never had Cubs. Smoked a rear quarter bone in and it was delicious. Burger and all the sausage has been great as well.
 
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I think it's real good. Had a balck bear from Colorado processed into sausage, breakfast sausage, hamburger and chili meat...only thing I didn't care for was chili meat...thought it was too gristly. All the other meat was great. It is a little greaser then beef. My family liked it all. Makes great tacos.
 

sndmn11

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I think it is awesome. I love it so much I call the Colorado Parks guys I know regularly from late summer on to get any they had to kill or confiscated. I'm 0 for 5 now on trying to shoot one myself.
 

Hoodie

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I just filled my first bear tag a few weeks ago. The girlfriend was highly ambivalent going into it, but we both think it's better than last year's elk. Probably the best game meat I've had. Rendering the fat into cooking oil is really cool too.
 

406life

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I've found bear to be on the lower end of the spectrum of wild game, rising above aoudad and musk ox. That isn't to say it was bad, it was generally good. I just think that there are other animals that are better, much better. The texture was very fine and firm. I did not find it to be gristly or tough.

Mountain lion, however is very good and those that leave the carcass in the field are really missing out. I would put it just below antelope, elk, and whitetail.

As others have said, and I feel needs repeating, field and table care are paramount. One cannot overcome the other if there is a deficiency.
 

Clarktar

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Just finished a big smoked and pulled bear toast. So good

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I'm really into exotic meats. Well more of a curiosity of the taste. Is bear any good?
i've never tried meat from a carnivore. Is there a noticeable different compared to a herbivore?
It’s the most beef tasting game meat imo

Of course it needs to be cooked to a safe temp, so I like bear roasts (they make the best) and canned is really really good… canned bear is among my favorite foods
 

Tmac

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Some is real good, some hardly edible, regardless of meat care. If proper meat care is a given, it’s all about what they have been eating as far as I can tell. Good bear makes some great eating.
 
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