Bear Fat

[georgiaboy]

Buddy killed a 493# last fall and I took a bunch of the fat. I rendered in the crock pot as well, but I saved the cracklings and made this cornbread (with cheddar and jalapeño). Crackling cornbread was commonly made with pork cracklings when I was a kid, basically an old southern thing (read poor people and soul food).

The heart also went for Mississippi roast style biscuits and gravy. 10/10 on both.

This is coming from a guy who’s always passed on bears. Given the chance this year, I’ll take one.

 

[Yoteassasin]

Let’s see a recipe for the crackling corn bread and the heart roast gravy … sounds outstanding

 

[georgiaboy]

I used this recipe but sub’s bear grease for butter added chopped jalapeños and cheddar cheese: https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grannies-cracklin-cornbread

I did the heart like Mississippi roast and it was fall apart tender. I added flour and milk to form the gravy. Really easy to do and it was delicious.

Just made a batch of venison veggie soup and cornbread tonight. No cracklings per the wife’s request. **I used bear grease in lieu of butter to grease the cast iron skillet.

 

[CREillY]

It can have a very slight scent. Not off putting or anything and it doesn't seem to affect the flavor of whatever you use it for. I cube the clean fat off the bear and freeze it for a few hours to firm it up. I then grind it and put it in the slow cooker until it turns to clear liquid then jar it.

I've been cooking with it! It turned out great. Thanks for the info!

 

[Boston1]

Great thread with great info....

On average, how many pounds of fat can you get from a fall berry bear? I've planned a combo moose/ bear hunt this fall in NL and rendering bear fat is very high on my list of priorities. How much cooler space for the bear fat??? 24 QT? 50? 75?...

 

[CREillY]

Great thread with great info....

On average, how many pounds of fat can you get from a fall berry bear? I've planned a combo moose/ bear hunt this fall in NL and rendering bear fat is very high on my list of priorities. How much cooler space for the bear fat??? 24 QT? 50? 75?...

It all depends on the bear. My last MN bear was 250ish dressed, pretty stout, and I saved filled 3 gallon ziplocks of the good back/ham fat.

 

[Boston1]

It all depends on the bear. My last MN bear was 250ish dressed, pretty stout, and I saved filled 3 gallon ziplocks of the good back/ham fat.

Thanks-- yeah, I'm sure it depends on how well the berry and mast crops produce as well as the bear. Digging through posts in looks like it could be anywhere from 3 to 10 gallons. It'll be my first so I'm getting excited.

 

[mountaingoat08]

This year was my first time bear hunting. Got to full draw to early on a giant on public land in MI, passed a smaller one earlier in the week.

In running through my mental check list of packing out and butchering, I was wondering how many of you save fat, for eating or other uses.

I'm not expecting a fall big woods bear to have particularly tasty fat, but I have seen articles about using the fat as a water proofer.

Any input?

I’ve heard of it as lotion, chapstick etc but never water proofer. I do love it for my tamales though lol

 

[30338]

I mix about 1 part beeswax with 4-5 parts bear lard. Works great on boot leather. I need to get some new stock in so hopefully find a bear this Sept.

Need to try it in tamales it sounds like.

 

[CREillY]

I’ve heard of it as lotion, chapstick etc but never water proofer. I do love it for my tamales though lol

It works excellent on leather, We did a test on an old pair of leather boots that were so dried out they were basically unusable. They rehydrated and we used them as spare camp boots for a few years.