Bear Meat Prep Recommendations

[123efd2]

Never bear hunted before but am trying to plan a trip for next spring. I have heard a lot of people say they don't like bear meat which I am guessing relates back to poor meat prep. What are your guy's recommendations from field prep to freezer prep to kitchen prep to make bear meat taste as good as possible? Thanks in advance!

Remington

 

[207-12A]

The number one thing people mess up with bear meat is not sending a sample to get tested for trichinosis. Cooking black bear to 160/165 really limits your recipes. We had a trichinosis negative fall bear last year and it was some of the best wild game that I’ve ever had. Bear steaks medium rare are a whole different ball game if you get lucky enough to get one, what’s the harm in waiting a week or two for results back from your state biology lab.

 

[BeaverHunter]

I get them made into pepperoni sticks and they’re great. Sometimes I take them into work and non hunters eat them and say they’re great. Then they find out it’s bear and the look on some of their faces is priceless.
I always pack out my bear meat. Love it.

 

[Anozira]

The number one thing people mess up with bear meat is not sending a sample to get tested for trichinosis. Cooking black bear to 160/165 really limits your recipes. We had a trichinosis negative fall bear last year and it was some of the best wild game that I’ve ever had. Bear steaks medium rare are a whole different ball game if you get lucky enough to get one, what’s the harm in waiting a week or two for results back from your state biology lab.

I haven't been fortunate enough to harvest a bear but hopefully that will change this year. Where do you send out a tissue sample? I would image there is probably a lab fee for the processing?

 

[Soj51hopeful]

I treat bear meat the same as deer and elk as far as packing out and butchering. I love bear meat and I’m also curious about the tric test.

 

[jacob_ski4]

Just did up some bear steaks the other night. Smoked them at 225 for a couple of hours until they reached 160 and then seared them on a skillet. Let em sit with a slab of butter on each for 10 minutes and they were fantastic, even being well done. No weird taste at all.

All the sausage turned out great. It’s a very neutral flavor and really ends up tasting like whatever it’s cooked with.

I’ve had bear in the past killed in the same area and treated the same way in the field and it definitely had a more gamey taste, so it seems to be a hit or miss kinda deal. I’d taste some out in the field and let that help decide what you end up doing to the meat as far as processing goes.

 

[Lxhuntinpa]

I killed one in Maine a few years ago. I smoked one roast and put the other in the crockpot with a can of Dr Pepper then once it was cooked I covered in BBQ sauce and made pulled pork. Both Turned out awesome. Texture wise the meat is very tender and is more stringy than regular pork. Get it cooled fast and as much fat off as possible.

 

[Wrench]

It's fantastic. We eat quite a bit of bear. Smoked, pressure cooked, shredded, sausage, steaks, roasts....it's just a great meat.

 

[adkhunter]

My wife makes a great bear stew. Summer sausage with cheese and jalapenos is amazing.

I was always told to remove all the fat as bear fat will go rancid very quickly.

Need to look in the tric test, hate over cooked meat. Bear steaks sound really good...

 

[Blockcaver]

It makes wonderful soup/stew meat....think beef, barley vegetable soup but made with bear. Also the ground burger meat is great for spaghetti, enchiladas, meat loaf etc. We don’t test it, rather cook it to eliminate risk...no pink or rare bear. We eat one or two every year.

I like to skin immediately and gutless method take the quarters, backstraps, and neck, ribs and cool down ASAP. Often in the spring I just stick them in a convenient snow bank in game bags for the duration of the hunt. Then bring them home packed in snow and cut, grind as applicable and vacuum pack. Good meat. And fall blue berry eaters are even better.

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

Finding a bear without trichinosis would be the exception, a bit of a waste to to send out a sample. Not to mentioned, how representative would that sample be and would you 100% trust it if it came back clean?

Simple answer is to cook the meat to 160F and don't worry about it.

Some people use the hams and smoke them like a pig. It's popular to grind most of it up and make sausage, burger, and pepperoni.

I'd save the fancier preparations of meat for other game species (Ex. ungulates).

 

[CREillY]

Bear ribs are spectacular. I haven't had an issue with the fat going rancid, we do we render it down in a crock pot and use it for leather oil (There are a lot of things you can do with rendered bear fat).

Our MN fall bear meat has tasted great. We do mostly roasts, and make the trim into different sausages.

 

[Chugaglug]

bear is the best, as long as they haven't been eating fish or a rotten carcass. We do bone in hams just like you would off a pig (brine and smoke). It is incredible. Make my own non-cased pepperoni sticks in the smoker, slice thin and use for bear pizza and pizza pockets, so good. We have a sweet and sour bear recipe that we love as well. Field prep is the same as any other critter. You will know right away if you have a greasy bear (your knives will get coated with a waxy fat feel) and depending on the quality of this grease (is it berry fat or does is have a rancid quality because the bear was eating gross stuff, fish bear meat will reek of fish) you may need to employ different preparation methods (more sausage type things). Either way we clean up the meat just as any other critter (remove all white material). The vast majority of spring bears we've taken haven't been greasy. Fall bears can be hit or miss in our area.

 

[Brent9477]

Definitely sounds like a good way to prepare the bear.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

The number one thing people mess up with bear meat is not sending a sample to get tested for trichinosis. Cooking black bear to 160/165 really limits your recipes. We had a trichinosis negative fall bear last year and it was some of the best wild game that I’ve ever had. Bear steaks medium rare are a whole different ball game if you get lucky enough to get one, what’s the harm in waiting a week or two for results back from your state biology lab.

Trich is just one of the many risks associated with undercooked bear, doesn't need to be brought all the way up to 160, 150 will kill it within a minute or two and 140 for 5 minutes or so is good to go, I believe even 130 is fine if you hold that temp for long enough...don't quote me on the timing though. Bear meat is delicious but don't play with fire, I never bother to get them tested just assume they all have it no matter what the percentage in my area is...ideally get the guts out and hide off right away and get it into the freezer as soon as you get home, at your first opportunity thaw it out and trim off as much fat as possible as it will go rancid fast even in the freezer. I shot a bear last month that I wasn't able to process before dark, he sat all night with guts in, hide on and it was a hot one the next day packing him out. I was a bit worried about that one but the meat is still great, main concern would be trimming off fat before it goes rancid, if you render it down once trimmed however it will be stable for a looooong time in the fridge.

 

[jfs82]

Trich is just one of the many risks associated with undercooked bear, doesn't need to be brought all the way up to 160, 150 will kill it within a minute or two and 140 for 5 minutes or so is good to go, I believe even 130 is fine if you hold that temp for long enough...don't quote me on the timing though. Bear meat is delicious but don't play with fire, I never bother to get them tested just assume they all have it no matter what the percentage in my area is...ideally get the guts out and hide off right away and get it into the freezer as soon as you get home, at your first opportunity thaw it out and trim off as much fat as possible as it will go rancid fast even in the freezer. I shot a bear last month that I wasn't able to process before dark, he sat all night with guts in, hide on and it was a hot one the next day packing him out. I was a bit worried about that one but the meat is still great, main concern would be trimming off fat before it goes rancid, if you render it down once trimmed however it will be stable for a looooong time in the fridge.

Yeah I believe 137 kills the parasite so if you sous-vide the steaks at 137 all day then sear the outside real fast, you should end up with a juicy, safe steak in the medium rare to medium range.

 

[jhm2023]

I personally wouldn't rely on a test because at that point the health of my family is dependent upon someone else doing their job correctly. Bear roasts and stews are great. I also make a lot of Italian sausage, breakfast sausage and bratwurst. My wife makes an awesome black bear lasagna with the sausage. Another favorite is having the rear quarter (from knee to hip) cured and smoked then cook it just like a typical store bought ham for the holidays. Even my non-hunting family that doesn't like game meat loves the bear hams. I wouldn't bother with fish bears though and purposely don't hunt black bears along the coast or any where near salmon runs.

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

Yeah I believe 137 kills the parasite so if you sous-vide the steaks at 137 all day then sear the outside real fast, you should end up with a juicy, safe steak in the medium rare to medium range.

That definitely sounds like something to try! I usually bring the steaks up to 150 in the oven and then quickly sear them in a cast iron pan while drizzling garlic butter on top...the 137 range in a sous vide would certainly retain more moisture though.

 

[LASTINLINE]

get it gutted and cooled down soon as possible. in warmer temps get the hide off soon. they arent like a deer.the fat can spoil things. if your stand hunting with an outfitter some of them want you to wait til they get there. i wouldnt wait to gut.

 

[Ph&s3]

Yeah I believe 137 kills the parasite so if you sous-vide the steaks at 137 all day then sear the outside real fast, you should end up with a juicy, safe steak in the medium rare to medium range.

137 does in pork so I would assume it would do the same and Bear