Bear meat??

[violetgarlic]

I think it's great...my first choice.

Anything you can do with a pig is a great idea with bear. We have never made one into sausage and like to stay with primal cuts because the marbling lends itself well to smoking, braising, pressure cooking, etc.

Bone in ham
Bone in shoulder roast
Flat irons if big enough

This sounds reasonable. Do I need to increase the cooking time of these dishes using bear meat?

 

[sndmn11]

This sounds reasonable. Do I need to increase the cooking time of these dishes using bear meat?

I don't think so, times seem on par with pork, but we let the meat thermometer tell us when smoking and I don't think you can overcook when braising or pressure cooking as long as liquid is present.

 

[Trial153]

Bear Hams are excellent. Bone them out leaving them whole. Brine or cure them dry. Net them then smoke them.
Smoked hocks/shanks for soup.
Grinds for chili from the shoulders and Chuck. Stew or stir fry the loins.
Render the fat and jar it. It’s excellent for baking or any use you’d use lard.

 

[JohnB]

Birria & Stew for me mostly. I'm going to smoke for a little bit and then braise in red wine a whole shoulder. I have no idea if it'll be good but I'm sure it'll be edible

I made some birria tacos this spring and I'm in love! Plus we turned the leftover liquid from the crockpot into enchilada sauce and that was great too!

 

[Rooggvc]

How many of you guys have been eating bear for years without issue? The trichinosis really weirds me out, and I would be nervous about my kids eating it. But I really want to add bear hunting to my annual outings.

 

[MThuntr]

How many of you guys have been eating bear for years without issue? The trichinosis really weirds me out, and I would be nervous about my kids eating it. But I really want to add bear hunting to my annual outings.

Been eating bear off and on for 20 years. It's not something you'd serve as a rare steak especially to kids. 160 degrees instantly kills and is considered safe (say you grill meat until internal temp says 160 like many do with chicken). Cooking in stew, birria, braised, crockpot, or sausage will almost guarantee that you've actually cooked it well beyond 160 degrees. For brats you could simmer until done then finish on the grill for the bonus grill flavors.

You can actually cook it at a lower temp for longer (137 for 2 hours via Sous vide). Hank Shaw prefers 145 for an hour (sous vide) then sear which would be like medium-ish.

I won't make jerky, summer sausage, or snack sticks with it. Though smoked sausages will likely be cooking long enough to be considered safe.

 

[Harvey_NW]

How many of you guys have been eating bear for years without issue? The trichinosis really weirds me out, and I would be nervous about my kids eating it. But I really want to add bear hunting to my annual outings.

Freezing the meat below 5° for more than 20 days renders most of the parasites inert, and the actual kill temp is 137°. No different than traditional caution with poultry or pork, just make sure it's cooked.

Trichinosis in Wild Game - What You Need to Know | Hank Shaw

A digest of the science and data concerning the risk and presence of getting trichinosis in wild game, and how to minimize the risk.

honest-food.net

Low and slow, tacos, pressure canned, pot roasts, breakfast sausage, all amazing with bear meat in my experience. One recipe I can't believe isn't posted yet is Mississippi Pot Roast -
Sear a hunk of roast meat on all sides in a hot cast iron and toss it in the crock pot or dutch oven.
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet french onion soup or au jus mix
1 jar of pepperoncinis dump in juice and all
1 stick of butter
Low for 8hrs.
This recipe is pretty rich, it's best served on rice or potatoes, or on rolls as sliders. Easy base recipe to tweak though, add some stock and vegetables and you have stew.

 

[BLJ]

You had me at 1 stick of butter…….

 

[MThuntr]

One recipe I can't believe isn't posted yet is Mississippi Pot Roast -
Sear a hunk of roast meat on all sides in a hot cast iron and toss it in the crock pot or dutch oven.
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet french onion soup or au jus mix
1 jar of pepperoncinis dump in juice and all
1 stick of butter
Low for 8hrs.
This recipe is pretty rich, it's best served on rice or potatoes, or on rolls as sliders. Easy base recipe to tweak though, add some stock and vegetables and you have stew.

Never tried it...individually those are delicious so together they must be a masterpiece

 

[J&A Outdoors]

How many of you guys have been eating bear for years without issue? The trichinosis really weirds me out, and I would be nervous about my kids eating it. But I really want to add bear hunting to my annual outings.

All my life - it truly is delicious, especially after they have been hitting the huckleberry patch all year!~

 

[Runningwater]

I agree if it's a good berry bear the meat is very good and versatile. I'll through in a few of my favorites for it, which include a traditional ragu, bolognese, corned, and andouille sausage.

 

[journeyman713]

For the guys that are worried about Trichinosis.
There is a Time/Temperature combination that kills the parasite.
Here it is -

 

[mkkjortiz]

Freezing the meat below 5° for more than 20 days renders most of the parasites inert, and the actual kill temp is 137°. No different than traditional caution with poultry or pork, just make sure it's cooked.

Trichinosis in Wild Game - What You Need to Know | Hank Shaw

A digest of the science and data concerning the risk and presence of getting trichinosis in wild game, and how to minimize the risk.

honest-food.net

Low and slow, tacos, pressure canned, pot roasts, breakfast sausage, all amazing with bear meat in my experience. One recipe I can't believe isn't posted yet is Mississippi Pot Roast -
Sear a hunk of roast meat on all sides in a hot cast iron and toss it in the crock pot or dutch oven.
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet french onion soup or au jus mix
1 jar of pepperoncinis dump in juice and all
1 stick of butter
Low for 8hrs.
This recipe is pretty rich, it's best served on rice or potatoes, or on rolls as sliders. Easy base recipe to tweak though, add some stock and vegetables and you have stew.

Thanks for this. A friend gave us bear to try and I have been trying to find a good recipe.

 

[Binz17]

It makes great smash burgers. I take golf ball size sections and make double burgers.

 

[alaska80]

Black bear is one of our favorite meats. We cook it just like any other meat, but do make sure to get the internal temp up.
The only thing I have not seen on here is black bear bacon, you eat that and pork goes out the window (though I still eat pork).
IMO black bear fat is the best on the planet. We take it when mountain hunting or doing other long treks. Render it in a stove and then dip chunks of caribou/moose meat in it. After long days (15+ miles in the mountains) my son likes to drink the fat straight (it is very good).

Grizzly bear is also very good eating as long as it has not been on fish or rotting flesh. We can usually tell within 50 yds of the bear (smell) whether or not it's going to be good eating or not. We have found that grizzly roasts are way better than beef. Leftovers are still moist when reheated 3 days after you cook it. Never happens with beef.

 

[Trial153]

Made Bear capicola

 

[BLJ]

Made Bear capicola

I’m going to kill every bear I see.

 

[mkkjortiz]

Black bear is one of our favorite meats. We cook it just like any other meat, but do make sure to get the internal temp up.
The only thing I have not seen on here is black bear bacon, you eat that and pork goes out the window (though I still eat pork).
IMO black bear fat is the best on the planet. We take it when mountain hunting or doing other long treks. Render it in a stove and then dip chunks of caribou/moose meat in it. After long days (15+ miles in the mountains) my son likes to drink the fat straight (it is very good).

Grizzly bear is also very good eating as long as it has not been on fish or rotting flesh. We can usually tell within 50 yds of the bear (smell) whether or not it's going to be good eating or not. We have found that grizzly roasts are way better than beef. Leftovers are still moist when reheated 3 days after you cook it. Never happens with beef.

Oh yum! Black bear bacon. I’m hoping we can harvest this year to try it.

 

[bbell]

Shot my first bear this year. Smoked a ham, did barbacoa tacos, floured and fried steak with gravy, and an oven summer sausage recipe. It was all really good. The tacos were my favorite. Nice benefit of misjudging the size is I got a small tender one

 

[SwiftShot]

I would suggest, Bear Bacon. Then take the hams and turn them into pastrami or corned beef. I prefer pastrami as you smoke it after. The technique for both is really close. The salt cure brine has different seasonings but the brine is the same. I did a bunch and it vacuum packs great. The corned beef you vacuum pack out of the brine. Then you boil and cook as normal. I do breakfast sausage as well. My problem is bear must be cooked good and sometimes breakfast sausage is rushed. I think this year I will do links and smoke them. I was also thinking of turning some into homemade Spam.