First CA Black bear

[J Batt]

Took my first bear. Caught him terrorizing one of my favorite buck hunting spots.
Not sure how he stacks up but he seems huge to me.
Also, I wasn’t super careful about handling the game and eating trail mix with unwashed hands. Should I worry about worms? I may just get the medicine as prevention, but any input from more experienced bear hunters is welcome…

 

[David Gough]

I wouldn’t worry about worms more than any other big game animal.

You do need to cook the meat to 145 degrees for three minutes due to trichinosis.

Great bear!


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[CRJR45]

Nice !

 

[long hunter]

nice bear, congrats.

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

Congrats! Good looking bear

 

[flytrue]

Looks big to me too. Congrats!

 

[Rob5589]

Congrats!

 

[Cahunter805]

Congrats. Any dead bear is a plus in CA. Looks like a good size bear. Any other pics?

 

[JohnnyB]

Excellent!

 

[Bubblehide]

Hopefully the 1st of many more to come. Congratulations!!!!

 

[TheGDog]

Nice Sized Head Man! (The Bear, hehe) Super Cool for a First One! Way to Go!

 

[Fowler530]

Congrats man, nice bear!!

 

[long hunter]

nice bear.

 

[Brewski]

I wouldn’t worry about worms more than any other big game animal.

You do need to cook the meat to 145 degrees for three minutes due to trichinosis.

Great bear!


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145 is too low. At least 160F.

 

[David Gough]

145 is too low. At least 160F.

"You can also kill any trichinae parasite by heat. And the “kill temperature” is a helluva lot cooler than you might think. The origin of the odd USDA mandated internal cooking temperature of 160°F appears to be the government trying to account for inaccuracy and idiocy. (That temperature is more relevant for salmonella than trich.) The actual temperature that kills the trichinella parasite is 137°F, which happens to be medium-rare."

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

 

[Brewski]

"You can also kill any trichinae parasite by heat. And the “kill temperature” is a helluva lot cooler than you might think. The origin of the odd USDA mandated internal cooking temperature of 160°F appears to be the government trying to account for inaccuracy and idiocy. (That temperature is more relevant for salmonella than trich.) The actual temperature that kills the trichinella parasite is 137°F, which happens to be medium-rare."

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

Probably best to post all the info, later in that same article: "but you’d need to hold the meat at 137°F for an hour or so to make sure — and then you’d want to sear it on the outside to kill any possible bacteria that survived that low temp.."

So if you believe Hank Shaw over the USDA, and I do own Hanks cookbooks and generally follow his guidance, 140F holding for an hour. I don't want to babysit bear meat for an hour or risk it, so I usually quick sear and grill bear to 160F.

 

[amassi]

I like to sous vide bear meat. Plenty of temp to kill any tric bacteria. Then throw on a very hot cast iron to sear

 

[David Gough]

Probably best to post all the info, later in that same article: "but you’d need to hold the meat at 137°F for an hour or so to make sure — and then you’d want to sear it on the outside to kill any possible bacteria that survived that low temp.."

So if you believe Hank Shaw over the USDA, and I do own Hanks cookbooks and generally follow his guidance, 140F holding for an hour. I don't want to babysit bear meat for an hour or risk it, so I usually quick sear and grill bear to 160F.

Most of mine gets turned into burger and the rest is used for stir fry. Never attempted to grill bear meat.