Bear on the table?

[atfulldraw]

Never had bear before and looking forward to a spring bear hunt in Montana this May.  How is bear on the table?  Any recipes?  What should I know about meat care.  About 85% of the meat my family eats is wildgame -- deer, smallgame, and moose.  So, we are used to and often times (especially with the moose) prefer our venison to store bought fodder.  Thanks for the replys!

[GeneRector]

Howdy! Black bear is one of the best tasting of the wild game meats. It took me about 2 years to talk myself into going bear hunting and saving the meat for consumption. I had heard tales of bear meat being no good and many who take the bear hide but leave the meat for the coyotes, etc. If you get a spring bear, get it dressed out quickly and get the meat to the processor or cooler, etc. Proper care of meat is essential. You can get the meat processed in many ways. I got summer sausage, steaks, and ground meat made out of bear meat. Bear chili is very, very good! In most cases, just substitute bear meat for wild game in recipes. Seasoning is a personal choice with most recipes. I cook in a crockpot mostly and all turns out pretty good and it's a great way to make chili as well. Trust me, once you taste bear meat, you will wonder what took you so long to try it.  Good luck on your hunt!  Gene

[ibfestus]

Bear is some of the best wild game meat out there bar none, no pun intended.  My wife fixes the roast and it is absolutely my favorite game.  Unlike venison or any other wild game that I can think of, bear fat produces a very fine oil that tastes good and was prized by early settlers.  My only problem is that I can only get my hands on bear meat every 10 years or so!  Just remember, it does matter with any meat what the game animals have been feeding on.  If the bear's number 1 food source is carrion, it will taste different than if nuts & berries are its main diet. Good luck on your hunt.

[blackthorn]

Just a word of caution...Bear meat is like pig ,it carries a parisite that causes tricinosis which can be very debillitating if not fatal.  Bear meat must be cooked WELL done.  Do NOT eat it RARE. Good hunting and enjoy the Bear meat it is very tasty.

[David Parenteau]

A bit of a postscript to Blackthorns post regarding Trichnosis.One surefire to tell if a bear has Trichnosis is to look at the flank muscle when you have it opened up on the ground.If there are small fluid filled nodules about the size of a large pea,that's a surefire sign that the bear carries Trichnosis.However,be aware that the lack of these visible symptoms does not in any way guarantee that your bear does NOT have the desease..Although I prefer my meat medium rare,I always make sure that the bear is well cooked.This is why we turn most of our bears into hamburger and sausage meat.It's great in meatloafs and spaghetti sauces and you can make sure that it's well cooked without worrying about overcooking it!
                                  Dave