Bear Meat

[Brian T]

I have never tried it and have heard mixed reviews.  How good is it and what is your favorite cut/way to prepare?

[GRIMJIM]

I'm going to watch this one too as I have the same question.

[GeneRector]

  Howdy!  Black bear is good meat.  I had to talk myself into it a few years ago, but I'm glad I did. To me it is better tasting than venison.  I have had chili and stew meat and some sausage made.  It also depends on what the bear has been eating the last few months prior to harvest.  Bear that eat mostly fish may have a fishy taste from what I have been told. Also, bears that hang around trash dumps may not make good meat. That being said, I would not hesitate to have the meat processed if you get a black bear this year. I am not sure about the other bears, brown and grizzly.  I have no experience with them.  Be sure and wear disposable gloves when you field dress the bear. Also consider using those disposable gloves that come up to the top of the arm (Cattle OB gloves).  Meat should be cooked thoroughly like you would pork.  Have some chili meat, stew meat and sausage made and you won't be disappointed.  Hope this helps!

[Swampman]

I like it!  I use it the same way I do pork.

[wipartimer]

My favorite way (and my kids') is to cut some thin steaks, marinade them in teryaki sauce and slow grill over charcaol.

[kenfred]

Can't comment on stews & roasts, as I have never had it that way.  Having said that, I can say that sausage, pepper sticks, brats, etc. are great.  

Favorite way to prepare is to take about a 4 inch piece of back strap and throw it on the grill, or wrap in bacon, secure bacon with tooth picks, and throw on the grill.  It goes without saying that you trim all visible fat prior.

Reminds me of moose.  Ditto on cooking to well done.  Since I prefer my muscle meat served rare/medium rare, I usually do the bacon wrap on the grill thing.

Good stuff!

[PeterCartwright]

I've been eating on a two year old (black bear) sow I took a couple weeks ago.  All I can say is, wow!  I was fortunate in that temps got down into the 40's the night I took my bear.  A couple friends helped me skin the bear right away and it hung in an open barn to cool out during the night.  The next morning, I got the critter into a commercial cooler for processing.  (I've been told by a lot of different people that the secret to having a bear that does well on the table is to move heaven and earth to get it cooled out!  That probably means skinning ASAP.  It may also mean quartering.  In warmer weather, it will certainly mean getting the meat into a cooler).  Of course, this bear was small.  I don't know how an older/larger bear would differ.

The Upper Peninsula had a bumper berry crop this year (acorns, too) and this bear even smelled sweet during field dressing.  I know folks compare black bear meat to pork, but I have to tell you, it reminds me more of the finest beef.  The roasts are succulent and fork tender.  I grilled the tenderloins and they were among the finest red meat I've ever eaten.  I find the burger a little bland without something like Mrs. Dash to liven it up, but it certainly has no "wild" taste.

I'm gonna be looking forward to another chance to put one of these beasts in the freezer.

[Two Bears]

Spring bears are better than elk, I have had some fall bears that were so fowl that it seamed hard for the black lab to eat it. The biggest thing to me is to make sure to remove ALL OF THE FAT before you eat it as the fat makes or breaks the eating experience!

I have had canned bear that tasted like roast beef, this was the best way I have eaten bear and I wish I knew how to do the canning because I would not only cann the bear but would also cann venison.

Bear jerky is very good and worth the expense to have it made.

[Thebear_78]

you can get a nice smoked hame from a spring bear or a berry bear.   Once they start eating carrion or fish its all over.  Nothing is worse than a fish bear.

[jrfrmn]

Howdy!  Black bear is good meat.  I had to talk myself into it a few years ago, but I'm glad I did. To me it is better tasting than venison.  I have had chili and stew meat and some sausage made.  It also depends on what the bear has been eating the last few months prior to harvest.  Bear that eat mostly fish may have a fishy taste from what I have been told. Also, bears that hang around trash dumps may not make good meat. That being said, I would not hesitate to have the meat processed if you get a black bear this year. I am not sure about the other bears, brown and grizzly.  I have no experience with them.  Be sure and wear disposable gloves when you field dress the bear. Also consider using those disposable gloves that come up to the top of the arm (Cattle OB gloves).  Meat should be cooked thoroughly like you would pork.  Have some chili meat, stew meat and sausage made and you won't be disappointed.  Hope this helps!

  Bluaak!

[jrfrmn]

I have never tried it and have heard mixed reviews.  How good is it and what is your favorite cut/way to prepare?

   
                       Dis-gustin.

[GeneRector]

  Howdy! Back in the pioneer days bear lard was a highly sought item because it made excellent pies and pastries.  At first I had reservations about trying bear meat; however, after a couple of years I talked myself into it.  I'm glad I did.  As stated previously, a bear that eats mostly fish or hangs around a trash dump will probably not be good eating.  We all have certain preferences to various meats, etc.  Also, there may be certain Indian Reservations that offer bear hunting; however, all you get to keep is the skin if you get a bear.  Take care!

[teddy12b]

On my last bear hunt a guy got a bear and the cook made some up for everyone to try.  It was her first attempt at cooking it and it was some of the best steak I've ever eaten in my life.

[Empty Quiver]

 Cariboo, Elk, Bear, Birds, Rabbit, and Whitetail in that order for me. Bear in my experience is a fine replacement for beef, way better than venison. Though I am sure that diet is very important factor in flavor.

[efremtags]

Just got back from a great successful New Brunswick Fall hunt. 7 hunters, 7 bears.

The locals do not eat bear meat, they were not very positive with the 5 hunters there regarding bringing meat back.

I cooked it for 4 days in different ways for everyone, and by the end of the trip, everyone brought there meat back, and the guides were asking for recipes.

Bear is similar to venison, only less gamey. The fat is desirable, where on venison it can turn rancid easily. If you like and eat deer, cook it in similar fashion and you will not be disappointed.

[Casull]

Bear jerky is very good and worth the expense to have it made.

Don't think I'd be eating uncooked, dried bear meat. 

[S.E.Ak]

Black bear is very good but not even the natives eat Brown bear(they do eat seals). My six years in Alaska bear was a nice change from everything else. Try corning some like corned beef its great. Your can smoke honey cure it like ham.DO be sure to COOK it all the way through or you will have the worms for life and it ain't pretty.

[Bigeasy]

In my experience, fall bears in general do not have the strong taste of spring bears.  Cool the meat as fast as possible.  Trim the fat.  Cook similar to pork.  Excellent in stews, sausage, roasts.  Never tried smoked or canned, but would like to. (Heck, that gives me an excuse to shoot another one..)

Larry

[Dand]

Haven't eaten much myself but have friends who really like it and some who are pretty mixed about it. For sure it depends on what the bear has been eating. The only thing I've had was boiled brown bear fat at a Native Traditional foods dinner. It was a fairly fishy and not that appealing to me, but a number of other folks seemed to like it.

So, I have to disagree with Amigo Will above. In parts of Alaska, brown bear is used by Native and non-native hunters. Especially along the Alaska Peninsula and southwestern Alaska. There is even a special subsistence regulation or brown bear harvest area set up though I don't hear of many bears taken for food.

And across Alaska where black bears are, many hunters like the meat and fat. A friend of mine used to seek out a high mountain berry eating black bear every couple years on the souther Kenai Peninsula, especially for the meat and fat for shortening. 

Cook well as trichinosis is a threat just like in pork.  Surprisingly, in Alaska trichinosis is also a threat in walrus! A few years ago some villagers took sick and had to be sent to the hospital for trichinosis from poorly cooked walrus.

[S.E.Ak]

Dand I was just speaking for the area I lived,S.E. Anythink can just about be made to taste good but just cutting off a chunk and sticking it over the fire is different. Heck I might just try some when I get back in the spring.

[RWK]

Come on guys it tastes like CHICKEN!

[buffermop]

Thanks but NO THANKS! Make mine moose steaks.

[Redhawk1]

One of my hunting buddies likes it more than beef, a nice steak off the grill is how he likes it, also bear chili.

[jlchucker]

Every year one of my brothers and I attend a major wild game dinner that my local gun club puts on.  Bear meat (delicious) is part of the fare, as is a variety of game from all over everywhere.  Every year this particular brother's daughter (my niece) admonishes us to not eat the bear meat.  She's a practicing veterinarian.  Every year I regard her to be the little kid that she once was and ask her "Oh, what in hell do you know"--then proceed to go to the banquet and lard up on, among other things, bear meat!  actually, Erin knows plenty--she's been a vet of large and small animals for over 4 years after graduating at the top of her vet school class at a prestigious university.  Her big (misplaced) concern is that they may not cook the bear meat thoroughly.  One year that gun club included Yak meat as part of the fare, though.  That stuff looked good, but was slightly tougher than the sole of an old leather boot.  That's the last time we had that stuff!

[Blue Duck]

I have eaten bear meat off and on for 50 years.  Its excellent.

[rokefert]

Bear is absolutely wonderful.  It does well in roasts and cooked slow with moisture.  Corned,saurbraten, and just plain "empty the cupboard stew" is great.  Burgers are out of this world as are the meatballs.  Oven Salami is killer.  Just make sure to gut it and get it home and skin it.  I have a fridge I took the racks out for a meat locker.  I hang the quarters wrapped in saran-wrap till I can cut them up.  Don't age bear like venison.  Get it cut and packaged within a few days after being put in the meat cooler.  The bears in Michigan don't eat salmon or fish so I've never had a bad one yet. 

[lewdogg21]

Thanks to everybody for the responses.  I have the opportunity (with pretty good odds) to take a bear this fall while deer hunting since there are a ton of bears around where I hunt.  My concerns are as follows:

Fall rifle season coincides with acorn drop and I'm assuming the bears are going to hammer the acorns.  Anyone had experience with bears on acorns?  Do the acorns turn the meat bitter or undesirable?  Also I've been told bears are greasy.  Is that b/c visible fat wasn't removed?  What I'm getting at is I don't want to shoot one if I'm not going to like the meat.  I personally don't have issues with bears (unlike lions) and so I don't mind having them around. 

I did bump one in the dark getting to my bow stand last August at about 20 yards in the pitch black.  Scared the heck out of me and that small bear. lol.

[teddy12b]

What I'm getting at is I don't want to shoot one if I'm not going to like the meat. 

I understand what you're saying and I have a lot of respect for you not wanting to waste any meat.  That's the way a respectable hunter should be.  However, if you do shoot one and don't like it, it doesn't mean that the meat has to go to waste.  There's always someone out there who will like it or if nothing else try some out for themselves.  If you don't like it, give the meat away.  No harm in helping someone else out with free meat.

Good luck this season!

[S.B.]

What I'm getting at is I don't want to shoot one if I'm not going to like the meat. 

I understand what you're saying and I have a lot of respect for you not wanting to waste any meat.  That's the way a respectable hunter should be.  However, if you do shoot one and don't like it, it doesn't mean that the meat has to go to waste.  There's always someone out there who will like it or if nothing else try some out for themselves.  If you don't like it, give the meat away.  No harm in helping someone else out with free meat.

Good luck this season!

+1, there is always "hunters feeding the hungry" progam?
Steve

[lewdogg21]

What I'm getting at is I don't want to shoot one if I'm not going to like the meat. 

I understand what you're saying and I have a lot of respect for you not wanting to waste any meat.  That's the way a respectable hunter should be.  However, if you do shoot one and don't like it, it doesn't mean that the meat has to go to waste.  There's always someone out there who will like it or if nothing else try some out for themselves.  If you don't like it, give the meat away.  No harm in helping someone else out with free meat.

Good luck this season!

+1, there is always "hunters feeding the hungry" progam?
Steve

Good idea steve. I'll check into that before the season starts.  I guess I'm cynical about it b/c I live in California and I'm thinking the anti's have quashed that around here but I'll definitely check.  Thanks!