i see a lot of stories on hear about successful bear hunts and was wondering can you eat? and if so does it taste any good? Thanks just being curious :)
Like almost any game meat I have had some that was very tasty and some that was strong and gamey. It is important to properly handle the meat after the kill and cool it quickly. I cooked a bear roast not long ago that I soaked in buttermilk overnight then cooked it in the oven with vegetables like a pot roast. It was very good indeed. Chris
LaClair slow roasted a black bear hind quarter in camp once. He cooked it over an open fire, in a cast iron roaster, and basted it with blackberry wine and onions. When it was done, that hind quarter lasted about 10 minutes. It was a delicous and memorable meal.
I agree, it starts with preparation after the animal is down. A lot of good recipies out there. Can't go wrong with sausage either.
If you get lucky and tag a bear, getting the hide and fat off as soon as possible will have much to do with how the meat will taste. Even animals taken late in the season in the real cold weather will hold enough body heat to turn the meat bad. As far as taste, what I have had was every bit as good as venison. When you cook bear meat you need to reach a internal temp of 165 for at least three minutes. All bears carry trichinella, the round worm that causes trichinosis.
It can range between terrific (on berries) and inedible (eating fish), depending on what they have been and what they are eating.
I've got bear chili in the fridge right now. We wrapped bacon around backstrap and grilled them in camp... Mmmmmmmmm...
:jumper: Bear meat good!!! :jumper:
It also makes a great Summer sausage
I've never tasted bad bear meat, though some was better than others. A younger bear in the 150-250 pound range tends to taste better IMO. The only bear meat I had that was less than excellent came from a 430# (dressed) bruiser, andit was still mighty fine.
I had a Yu'pik elder tell me how he prepares spring coastal brown bear... he soaks/flushes the carcass in a snow melt creek for 3-4 days and then corns the meat. Says it's his son-in-law's favorite food. I haven't tried it yet.
i got 75 lbs of smoked sausage made with mine. Goes great with red and white beans!!
i love mine.
Michael
I use to bait with fish. All of my bears tasted horrible. I always just turned it into hamberger as you can cover the taste with spices. I remember one time I made spaghetti and fed it to my niece and she asked what kind of fish was in the sauce. So if you have a choice take a bear that has been eating doughnuts or berries and stay away from the ones eating fish.
Chris.
I've never taken a bear before, but I've had bear sausage and burger and it was DELICIOUS.
Mind you, it was from a small young bear, so that could have something to do with it.
Bear meat? Bear meat you say? Can it be eaten?
Of course! Canned bear meat just can't be topped!
(http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd107/miller_cem/P1060161.jpg)
Had a batch of bear stew a few weeks back. Excellent eating my friend! Go hunting and enjoy.... :thumbsup:
I've taken one bear, took it with a compound bow in 97'.
Had help from a friend to clean it & prepare the meat & it was great.
Can't wait to have my next chance to get another one.
I wouldn't eat one that lived near a dump. Unless you like the taste of gourmet trash of course. :cool:
My only, spring bear, loin steaks, marinated in Italian dressing, overnight, cooked on a charcoal fire, Gooooood!
I've cooked and eaten a few bear and the best, and most requested, recipe is definately Corned Bear. I do the dry rub corning and it takes about a week. Simmer it after corning until it's tender and most folks won't know the difference between bear and beef.
I've only taken one bear, it was last fall in Idaho. The berry crop was so thick that you could almost close your eyes and scoop up a fistfull....
That bear was right up at the top for all time good eaten game meat :)
My wifes favorite wild game meat is spring bear, its always 1ST to go at my summer parties. But it does get strong if left in freezer to long.
ive shot 6 in my life all depends on what it eats stay away from bear that eats fish like they said ive had bear that i chewed it and i thought it was good then my jaws started to hurt go figure its on all what you expect. to me its all good lots of meat on a bear its all good in the long run
Ive tried it 4 times,never shot one my self, and every time i thought why did you try that again. One of these days i will get talked into it by someone that knows what they are doing and will enjoy it.
I have taken one fall and two spring bears and all have been great eating for us , as said I thing it all in how you care for the meat after it hits the ground.,,,,,,,Sam,,,,,,
Bear meat.......DELISH! I usually make roasts involving fresh blackberries and a little bourbon, or grind it and make a killer meatloaf. You're making me want to go kill another bear now.
I have only eaten bear 2x's...... One was young and the other was old...... I def liked the young meat better.... But like others have commented..... preperation is everything....... But all the same.... Id rather shoot a 2 1/2 yr old deer than an older one bc to me anyway, they taste soooo much better....For me the same goes for a bear..... A huge skull is nice to talk about but empty plates at my house his much more rewarding.....
My wife and I like bear meat better than most wild meats if it is prepared properly.
All the bear I've had were hand-me-downs.
One, a spring, was fresh out of hibernation and still eating grass! That was a MT spring bear and it was the same color as pork! Tasted like the best, most juicy pork I've ever eaten.
The rest of the bear I have had were fall and were dark meat that ate just about like any decent venison!
A butcher in MT offered to smoke a hind-quarter in exchange for the other...and he would skin it out with lips, eyelashes, etc for a rug or mounting... but he warned me, he can tell by smelling if he's going to keep and process the meat.
He, along with others here, said if they get into winter-kill and are lapping rotted flesh outa a carcass (guess eating fish would be similar) the meat is putrid!
Kinda true of all our wild critters: taste varies by diet. I'm not at all fond of antelope or mulie that has been feeding on Sage brush! :(
I'll echo the above comments. Michigan bears are hunted in the fall and generally berrys, fruits and corn. Outstanding table fare. Just make sure you get the hide off and/or get it cooled ASAP. The last bear I got I laid out in a walkin cooler suspended off the floor with stainless steel racks and filled the chest cavity with bags of ice. It was 70 degrees outside, but the meat came out as fine as can be imagined. Get it cooled asap is the best advice I can give.
My friend from WY makes some meat bear balls and they are excellent.
Best meat I've ever eaten from roast, steaks, stew, ground meat...loved it all and ate a 300lb sow in 8 months by myself.
Get it cool and on ice asap. And once you freeze the meat it kills all the bacterias so yoiu don't need to worry about trichanosus
I'll second the need to get bear meat cold ASAP. Unlike venison bear meat is very fatty, and the fat can turn rancid if left unchilled. I've had excellent bear meat in camp, but the bear was shot scant hours before it was cooked, and skinned and butchered immediately. I think the worst thing you could do is treat it like venison, and hang it in your garage for a few days. If you do that the fat will turn rancid pretty quickly and you'll spoil the meat. I know a few hunters who dunk the whole carcass in a deep, cold lake overnight, and others who skin their bears out right away and put the meat on ice. Both ideas seem good to me.
Also, I'll second what was said about bear diets. I've been told that bears shot in orchards or berry patches are the best, while dump bears and fish-eating bears tend to taste not so good.
Have had two bears. Both delicious. First was a spring bear from BigRon and the other was a fall bear I killed eating berries and acorns. My kids prefer it over venison.
My 14 yr killed an adolescent bear (not a cub) with his bow a couple of years ago. Some of the best meat we've ever had. Some of my kids are picky eaters, but they were coming back for seconds and thirds every time we cooked it.
We used to have fight nite parties when "Iron Mike Tyson" fought, the bear on the grill lasted about as long as his fights!
No amount of spice exists to cover the taste of a salmon eating bear!
QuoteOriginally posted by Steve H.:
No amount of spice exists to cover the taste of a salmon eating bear!
I hear that, I am reading all the posts and thinking that I have had some delicious bear meat and some that my dogs wouldn't eat and would stink you out of the house when you cooked it. Bear is a lot like wild hogs, sometimes even the best you can do and treat the meat perfect it still isn't fit to eat. Chris
I agree - get it cold quick, keep it cold, get the fat off and then do a slow smoke and you will love it. (http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/rawilt/2010%20Fall%20Idaho%20Bear%20Hunt/2010FallIdahoBear074.jpg)
If in doubt, cube the meat and can it with a few of your favorite spices. It will ALWAYS come out fork cutting tender regardless of the cut of meat! Works on deer, bear elk, wild pig or any other meat you can imagine!
Seriously.... It is worth your time.
The Arizona bears are one of the best eating game out there as long as you get the fat of ASAP and get cooled down immediately. mmgood