i cure and smoke the hams from bear, and like that a lot.
out here in the fall, you don't have much time to get all the leaf fat off, gut , and cool. it will bone sour really quick.
i don't hunt or eat spring bear. they smell bad to me, and a bear seems to taste like they smell when you dress them out.
the brine i mix for all meat is, all the salt the water will absorb and then another sack.
protein will only absorb a liitle salt if the brine is maximum strength. if the brine is weak, meat will absorb all the salt in the brine.
after the meat is out of the brine, i cold smoke and then bring the meat up to temp.

Wow thanks for all the posts guys.

Bears taken here in the mountains in September when their diet is primarily berries are excellent...some of the best wild game anywhere.    

However, those bears that are feasting on fish are not quite as tasty.    

Bear is very good if properly cared for and depending on its diet.  If you shoot one off of a stream where it has been living off of fish for weeks it will smell and taste like canned cat food!       but a berry bear is as good as eating gets       Joseph

Have any of you heard how bear from TN taste?

Remember to cook it well done, like pork, because bears have a chance of carrying Trichinellosis.

Ya'll got me hungry!I believe I could eat a big ol bait of that right now  

Me 2

If you treat the bear like you're going to eat it from the time you kill it.It is very good.I killed a #244 bear here in Pa. in 2000 ,we had 6" of snow and the bear was field dressed,placed in the bed of my truck that was filled with snow,left in the truck overnight with bags of ice inside the chest cavity.I took it to be skinned and cut up first thing the next morning.Alot of people told me it wasn't fit to eat but I wanted to try it.Honestly it was good everyway I tried it.I had some smoked and it was very good too.I am going on an elk and bear hunt this fall and will definitely not waste the bear meat.

My father-in-law is a big bear hunter and has hunted them for years so his wife knows how to cook them good . The best way she cooked it to me was like country style steak and gravy with home made bickets . Boy you talk about good eatting .

Mike

My 14 yr. old got one this past season with his bow. One of the most exciting moments of his and my life. It was a 175 lb. boar. The meat is gone from our freezer. We cooked it similar to beef but at least medium to medium well. Always marinated and on my charcoal grill. Some of the best meat that I've eaten.

Kyle

Ive had some good'ns and some bad'ns. I havent had a bad tasting bow-killed bear!

My favorite recipe for any wild game that is either tough or is particularily gamey tasting is this...

Roll thin steaks in flour, salt and pepper. Sear one side, flip, and add coarse cut onions. Once second side is seared pour in a can of Coke(not Pepsi) till steaks are just covered. Cover and simmer for forty five minute to an hour.

I like to take the steaks and put them and some of the onions on buttered rolls. You can also remove steaks and onions from the pan when done, and mix up half a package of beef gravy mix and add to pan. Scrape all the goodies off bottom of pan(deglaze the pan) and pour gravy over steaks and some spuds.

That sounds mighty like some mighty fine eatin'.Does it have a wild/gamey taste to it?

QuoteOriginally posted by Gene Roberts:
That sounds mighty like some mighty fine eatin'.Does it have a wild/gamey taste to it?

As others have stated, if the meat is properly cared for from field dressing to freezer, it's generally as good as any cut of beef. Ive had big ole bucks late in the rut that were pretty gamey but even they make good table fare if prepared creatively. The only other gamey meat came from adrenaline when a moose was one lunged and over-stressed before being dispatched.

The Coke recipe both breaks down the fibers to make it very tender, but also gives it a light sweet taste that even made an old mountain goat edible. Now thats somethin'!!!!!

Out of all the wild game that i`ve taking- bear meat is my wifes #1 choice. Its also 1st gone at my summer company  party (only if they new;)