Bear Meat: Everything You Need to Know About Eating Bear

Bear searching has acquired loads of publicity lately, and hunters are even seeing renewed alternatives in locations like Missouri and New Jersey. however many individuals nonetheless don’t notice the worth of bear meat. Some don’t even assume it’s edible.

I’ll admit, bear meat is just a little totally different than the deer, elk, or moose that many big-game hunters affiliate with a well-stocked freezer. In some methods, I contemplate it second tier meat—you received’t discover me cooking bear steaks when I’ve moose within the freezer—however bear meat fills some nice niches and is superb when cared for and ready correctly. 

The Pros and Cons of Bear Meat

As with any animal, however particularly omnivores, you may run into dangerous tasting ones at times. Bears which have been feeding on salmon and carrion are sometimes not palatable, and the rancid odor of the meat itself will likely be indicator. However most black bears make superb desk fare. When cared for correctly, they make wonderful consuming. It’s important to get the animal skinned promplty, preserve the meat clear, and trim the surplus fats from the meat for finest outcomes.

More than a couple of hunters right here in Alaska like consuming grizzly meat as effectively, however of the a number of grizzlies I’ve tried to eat, none had been match for a canine. Like any animal, food plan performs an enormous function, and maybe the bears I’ve tried all jumped straight to the rotten winterkill food plan—that’s what they smelled like anyway. I’m positive that any bear (grizzly or black bear) that’s solely been consuming berries for a pair months goes to style simply superb. 

Spring vs. Fall Bear Meat

Black bears have darkish, wealthy meat and, relying on the season, can have a major layer of fats that may be rendered for baking and used for a lot of different functions. Spring black bears are nearly all the time wonderful to eat. Depending on the area and timing of the season, they usually have been feeding solely on contemporary greens, and haven’t gotten into an excessive amount of fish or carrion. Spring bears often received’t have an excessive amount of fats because it’s been depleted all through hibernation.

In areas the place bears have been feeding on salmon, it’s a roll of the cube whether or not your fall bear can have edible meat. However, in most areas that we will hunt bears within the United States, that’s not an element. Fall bears are prized in lots of areas as a result of they’ve been feeding on berries, acorns, or different crops, and have a wholesome layer of fats. Good bear fats can be utilized in plenty of methods, and it must be trimmed off the bear meat whereas processing. 

Three Simple Methods for Cooking Bear Meat

You can get artistic with bear meat after all, however right here in Alaska there’s not a lot name for fancy recipes, and there are three easy ways in which I like to organize bear meat. Remember that bears usually carry nasty parasites, however you’ll be superb if you happen to all the time ensure that to cook dinner the meat to an inside temperature of 165℉. I usually go larger than that simply to verify it’s protected for consumption.

Here are my three favourite methods to organize and eat black bear meat.

Bear Meat On the Grill

I don’t grill numerous bear meat, however there’s a technique I’ve come to essentially take pleasure in it. I sometimes will do that when I’ve a contemporary bear that I’ve simply skinned and butchered. When breaking down the bear, I reduce the backstraps off and go away the highest half of the ribs connected. I exploit my knife to separate the backstrap from the backbone, then use a noticed to detach the ribs from the backbone, trim off the underside (stomach) half of the ribs, leaving a backstrap connected to a half-rack of ribs. This additionally works superb with a bit of backstrap that’s bone-free. After cooking, you may slice it into tomahawk-like steaks.

Seasoning this bear meat is easy. Just cake all sides of the meat with a dry rub seasoning, then sear all sides on a raging sizzling grill or cast-iron pan. I’ve a Camp Chef smoker that I’ll end it on. After searing, I’ll put it on the grill at about 225℉ to complete it with a smoke. I exploit a temperature probe (many Camp Chefs include digital probes that hook into your grill), and as quickly as the middle of the meat hits round 170℉, I take the meat off and let it relaxation.

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Slice the backstrap between every rib, and also you’ve received one thing like just a little black bear lollipop. This isn’t the one option to grill black bear; it’s simply my private favourite. The secret’s temperature, checking the meat in order that it’s protected, however not overdone, which can make it powerful and dried out. With this technique and cooked to the suitable temperature, I often get an ultra-tender, and really juicy completed product.

Irish-Style Bear Meat

If you occur to be a fan of corned beef, then you definately’re in luck. Black bear meat corns up about as properly as something. It’s additionally a surefire option to know that it’s going to be each scrumptious and cooked effectively sufficient for protected consuming.

The good factor about corning is it’s versatile. You don’t must have specialty cuts of meat, and it lends itself to being a low-waste technique of cooking. I occur to personal an vintage Butcher Boy band noticed. After freezing hind quarters stable, I’ll knock out bone-in cross sections 1½ to 2 inches thick, all the best way down the hind quarter, wrap them, then put them again within the freezer. If you don’t have a noticed, don’t fret—it will work with nearly any roast or loin.

There are numerous good beef and wild sport corning recipes on the market, one in all which you’ll be able to try within the video above. Most of them contain canning and pickling salt, tender-quick, pickling spice, and a few peppercorns. You’ll make a easy brine and submerge the roast in there for as much as 48 hours, rotating as soon as every day. Finally, rinse the roast and throw it in a crock pot with a little bit of contemporary water within the morning. By supper time, you’ll be capable to shred it with a fork. You could make all of the sandwiches you need, and even have it with cabbage.

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Bear Sausage

Snack sticks are the best option to course of bear meat. Tyler Freel

My favourite option to put together bear meat is within the type of smoked sausages. I largely make the thinner hunter sticks. They are good for snacking within the woods or simply watching TV on the sofa at residence. Bear meat additionally makes nice summer time sausage. 

Although it takes some work and just a little tooling to make the sausage myself, I find yourself with a product that’s easy, very low-waste, quick, straightforward, handy to eat, and completely scrumptious. Most sport processors could make these kind of merchandise, however I choose to do it myself. If you will have a meat grinder, sausage stuffer, and a smoker or pellet grill, you are able to do it too. I’ve discovered a meat mixer to be an enormous asset as effectively.

I start whereas I’m processing the bear at residence. Most of the time, I’ll strip all of the quarters, ribs, and some other meat off the bear and reduce it into grindable chunks, pack it in gallon freezer luggage, and freeze till it’s sausage-making time. If you will have grinder and sharpen your blades, you don’t must be terribly choosy making an attempt to take away each little tendon, and you’ll make the most of numerous meat that will in any other case be trimmed away.

Making the sausage (for me, at the very least) may be very easy. I discover the Hi Mountain snack stick kits to be straightforward and scrumptious. Maybe sometime I’ll concoct my very own remedy and seasoning combine, but when it ain’t broke, why repair it? You’ll wish to weigh your bear meat in applicable proportions, and I often add pork fats to make it about 5 to 7 p.c of the overall weight. If you will have saved fats out of your fall bear, you may simply use that.

Grind the meat and pork, combine collectively, after which grind once more. Then you may add within the remedy and seasoning. At that time, you’re able to stuff the sausage into casings, let it relaxation, and smoke in response to the instructions.

Small diameter sausage sticks smoke comparatively shortly, and relying in your setup, there could be a little little bit of a studying curve, so all the time temperature examine, and begin with small batches of sticks. When smoking summer time sausages, rotate them through the smoking course of and monitor temperatures. When completed, drop them in a shower of ice water to stop them from overcooking. You’ll find yourself with an ideal product and a manner to make use of your bear meat that everybody will take pleasure in.

FAQ’s About Bear Meat