Bear recipes and/or methods

[squeezy]

A friend of mine wants to smoke some bear this fall and asked for my help.

He is concerned about parasites and such regarding cooking temps.

So, does anyone have any advice, recipes, methods or links to info that would reassure him before he goes hunting this fall?

 

[gypsyseagod]

kill the bear before lighting it- they get realll ornery.

 

[monty]

Paul,
In the wild game section way back there is a series started by BigDaddyViking67. It is basically in two parts. Read through it. Any questions remaining I will be happy to answer as best I can.

And speaking of which I am about to whack a nuisance bear. Been raiding my chicken coop stealing eggs, feed and destroying nests and ripping off two doors to date. Not to mention that the girls are none too happy and are not laying well.

Could be a new bear smoke coming up! Will keep you posted!
Cheers!

 

[cheech]

1. Bear tends to be very greasy.
2. It does have a fairly strong taste
3. With the use of a cure/higher temperatures there should be no worries for bugs.

I did it to say I did it. But did not care for it. The person I smoked it for loved it.

I made snack sticks with it but the spices were very strong to overpower any funky tastes but the grease was an issue

Gypsy LOL that is funny.

 

[blackhawk19]

That's funny

 

[monty]

Bear meat is very greasy and it is that grease which makes it a very strong flavored meat. But that can be overcome by rendering the meat prior to smoking or cooking by any other method.

First place your meat in a slow oven or smoker at 170F. Be sure to place a good sized grease catcher underneath. It takes about two hours to degrease a cut of bear meat. During this process don't even bother with smoke or rubs because they will end up in the grease pan. Turn the meat occasionally.

Once the grease stops dripping pull the meat and let it rest for a bit. You can now apply a rub and smoke as normal. This info applies primarily to a roast. But, if you wish steaks render a roast first and then cut the steaks. For ground meat render the scraps prior to grinding. Do not add additional fat in any form. And as always spices are our friends.

Myths: Bears and pigs are not in any way related. Way back when pigs were fed untreated garbage they contracted and spread trichinosis. This was a terrible muscle infection by the trichinea critter. Today that is unheard of in pork. BUT! When bears emerge from their winter dens the most readily available source of protein is winter kill animals. There lies the problem. So be safe and follow the USDA reccomendations for cooking temps for pork and the bear will be safe.

Furthermore, some areas allow a spring bear hunt. Considering the diet of the bear and the option of a fall hunt when they have been gorging on fruit and nuts I will always opt for a fall bear. My opinion!

Cheers!

 

[squeezy]

Thanks Monty ... a lot of info there. It will be helpful!