Smokin Bear Meat

[bigdaddyviking67]

Does anyone know any good recipes for smoking bear meat. My neighbor and I were propositioned by a person who lives near us, he has a bunch of bear meat, and he wants us to cook it for a neighborhood outing. We would like to smoke it, but are looking for ideas to ensure the meat turns out as tender as you can get bear and with a good flavor. If anyone has any ideas let me know.

 

[soflaquer]

BDV,

If it's anything like Venison, put it in a light brine for a few hours, then soak it in Milk for several before doing a meat rub. This will take most of the gaminess out of it. Smoke it like you would a piece of Beef.

Hopefully there's some members here with a little more experience at it!

Let us know how it turns out!

Jeff

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

Ok, sounds easy enough. I will post how the feed goes......

 

[Dutch]

The meat of young bears can be used as is but for older bears a marinade or brineing will need to be used to remove the gamey taste of the meat. Bear and wild pig can both carry the parisite that causes trichinosis and therefore it is very important that it is cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees F.

It is often recommended that bear meat be cooked like pork.
Bears and Pigs are not related but both types of meat have a high fat content.

 

[TulsaJeff]

Good information, Earl. Thanks for the insight.

 

[shaneholz]

I have a full brine recipe at home that includes the use of instacure to help with the trichinosis. I will retrieve it and put it on tomorrow for you. I know I've done Venison (Whitetail) whole legs before and they came out great. I take a large stokinet bag and stuff the leg into it and smoked it hanging in the smoker. Also with the brine to get it thru all of the meat I spray pump it with the brine. Like I said I will post this tomorrow.

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

Sounds good, I appreciate the help...

 

[shaneholz]

I forgot to get that for you but I'll make sure to post it tomorrow. Here is what I found on the net. It sounds pretty good. Try it if you like. Have fun!

Ingredients :

1 x 5 pound Bear Roast
Basil garlic vinegar
Water
2 lb Potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 lb Carrots, peeled and sliced
2 lrg Onions, quartered
10 x Cloves elephant garlic
2 x Ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 sprg fresh rosemary
1 sprg fresh thyme
2 tbl Black pepper
2 tbl Black mustard seed, crushed
4 tbl Worcestershire sauce
3 tbl Nuoc mam
2 x Dried tabasco peppers, crushed
2 tbl Basil garlic vinegar
Flour, optional

Method :
Marinate the bear roast for four hours in a mixture of basil-garlic vinegar and water.
Put the roast in the smoker and smoke for four hours at around 225 degrees.
Have a drip pan underneath the roast to catch the drippings.
Preheat your range oven to 325 degrees. Bring bear in from the smoker, put in a large covered dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients, pan drippings from the smoker, 2 tablespoons of basil garlic vinegar, water, and cook for an additional hour, or until vegetables are soft. If you choose, you may add flour to the liquid in the dutch oven to make a thick gravy or roux.
NOTES : Bear meat should be assumed to carry thychinosis (sp?), so be sure the internal temperature of the roast at it's thickest point reaches at
least 170 degrees-I take it on up to 190 degrees just to be on the safe
side.

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

This looks pretty good, we are going to have many roasts to do, so I will try this recipe on a couple of them. Once we do the cookout I will post the results on how the bear turned out. ps... thanks for the jerky recipes.

 

[meathead]

My grandma always said" keep the fat and hide and throw the rest in a hole and cover it up" But Grandma didn't like anything wild . I've got a couple of links that mite help you . http://www.outdoorsdirectory.com/magazine/black.htm and http://www.coon-n-crockett.org/cookbook.htm ...............TOM

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

Hey thanks for the links, me and the neighbor cut up the meat last night and are going to soak it in a light brine then apply some various marinades and rubs and also are going to smoke the loins and make a big pot of stew with the scraps. The meat looks really good, it was a young bear so hopefully it won't be tough. The meat is really oily, but does not give off a gamey smell. I think the smoke will turn out well, I will post pics of the meat and results after the cookout.

 

[monty]

Been watching the posts to this topic with great interest. Bear season opens here in Vermont on September first and goes till the first Tuesday of deer season. While I have harvested bear in the past I have never smoked the meat. I have always cooked the meat like pork, being very mindful of the internal temp, and have most usually "rendered" roasts in a slow oven (170F) to rid it of excess fat prior to serious roasting. Most of the meat I have cooked has been either in the form of steaks or stew meat. The only advice I have on cooking bear meat involves the season in which it was taken. Some states have a spring season. Spring bear tends to be a lot stronger flavored than fall bear when they have been eating fruit, nuts and berries. There is also a greater than even chance that the spring bear has eaten carrion. Good luck BDV and I hope to learn from your experience! Monty

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

I have never hunted bear, so as to the difference in the taste from spring bear and fall bear, I do not know. I believe this bear was taken in the spring, when we were cutting up the meat, I kept smelling it to see if it had a distinct smell, but I really didn't smell anything. It appeared to be a young bear judging by the size of the front and rear quarter and loins. It was very oily though, I hope smoking the bigger pieces will cause the fat to drip out. Do you think that the roasts should be placed in the smoker without smoke for the first couple of hours at a low temp to allow for the fat to drip out, then remove the roasts and apply a rub and return to the smoker and begin the smoking process?

 

[monty]

If your bear appears to be well marbled and/or oily I would put it over a slow heat for a bit to get some of the fat gone. Always did that with oven roasting. I would just kinda eyeball it. Too much grease in the meat will carry away any flavorings and their benefits. This is a personal preference and not meant to be "bible" on cooking bear. I am sure you will find that your bear meat will be absolutely delightful with or without rendering. As I said it is a personal preference.

 

[bigdaddyviking67]

Ok, I will post the results next Monday....

 

[cheech]

Last time that I smoked a bear it was reallllllly greasy. I am told that bears are in the same family as pigs. I made some jerky with the meat, but even after a long smoke it was reallly greasy.

I am not sure if I will ever do an other, it was just not that good, but I have not yet turned down an opportunity to smoke something.

 

[monty]

Hey, Cheech! Bear meat should be rendered in a slow oven or smoker, without smoke, for a few hours for best results prior to serious smoking or roasting. Also, cut your jerky strips from a rendered roast. Render then chill to almost frozen and slice. (But I am sure you knew that!) Check out the pics of the actual bear roast smoke in the other bear thread in this section. You will see the benefit of rendering.
Also, it is a common fallacy that bears and pigs are related. Totally different genus and species. The connection comes from the fact that both will eat just about anything in front of them and hence the meat should be cooked like pork. In the spring a hungry bear coming out from its winter nap will usually help in the cleanup of winter kills and since they eat carrion there is a chance of ingesting the trichinae bug, famous for the trichinosis problem which basically has been eradicated from modern domestic swine.
Hope this helps!
Monty

 

[cheech]

srmonty,

Thanks for the info. I have heard others mentioning it and I just figured that it was what it was. I will give this a try next bear smoking season.

Thanks for your info

 

[chipotlepat]

I had smoked bear for a frinds parrty and i put my rub on it and it did not last long. There was Dear/bear saussage made ane wow it was even better than the bear all you need is salt and pepper and pow you got it. it will amaze you how it will turn out.

 

[smokinwfriends]

Anything new in the world of smoking bear? I have four roast I am wanting to smoke.... Any new information would be great!!

Many thanks!