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Mulies
02-09-2008, 06:31 PM
Does anyone know someone on the island that can make a decent bear ham. I had some done years ago and they where great.(butcher has closed up shop). Promised to take out the grandson this spring and don't want the meat to go to waste. Thanks in advance!!

Bow Walker
02-11-2008, 11:10 AM
Try looking for a guy by the name of Robbie Smith in and around the Parksville/Qualicum area. He does a great job. Last I heard he was working at the Cutrite(?) store in Parksville.

He lives up closer to Qualicum and he should be in the book. He had a very successful business in Qualicum for a number of years - Qualicum Meats - but sold it a while back. I think he still has the large commercial smoker and more importantly, the pump driven injector for the brine into the hams. Tell him that Dan suggested you look him up. I used to work for him when he was in Qualicum.

Pioneerman
02-11-2008, 11:20 AM
I know people who have gone to Hilliers to have them done there, and happy with the results.

Tikka7mm
02-11-2008, 11:23 AM
I go to a guy in Sooke. I haven't tried his bear hams but everything else he's made for me has been excellent (sausage, pepperoni, kilbosa, jerky...in bear, deer and moose). Cut rate in Lake Cowichan is always good as well but more expensive....pm me if you want the guy in Sookes number and I believe Cutrate is in the phonebook.

Bow Walker
02-11-2008, 11:29 AM
Tikka - as you can see, I live in Sooke. Who's the guy here that does it? "If the gods are willing and the river don't rise", I'll get to go out bear hunting with archery tackle this year. A nice ham wouldn't go amiss.

Also, as Pioneerman says - Hilliers is a good bet. I'd forgotten about them, although I'd ask for a Low-salt brine if they offer it. Some of their stuff tends to be on the salty side.

Tikka7mm
02-11-2008, 12:35 PM
Hey Bow Walker,

His name is Randy. I am good friends with his son. His phone number is 642-7325. Great guy....tell him I told you about him.

Jesse

Bow Walker
02-11-2008, 08:08 PM
Thanks Tikka.





...and the answer to your sig line? possibly;)

Mulies
02-12-2008, 04:46 PM
Thanks guys.

newhunterette
04-12-2008, 09:32 AM
For curing 100 pounds of bear hams.

4 gallons water
8 lbs coarse salt
2 oz saltpeter
2 lbs dark brown sugar
1 1/4 oz pot ash

Rub bear meat with course salt and let stand in a barrel for two days. Then rinse off with lukewarm water and let dry. In the meantime, bring the water to a boil and add the ingredients. Wash out the barrel, repack the bear meat and cover with the brine when it has cooled.

Let stand for 6 weeks but take the meat out of the brine two or three days before you intend to smoke the hams. The potash will keep the meat from drying out and become hard.

There are two methods of smoking. One is the cool smoke method where meat and fish is first cured in a salt brine for days, then hung on racks in the smoke house and smoked for days. If you want your meat to last longer, this is the method to use. Meat smoked using the cold smoke method will last a long time, even for years.

Meat smoked using the hot smoked method only has a storage time that should not exceed 3 months. Here the meat is dipped into a salt brine, hung up to partly dry in the sun, and put into a different kind of smoke house, one that will produce a relatively high heat, 180 to 200 degrees for a short time. Two to three hours is usually time enough to cure the meat. Remember, meat smoked in this manner must be used within 3 months.

Bear hams prepared in the summer are delightful and have a slightly gamey taste

Bow Walker
04-12-2008, 10:43 AM
When me and my Dad had Bob's Quality Foods on Bowen Rd. we used to corn briskets, rumps, shoulder clods (boneless cross ribs) and the like. We did it the old fashioned way...;)

Here's how we did it...:idea:

8 gal. stoneware crock
2 gal. warm water
3 gal. cold water
2 lbs. coarse pickling salt
2 ozs. salt peter (potassium nitrate)
2 - 3 lbs demarrera sugar
good big handful of pickling spice
2 bulbs peeled fresh garlic (optional)

Dissolve the salt in the 2 gal. warm water - thoroughly. (This usually involved just dumping the whole package(s) of salt into the warm/hot water and getting in there with your bare hand(s) and stirring until the salt was dissolved. As the salt dissolves the warm/hot water gets pretty cold, so use hot water at this point.)

When the pickling salt is dissolved, add in the salt peter, the pickling spice, sugar, and the garlic (if using). Stir to dissolve and mix thoroughly. Add the balance of COLD water that is necessary to fill the crock to 2/3 full.

Stir again to make sure that everything is mixed well and all is dissolved. Taste a bit of the brine to see how salty/sweet it is and adjust as necessary. At this point it's time to add the meat. Use a "tier needle" to run a piece of string through the meat (at one end). Tie a piece of cardboard on the other end and date it, using the date that the meat goes into the brine.

Larger, thick pieces will require approx. 4 - 6 weeks for the brine to penetrate and do its job. Smaller, thinner pieces only take about 2 - 3 weeks. If you forget and the meat is in there for a week or two longer than planned - no big deal. You can't hurt it at this point. The meat will not spoil, it will only get better.

Put the crock in the back corner of the cooler and cover with a lid. You can forget about it now - until a month or so down the road. Check every once in a while and stir the contents, checking to see that the fresh garlic is OK.

Good luck and don't forget the honey mustard...:smile: