bear meat help

[b.c hunter 88]

Hello
This year spring bear never got made into sausage like we normally do. Got roast steaks and ground never been a big fan of this but also never really experimented. we did cabbage rolls to night but the game tast over powers never had this strong of a bear tast. we did spaghetti sauce with this stuff it was awesome, did a roast took 1 cup jack Daniels 1 cup veg oil 2 packs of taco seasoning wrapped in saran wrap with this marinating for a day and a half slow cooked for 8 hours then bbq came out like nothing before like beef. First time I had deer was gross but it was how it was cooked and advice on cooking this stuff. Thanks

[caddisguy]

I have never had much success with bear steaks or roasts... never spent much time trying to perfect it either though, so maybe someone else can weigh in and help you in that regard.

Worst case scenario, you can probably just do what we do. The majority of our bear meals are either:

a) cut into small steak-bite / stirfry size chunks and cooked in a frying pan with all sorts of goodies like spicy mustard, liquid hickory smoke, maple bacon bbq sauce, etc... mixed in with mushrooms, served topped with boursin cheese... sometimes some horseradish for dipping
b) ground up for tacos, orhamburger helper or and mixed with flour/egg and chopped garlic for burger patties

Hard to go wrong with either of those.

Our bear this year is a little stronger than last year. I think it also goes bad a little faster. We left a vacuum bag to thaw in the fridge... it was probably in there 3 or 4 days and we cooked at as steak. I had a bite that tasted a little bit fishy. The rest has been fine, but now I make a point of only leaving it in the fridge for 1 day and just thawing it with running water if it's still frozen at all.

Sorry not too much help but I think worst case scenario these options will help. I certainly can't tell it's bear with the burgers/tacos/etc... takes like great beef. The steak bites are more chewy than beef (at least ours are) but it tastes excellent.

[howa1500]

Marinate and slow smoke

[Jim Prawn]

Did some bear jerky this year using the High Mountain Garlic and cracked pepper mix, turned out awesome! I have also corned and canned bear with great success. Haven't tried this year's yet but last time it was great for sandwiches with pickles and hot mustard. I also brined and smoked a ham this year. It looks and smells amazing but haven't tried it yet either. Going to try doing some of our own sausage and pepperoni with a good portion of it this year as well.
JP

[MichelD]

If you wasted any time between killing, guttng, cooling and freezing I don't have anything to advise.

I never make bear steaks. too rubbery to cut, but I make lots of roasts and stew and ground. I don't cook any bear with lots of spices or pre-marinate or any of that.
Very simple; garlic and pepper, maybe a bit of paprika and tomoto sauce for baked ribs.

Advice for next time:

It's all about getting the hide off, cooling it and processing it fast.

[bacon_overlord]

Do it like pulled pork. Slow cooker with chili powder, salt pepper, liquid smoke, paprika, add some beef stock or a beer for liquid. Throw in some bacon if it's really lean. Serve on buns with coleslaw.

[LuckyIfYouGetOne]

Hello
This year spring bear never got made into sausage like we normally do. Got roast steaks and ground never been a big fan of this but also never really experimented. we did cabbage rolls to night but the game tast over powers never had this strong of a bear tast. we did spaghetti sauce with this stuff it was awesome, did a roast took 1 cup jack Daniels 1 cup veg oil 2 packs of taco seasoning wrapped in saran wrap with this marinating for a day and a half slow cooked for 8 hours then bbq came out like nothing before like beef. First time I had deer was gross but it was how it was cooked and advice on cooking this stuff. Thanks

Do not cook like traditional cow meat. Bear meat needs lots of time cooking. I have great success cooking on high heat to brown the meat and then add all spices and sauces you like and then leaving in pressure cooker for about six hours stirring occasionally. The meat will melt in your mouth and will taste similar to cow meat.

[tigrr]

Slow cook all day with beef broth, garlic and onions. Eating a bear roast right now cooked that way.

[sausage lover]

Do it like pulled pork. Slow cooker with chili powder, salt pepper, liquid smoke, paprika, add some beef stock or a beer for liquid. Throw in some bacon if it's really lean. Serve on buns with coleslaw.MMMM.....pulled bear!:biggrin:

[winchester284]

As mentioned best way to cook roasts or stew meat is either in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker. No need to spice it up as the flavour is excellent with only salt and pepper. Ground meat can be prepared same as you would ground beef.

[markathome]

Whenever I'm stumped with something new or a new cut, I check out this guy's website:

http://honest-food.net/wild-game/wild-pig-recipes/

Hunter / Angeler / Gardner / Cook - The host was a professional chef for 20 + years and now does this harvest website and podcast. Can't recommend it any higher.

[b.c hunter 88]

thanks guys

[nuadixion]

Do not cook like traditional cow meat. Bear meat needs lots of time cooking. I have great success cooking on high heat to brown the meat and then add all spices and sauces you like and then leaving in pressure cooker for about six hours stirring occasionally. The meat will melt in your mouth and will taste similar to cow meat.

I second the above..... may I add - after cooking slice it up and let it rest for at least 15 mins in the sauce you cooked it with...

[guest]

Get sausages of different kinds out of the tougher cuts, fronts, chops neck, flanks etcetc. But DO GET. Smoked and cured hams out of the hinds. I also stacked the back straps and tied like roasts into ham like roasts that were smoked and cured too. Fantastic eating, like pork hams, cook slow with honey mustard sauce. Terrific.

Plus, when you harvest a bear, you've helped save fawns and calves.

CT

[boxhitch]

There is too much good meat out there to waste time with poor meat. Feed it to the dogs or the birds, and buy another tag.
You can polish a turd all you want , but its still a turd , or try to hide a poor flavour , but in your mind and in the minds of guests will always be poor meat.
People hold a perception for a long time. I have converted venison haters by feeding them some good fare, we owe it to serve the best.

[ajr5406]

Whenever I'm stumped with something new or a new cut, I check out this guy's website:

http://honest-food.net/wild-game/wild-pig-recipes/

Hunter / Angeler / Gardner / Cook - The host was a professional chef for 20 + years and now does this harvest website and podcast. Can't recommend it any higher.

This is a great find - Thanks for sharing

[dougan]

Don't eat anything that craps like a human

[ACE]

If you wasted any time between killing, guttng, cooling and freezing I don't have anything to advise.

I never make bear steaks. too rubbery to cut, but I make lots of roasts and stew and ground. I don't cook any bear with lots of spices or pre-marinate or any of that.
Very simple; garlic and pepper, maybe a bit of paprika and tomoto sauce for baked ribs.

Advice for next time:

It's all about getting the hide off, cooling it and processing it fast.

MichelD nailed it ^

Field preparation is the secret to better table fare ....
Ground and stew meat for me ...... heavy to stew meat. No roasts, steaks, or chops.

[leannejason]

I run all my bear meat through the grinder.
My bear burger ingredients:
couple eggs
Garlic
onion
Cumin
Cheese
Bourbon
Makes for fantastic burgers.

[Bod]

There is too much good meat out there to waste time with poor meat. Feed it to the dogs or the birds, and buy another tag.
You can polish a turd all you want , but its still a turd , or try to hide a poor flavour , but in your mind and in the minds of guests will always be poor meat.
People hold a perception for a long time. I have converted venison haters by feeding them some good fare, we owe it to serve the best.

What he say's!

[metalface]

Fwiw Had excellent results from this on Sunday night.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/turkey-lasagna-recipe2.html

Subbed the turkey our ground bear (threw ~1lb frozen right into the frying pan and fried til it was cooked thru)

[nuadixion]

how do you cook bear steaks?....thats what i would like to know.....mine always come out tough.

[Rob Chipman]

Boxhitch is nuts. Sorry, but it had to be said :-)

Bear hams are awesome. There's no hiding taste or masking anything involved. First bear I got we got burger, backstraps, sausage, etc. I even ate the heart (strong, but good). Nothing fantastic (sausage came from the butcher and the sausage I've made since has been better).

Everyone had their hesitation at eating the bear, but when I finally fried up the last of the bear ham one breakfast my wife simply said:

"Better go get another bear".

Bear hams. Worth it.

[winchester284]

how do you cook bear steaks?....thats what i would like to know.....mine always come out tough.

Forget about bear steaks..... A good steak is a rare one and bear shouldn't be eaten rare.

[BigMrMeats]

There is nothing wrong with taking your roast, steaks,and ground into a sausage maker to make smokies/pepperoni/sausages etc. You can safely take frozen, raw product, thaw it process it and cure it into all sorts of sausages. Bear salami is amazing, or it large pieces can be hammed.

If your going to cook the cuts you have, bear is best slow cooked and well seasoned... think Ossobuco style dishes.

I've been a butcher/sausage maker for 20 years... PM me if you need more info.

[boxhitch]

Boxhitch is nuts. Sorry, but it had to be said :-) Hey I resemble that comment !
OP said he has had good but some was bad. Sometimes bad meat is just bad.
$#it happens sometimes in processing , preserving , whatever, and some bears are just fowl.
Not all meat is equal. An option is to try and polish it up , spices or candy coating , and tell your mind and gag reflex to take a break, not my choice.

[BCBear]

Smokies, garlic rings and hot pepperoni for bears; a bit more costly but worth it IMO because everyone seems to like it.

[ajeatoo]

So how long do you pressure cook your bear roasts? I tried pressure cooking a bear roast for the first time but after 1 hour of processing it would not read above 133... I'm thinking after this flop I'll stick to curries and stews etc...

[MichelD]

Smokies, garlic rings and hot pepperoni for bears; a bit more costly but worth it IMO because everyone seems to like it.

Matter of taste I guess. I think I've eaten maybe four smokies in the last 18 months, I occasionally use 'em for quick lunches hunting. Nobody in my family or close acquaintance eats garlic ring or pepperoni. Can't remember the last time I ate a piece of pepperoni.

[wideopenthrottle]

Unfortunately my butcher passed away about 5 years or so ago....Billy Black made incredible double smoked pepperoni that beat every other butcher I had tried previously by a mile...since then I have hunted with buddies that butcher our own but we don't make any sausage....I miss good pepperoni....the salamis I used to get from Ennis were ok but they phucked me over on some pepperoni when I got a stinky buck instead of the perfectly cleaned and aged doe I dropped off...

[tinbird]

Smokies, garlic rings and hot pepperoni for bears; a bit more costly but worth it IMO because everyone seems to like it.

This is what I do too

[sausage lover]

We cut off shanks for slow cooker and grind the rest. Slow cooker shanks need to cook for 8 hrs in 1 can of your favorite beer 1 cup vinagar 1 onion diced tbls salt tbls pepper as a base,add other spices if u want but is tasty as is. Burger we do has 25% pork fat and it is great eating! Handle your kill properly get guts and hide off asap and trim fat and silverskin before grinding. Make sure your bear is not a salmon or garbage eater aswell. Good eats blast em!

[Budman]

Have takin the hams to a butcher and he smoked them for me. Cut it thin , tasted just like corned beef. Also have had garlic sausage made too. Put a small bear roast in a slow cooker with all the veggies and simmered it all day mmm delicious .

[buck nash]

I bought a grinder stuffer and smoker so i can do all my own. A bit of an expense at first but they've paid for themselves several times over. Plus it's a fun family activity. We make sausages probably 5 or 6 times a year and use wild game as well as farmed meat.

A tip to save money with your smoker and still get excellent flavour...don't by those bradley pucks. Get yourself a green alder stem a bit larger diameter than the pucks, skin the bark and let it dry. It should shrink to the diameter of the pucks. Then use your chop saw to make your own pucks.