Spring Bear Meat

[WesHarm]

Hey guys!

Thanks to Dru's post reminding me Bear season will be here before i can bat an eyelash, im curious, what dp you guys usually do with hour bear meat??

sausages, hams, peperoni?

assuming you dont, but do you have to cut it with pork for burger etc?

Just looking for some tips on what guys do incase i happen to connect on a bear!

thanks again!

[Bonz]

my main are cheese smokies and peperoni.
most recipes call for up to 30% pork fat, if i recall right m butcher said he does 20%?
ive done my own burger and use about 20-30% fat in it, if its a smaller bear ill eat some as is. steak or something., big guys are just to tough for me to eat as is.

[bacon_overlord]

I grind most of it 4:1 meat to pork fat. Keep shanks to slow cooker in beer, stock and seasonings. I also have smoked the hams, turned out like pastrami.
Sausage was good too, add a bit more fat, some red wine, salt, garlic, pepper and savory, great for any meal.

[Fella]

Mostly burger with some pork cut into it. Not a fan of bear hams etc.

[nature girl]

Bear jerky is always good

[Dannybuoy]

I shot a nice little black bear last spring , cut it like anything else but the steaks were small so ended up using most of them for stew . Only cut roasts from the hind quarters . Made a lot of burger . Wish I would have made more into stew or stir fry .

[Spy]

Good thread as Im planning on shooting my first bear this season. I normally cut my own meat but think I will use a butcher to make pepperoni ect, who is the best on the Island, & what are the costs involved? How about the hide what do you guys & girls do once its skinned out, just salt and store?
what are the costs involved in having it tanned or made into a rug with the head?

[tigrr]

50% of my bear is in tied roasts for slow cooking. The rest is made into burger. No extra anything is added except veg oil for frying. BBQ'ing patties we add onions and bbq sauce. I like extra lean meat. Never made sausage due to stupid prices for casing and such.

[HarryToolips]

The bear I shot last fall was the best tasting bear I've ever had, though spring bear can taste great as well...the meat I got off one of my buddy's spring bears we made pure ground out of it, no pork, and it was surprisingly very good, made great bear tacos....my fall bear I butchered with a very good butcher friend of mine, we made bear onion sausage with 40% pork, and bear smokies with 25% pork, both taste tremendous...

[Steeleco]

Cut and wrap like all other game. Ribs up = burger, ribs down = steaks and roasts.
Don't add squat. If I'm making sausage I add regular beef not pork. I like that taste better.

[bacon_overlord]

Bear jerky is always good

Bear jerky, unless it's cooked jerky gives you a good chance of getting trichinosis.

[Bonz]

Good thread as Im planning on shooting my first bear this season. I normally cut my own meat but think I will use a butcher to make pepperoni ect, who is the best on the Island, & what are the costs involved? How about the hide what do you guys & girls do once its skinned out, just salt and store?
what are the costs involved in having it tanned or made into a rug with the head?

if your storing the hide dont salt it first, fold skin side in and freeze it as is, leave the head out since it thaws the slowest, average ive seen for a rug is about a grand.
check with whoever might do the rug for how they like them cut when skinning

[Bonz]

Bear jerky, unless it's cooked jerky gives you a good chance of getting trichinosis.

no more chance than eating it any other way non cured or smoked. its so rare to happen. kinda an over rated fear realy

[Surrey Boy]

All hamburger, no additives. Tastes like extra lean ground beef.

[Wild one]

Eaten lots of bears and some taste better than others

If the bear has nice white fat it's a good eater burger, stew meat, and steak

If the fat has a yellow ting sausage bear

I never mix pork/beef with any wild game

[sausage lover]

We grind all our bears as the meat has a course grain to it.Best for burger or slow cooker and get your stakes from ungulates.Bear meat is great table fare with no game smell when cooking unlike deer.Treat it like pork and cook to internal temp of 165-170 to kill any parasites like trich! Oh and sausages of course:-D

[sausage lover]

All hamburger, no additives. Tastes like extra lean ground beef.
This is why we love to grind it into yummy burger.

[IronNoggin]

... kinda an over rated fear realy

Until you contract it that is... :wink:

Cheers,
Nog

[Bonz]

better chance of being hit by a car going for coffee. but we dont worry about that...lol..over rated for people with common sence maybe is better...lol

[MichelD]

Bear roasts, stew, whole shanks, racks of ribs, burger, I save all the bones for soup and never make sausage. I use my bear burger meat straight, no anything else except maybe crack an egg into it to make patties.

[gmachine19]

Slow cook it in a crack pot Filipino adobo style. Bear meat surprisingly goes well with Filipino cooking.

[Barracuda]

cut it ourselves and we don't mix anything with it . very good table fare like extra lean beef. stews burger sausages curries its all good . very versitile

[Bonz]

you guys that don cut in., how is it now all falling apart and dry. thats what i got when i didnt have any fat to add

[Spy]

Great thread Im looking forward to getting a bear this year, thanks for all the answers. :-) All hunters should think about doing their part and taking a bear or two this year, & help out the ungulates. Thats my reasoning as Ive never had the desire to shoot a bear. I f every hunter took a bear Im sure it would make a difference.

[wideopenthrottle]

you guys that don cut in., how is it now all falling apart and dry. thats what i got when i didnt have any fat to add

most of the time for me dry is good (sauces and goolashes)..if you are doing meatballs or patties, a bit of egg will keep it all stuck together...if it is too dry for your tastes, try shredding in some raw potatoes before cooking...sometimes I cut spicy sausages up (as crude meatballs) to add in with the wild meat spag sauce...

[Spy]

most of the time for me dry is good (sauces and goolashes)..if you are doing meatballs or patties, a bit of egg will keep it all stuck together...if it is too dry for your tastes, try shredding in some raw potatoes before cooking...sometimes I cut spicy sausages up (as crude meatballs) to add in with the wild meat spag sauce...
Im sure some bacon could work as well.

[wideopenthrottle]

Im sure some bacon could work as well.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon..mmmmmmmm

[bacon_overlord]

No matter what the question, bacon is usually a good answer.

[Spy]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon..mmmmmmmm

Bacon & bear Mmmmmm ;-) Save on Foods has bacon on special $2.79 per pack, just saying ;-)

[markomoose]

Done pretty much what was mentioned here but my thing now is bear Summer sausage in 3 inch casings.Super Good.Got the Recipe at home.I'm at work with a sprained ankle supposedly watching Safety Videos.Ssshhh!

[Spy]

Done pretty much what was mentioned here but my thing now is bear Summer sausage in 3 inch casings.Super Good.Got the Recipe at home.I'm at work with a sprained ankle supposedly watching Safety Videos.Ssshhh!
You are fired go home and post the recipe ;-)

[tigrr]

you guys that don cut in., how is it now all falling apart and dry. thats what i got when i didnt have any fat to add

Never had a bear burger fall apart and never had meatballs fall apart. Not sure what your doing wrong.

[Bonz]

i dont mean totaly falls apart all crumbly. i dont add any egg or anything to them either. just squish to a patty n cook em up. those are the ones i find tend to fall apart some, i strip most my fatty crap off my bear meat to, so has very little of any in the grind.
maybe just lazzyness to not add the other to help it hold..lol

[ACE]

I shot a nice little black bear last spring, cut it like anything else but the steaks were small so ended up using most of them for stew. Only cut roasts from the hind quarters. Made a lot of burger. Wish I would have made more into stew or stir fry.

Everything goes to stew meat ..... just don't care for roasts, steaks, or ground.

[SR80]

i dont mean totaly falls apart all crumbly. i dont add any egg or anything to them either. just squish to a patty n cook em up. those are the ones i find tend to fall apart some, i strip most my fatty crap off my bear meat to, so has very little of any in the grind.
maybe just lazzyness to not add the other to help it hold..lolyou'll need to ad an egg to keep it from falling apart.

[Bonz]

ya i know it will, just my lazzyness lol, it all gets ground with pork now, then i just use that same mix and add any other spice to use with other stuff i might make

[WesHarm]

Thanks for all the responses everyone!
Getting me super excited for the fall hunt! Hopefully i will be able to connect! I use extra lean ground beef probably 3 times a week, so excited to get a bear ground up and substitute for a while!

[markomoose]

You are fired go home and post the recipe ;-)I fricken lost the recipe but I remember who has it and PM 'd him.

[Spy]

I fricken lost the recipe but I remember who has it and PM 'd him.
Awesome.:-) 00buck has a wicked recipe for cheese & jalapeño pepperoni I will have to get that from him, sure was good eating.

[Surrey Boy]

Awesome.:-) 00buck has a wicked recipe for cheese & jalapeño pepperoni I will have to get that from him, sure was good eating.

I bet!

Seeing how I now have a grinder, sausage stuffer, and smoker, I'd better get a bear this spring.

[WWBC]

Thinking of getting after spring bear ( region 5). Does the size/age of the bear impact table quality much? If I get a nice rug will I have to make a couple hundred pounds of spiced sausage out of the anamal? When are they the best eating late spring or earlyer?

Thanks

[wideopenthrottle]

sorry if this is a hijack but I too am thinking of bear hunting and having never taken it seriously (always bought a tag but never hunted them)...like you, I have wondered a few things without checking yet...like you, I wonder, if anyone would shoot a sow and an older cub to get better table fair or is that unacceptable? do you have to keep the fur if you only want meat? is the fur better in a spring bear or in a fall bear?

lots to learn before getting out to blast one

[WesHarm]

Regulations state you cannot shoot any bear or bear in the company of a bear that is less then two years old. Not entirely sure how to tell it is older then two, but usually safest to ensure its a bigger old Boar if possible, larger blocky head etc, cant comment on the taste, sure someone can chime in?

[kevan]

Check your Bear carefully for worms.
The last two I got were literally crawling, even the COs hadn't seen anything like it.
I had no problem getting the tags refunded..

[Steeleco]

Generally any bear alone is older than 2. Mom gives them the boot around 2. Look for the distance between the ears, more space the older the bear. If on the side look for light under the belly. But be mindful of hills, they can affect the judgement. If you can take your time. A bear in the spring isn't going farm they are eating machines. A few minutes of your time will teach you lots. For me the best table-fare is a bear between 5 1/2' and 6' Any smaller and it's just as much work as a larger bear, any bigger and they can be tough but not always.

[Wentrot]

Check your Bear carefully for worms.
The last two I got were literally crawling, even the COs hadn't seen anything like it.
I had no problem getting the tags refunded..

Once it's ground and cooked ya don't know the difference!

[Barracuda]

i dont mean totaly falls apart all crumbly. i dont add any egg or anything to them either. just squish to a patty n cook em up. those are the ones i find tend to fall apart some, i strip most my fatty crap off my bear meat to, so has very little of any in the grind.
maybe just lazzyness to not add the other to help it hold..lol

any lean meat will do that I suppose . you can add a binder when you mix it for patties such as egg, tapioca, potato starch ,Whey or soy binders as they will make it retain moisture and hold

[HarryToolips]

Once it's ground and cooked ya don't know the difference!
Lol and more protein....

[shortrange]

Never made sausage due to stupid prices for casing and such.

True but bear sausage is worth the effort. My last one was all sausages. Even so, between eating my share and giving sausages to friends, I have run out. I need a bigger bear this year :)

[markomoose]

Here We Go:Bear Summer Sausage.This will work for most game.
7 lbs Ground BEAR
3 lbs Ground Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
1 Cup Ice Water
1 Tbsp Prague Powder
3.5 Tbsp Salt
3 Tbsp Demerara Sugar
1/2 Tbsp White Sugar
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2Tbsp minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1.5 Tbsp Dry Mustard
1.5 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Marjoram
1/4 cup + Mustard Seeds
1 Tbsp Phos B
Grind the two meat types together & combine adding mustard seeds while mixing
Pour the water into a large bowl,and mix the cure(Prague Powder) and spices well into it(everything)
Pour the mixture over the meat ,and mix vigorously
Place sausage mix into a cold fridge and hold for 3 days.Mix well twice a day.This allows the meat to cure completely, and the spices to mix well into it. OR (I did this) Stuff the casings(I used 3 inch.Easier to stuff) & hang in a cold room for 3 days.
Finally cook in oven at 350 till internal temp reaches 170F .Then cool it in Ice Water or Snow Bath for 20 mins.
Hang in cold room overnight & enjoy. Cheers Mark

[Bowzone_Mikey]

of my 2 tags I usually do the first one up in smokies and pepperoni ... the second one I grind it all up,

Bearchos, Bearitos, Bearghetti, bearsagna, Bear B Q baked beans .... the list goes on and on

we eat a lot of ground meat in my house

[Just]

i second that process, did exactly that last year with my two bears and still have a few packs a peps left but the ground went like hot cakes once the kids took to the wives bear loaf!!! Soo good!!! Can't wait till opener!!!

[Asco]

Recipe Looks great. I'm going to make a real effort this spring.

Only problem with above recipe is I don't see the "bear" ingredient lol.

[markomoose]

[QUOTE=Asco;1883386]Recipe Looks great. I'm going to make a real effort this spring.

Only problem with above recipe is I don't see the "bear" ingredient lol There you go Asco!

[WesHarm]

Has anyone seen a noted difference between spring and fall bears? Taste wise anyways?

[scotty30-06]

^^^^^additionally to this question....if a bear feeds of fish before hibernation and eats greens after hibernation will it still have a fish flavour?

[guest]

If the last morsel was a clam, no, it tastes like clams.

[scotty30-06]

Uh what? Lol

[scotty30-06]

Can anyone answer this question^^^^^

[Spy]

of my 2 tags I usually do the first one up in smokies and pepperoni ... the second one I grind it all up,

Bearchos, Bearitos, Bearghetti, bearsagna, Bear B Q baked beans .... the list goes on and on

we eat a lot of ground meat in my house
Mmmm sounds like a plan, 2 bears like it :-)

[hparrott]

Check your Bear carefully for worms.
The last two I got were literally crawling, even the COs hadn't seen anything like it.
I had no problem getting the tags refunded..

I have never shot a bear with worms but should this, what is the protocol? Call a CO and wait for them to come check out your bear? Or did you take it with worms to them for inspection? How'd you go about getting your tag refunded in these two cases.

[takla1]

quote.Call a CO and wait for them to come check out your bear?

NO C.O would waste his/their time checking out a wormed up bear.Cut out the pocket of worms then decide what your going to do with it.I know the last one my son shot that had a neck full of tape worms didn't end up on my dinner plate

takla

[tigrr]

A spring mountain grass and berry bear tastes no different than a fall mountain grass and berry bear. The best eating are the 3 to 5 year old boars. The larger boars around here chase the younger bears away from the streams. That pushes the younger bears up the mountain for the grass. Watch the bear for a bit to see if it has cubs. Mothers tend to look around a lot. Boars just eat. I stopped shooting deer because bear tastes better.

[WWBC]

The Worms idea has me some what on the fence about hunting bear, I now its totally irrational because I eat salmon and its full of them....

Hey Tigrr- Are the bears in the cariboo wormy?

[markomoose]

Taken lots of Black Bear and never had a wormy one yet.

[Spy]

Pumped to get out and shoot my first bear :-)

[Arctic Lake]

Great thread ! I also wondered about which is better table fair, spring or fall bear ? More guy's care to comment . I know bears can travel far and wide but I would prefer one that is harvested off the beaten path.
Arctic Lake

[moosinaround]

I like a spring bear, usually im out of sausage from the winter. I always do a batch of pepperonies, and a batch of chedder smokies. I always bone the bear out and only take in nice clean meat. Ive tried bear as cuts of meat, found it to be too tough, and it was backstraps!! Sausage is the best answer, as well as burger! Moosin

[shortrange]

Sausages are the way to go with bear. Usually the butcher adds pork fat which is fine. I don't worry about worms since I get smokies which are cooked during the curing process. Okay now I'm hungry. Can't wait for April 1.

[caddisguy]

I don't worry about trichinosis or worms. Trichinosis is very common and most bears have tape worms. Sometimes you can see worms hanging out their rear and most poops if you look you can see worm segments. Even if you cannot see worms, you have to assume the meat is full of eggs/cysts/larva. Just cook it and it's fine. I always laugh when people talk about getting bear tested for trichinosis. Why? Because even if it tests negative, you still need to cook it up to temp because trichinosis is only one of many nasties.

Not sure what I would do if the meat was visibly crawling... never encountered that. If the bear seemed healthy otherwise I would probably grind it... but I am guessing a bear with that kind of parasite load has other health problems.