Bear Shepherd's Pie

[WildCook]

Black bear shot in region 5 who'd been gorging on oats. Ground with 20% pork fat and cooked up into a simple shepherd's pie (not completely traditional since I added some cheddar cheese).

https://i.imgur.com/YHuASr1.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/D4nSmNJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GapiHhI.jpg

[HarryToolips]

That looks awesome....mind laying out the recipe? Makes a guy not want to be so selective on bears this spring..

[WildCook]

Of course!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1lb bear meat (cubed approx 1 inch)
1/5lb pork fat (cubed approx 1 inch)

Salt & pepper to taste
2 small yellow onions
2 minced garlic cloves
3 average carrots (peeled and sliced thin)
3 celery stalks (peeled and sliced thin)
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup bone broth (I used beef)

3 russet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated)

Trim the meat well of all silver skin and fat, then slice into cubes. Toss in the freezer for a few minutes along with the fat so that when you grind the meat up it's nearly too cold to work with. Grind up the meat using your preferred meat grinder!

Brown the meat mixture with onions and garlic (I use approx one tablespoon of avocado oil to do this in a non stick but cast iron is great as well).
Once the meat is nearly browned and the onions are translucent with a nice scent add in your carrots and celery. Cook for 3 more minutes and then add the frozen veggies.
Once incorporated sprinkle the flour on top and mix.
Add tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and broth.
Simmer until broth has evaporated. Pour mixture into a roasting dish (whatever size work for you, mine is 9x13).

Mashed potatoes:
Add potatoes to cold water and add salt.
Bring to boil and allow to simmer till potatoes are fork tender. Drain water and add butter and sour cream and mash. Season to your liking (can be nice to add roasted garlic or horseradish).

Spread mashed potatoes on top of meat mixture. Top with cheese and bake in over at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is nice and bubbly (everything else is already cooked)

Allow to cool and dig in!

[IslandWanderer]

I need a meat bear this spring for ground and stew.

[IslandWanderer]

Looks awesome!

I need a meat bear this spring for ground and stew.

[hawk-i]

Looks awesome EXCEPT for the peas...I hate cooked peas! thanks for sharing :)

[bacon_overlord]

Just had that for lunch.. ground bear is awesome.

[tomahawk]

Looks great and thanks for sharing the recipe. Bear ground with 8% beef fat imho is the best tasting burger of all wild meat.

[HarryToolips]

Thank s for the recipe, again, that looks very tasty...

[Awasin]

Look's delicious! It should be called a Cottage Pie rather than Shepherd's Pie though as bear shepherding is not really a thing lol. Has anybody ever tried it -- or similar recipes -- with bear fat rather than using ground pork fat?

[IslandWanderer]

Looks awesome! I'm not much of a cook so I just get pepperoni. I should be making food like this too.

[corywilson13]

Your meal looks great. I’ve cooked up bear shoulder pulled pork style a few times lately, one of the times we had some leftovers. I put the remaining shredded meat in the food processor to chop it up small, then poured gravy over it with some peas and carrots, a layer of mashed potatoes and a paprika sprinkle - awesome Shepard’s pie.

[hunterdon]

Look's delicious! It should be called a Cottage Pie rather than Shepherd's Pie though as bear shepherding is not really a thing lol. Has anybody ever tried it -- or similar recipes -- with bear fat rather than using ground pork fat?

You certainly can use bear fat instead of pork fat. We always use bear fat on all of our recopies where most use pork fat. The trick to using bear fat is when you harvest a bear, make sure to slice or cut the fat in small pieces. We have learned that large chunks don't liquefy well requiring a long heating process. The longer you heat the fat, it reduces the quality of the fat. After liquefying over heat, let cool, then strain and put in containers for the freezer and use in all your recipes where pork fat would be used. In my opinion, bear fat is superior to pork fat both in taste, and in nutritional value. We also only use broth which we make from game animals that we harvested. Again, better tasting and more nutritious.

Great recipe WildCook. I'll be taking note. Thanks for posting.

[ElectricDyck]

Looks great, all we've been eating lately is ground bear, tastes amazing with no fat added but we usually throw a tablespoon of butter in when browning it..can't tell the difference from beef..dandelion bears from region 5 as well..