Tastey spring Blackbear?

[Riverjet]

Was wondering how good Bbear was for eating first thing in the spring?
Are they hunted in the spring for their fur, more so than their meat?

[MattW]

They can be delicious for sure. In fact that's the only meat my family wants anymore, they want me to concentrate on the bears. The fur can be very nice as well.

[wlbc]

I have found the meat quality to depend a lot on what they were eating before nap time.

Definitely think the fur is best in the spring before they rub.

[Tanya]

Yep, get the hides before they start to rub if a rug is what you want. The meat in spring is better in my opinion than that in the fall, way less fat. Like anything else age and diet will have a large impact on the quality of the meat. Old bears are usually chewy bears. If you are after fine table fare, then don't be holding out for the trophy skull. Bear meat is sweet and especially good accompanied by root veggies in a stew.

[3kills]

i dont like bear meat for anything other then pepperoni and garlic sauseage and hams so it dont matter to me when i shoot it

[Steeleco]

Try it you'll like it!

[martyonthewater]

I find the spring meat to be just as flavourfull as the fall with a lot less fat to deal with. skinning is a breaze in the spring as well as long as your carefull

[betteroffishing]

in my house the best meat is salmon and then dungeonesse crab followed by a 4 way tie for bear deer moose and chicken. give er a go , if you dont like it put it up here and someone will come and pick up your game for sure. hate to see good meat go to freeser burn heaven.

[mcrae]

I take one in the spring and one in the fall. They are fine to eat in the spring but in the fall I tend to concentrate on bears feeding in the huckleberries and to me they are the best tasting game meat. I also get the add bonus of the fat in the fall. I render it all down and use it for cooking...

[tomahawk]

Yep, get the hides before they start to rub if a rug is what you want. The meat in spring is better in my opinion than that in the fall, way less fat. Like anything else age and diet will have a large impact on the quality of the meat. Old bears are usually chewy bears. If you are after fine table fare, then don't be holding out for the trophy skull. Bear meat is sweet and especially good accompanied by root veggies in a stew.

Words of the wise from Tanya and one of the best cuts from a bear is to take the whole rear leg above the knee joint and have it cured like a pork ham! It s a little drier than a regular ham but so good!

[3kills]

Words of the wise from Tanya and one of the best cuts from a bear is to take the whole rear leg above the knee joint and have it cured like a pork ham! It s a little drier than a regular ham but so good!

i love bear hams...but i dont really like bone in hams so if u take the muscles and break them down to the three muscles on the leg u can have really good boneless hams and that gives ya total of up to 6

[Riverjet]

Words of the wise from Tanya and one of the best cuts from a bear is to take the whole rear leg above the knee joint and have it cured like a pork ham! It s a little drier than a regular ham but so good!


I do the same thing with muley's, way good!:D

[tomahawk]

I do the same thing with muley's, way good!:D

Great idea, never even crossed my mind to try curing a deer leg. Well just might have to see how it goes this fall and give it a try!

[bcsteve]

How do you cure your bear hams??

[wolverine]

The cutter brines and double smokes them. Best hams you can get. You'll throw rocks at pork after that. As far as Spring or Fall bears, doesn't make much difference to me. If it's in the Spring I wait for about a month after they den out to let them "clean out". After hibernating they have a lot of lactic acid in their system. I've never had a bad tasting bear that way. Younger ones are more tender at the table but if you make a lot of sausage, it really doesn't matter.

[pupper]

I think spring black bear taste better than fall bear for sure, sausages and pepperoni are your best bets or you can try these recipes:
http://www.huntingtipsandtricks.com/a/Bear_Meat_Recipes

[Elkhound]

Don't forget bear chilli.......yummy.

My wife likes bear meat better than deer actually. Very good

[Bow Walker]

All of the below comments are why I'm going for my first bear in more years than I care to admit to. Any luck and it may be an archery bear at that!:wink:


They can be delicious for sure. In fact that's the only meat my family wants anymore, they want me to concentrate on the bears. The fur can be very nice as well.


Yep, get the hides before they start to rub if a rug is what you want. The meat in spring is better in my opinion than that in the fall, way less fat. Like anything else age and diet will have a large impact on the quality of the meat. Old bears are usually chewy bears. If you are after fine table fare, then don't be holding out for the trophy skull. Bear meat is sweet and especially good accompanied by root veggies in a stew.


Don't forget bear chilli.......yummy.

My wife likes bear meat better than deer actually. Very good

[ryanb]

Don't let my comment change your mind Bow Walker, but I have had just as many bad tasting bears as good tasting bears. In my experience, bear meat CAN be good, or it CAN be awful and there is no sure-fire way to tell.

Plus, its hard to find meat apetizing after finding worms under the skin, as often happens with bears.

[.308win]

Don't let my comment change your mind Bow Walker, but I have had just as many bad tasting bears as good tasting bears. In my experience, bear meat CAN be good, or it CAN be awful and there is no sure-fire way to tell.

I've had this happen with Deer and Moose........It's a risk we take every time we squeeze the triger on a game animal.....Although most times, they turn out yummy!!!:D

Perry