Is it okay to leave the bear hide on untill butchering

[Nube]

The last bear i got we hung it in the cooler for a couple of weeks and when we went to butcher it there was a tough layer around the whole bear that we had to cut off and throw away. I read in a book that said you should leave the hide on until butchering so that you get use of all the meat. Any advice on this? we shot the bear a few hours ago

[Darksith]

if you have the ability to cool the animal off with the hide on, that will help prevent the "second skin" from forming while hanging. We skin an animal to assist/speed up the cooling process, but if you can cool the core temp quick enough then it is always better to leave it on. It acts as a barrier to things like flies, and prevents the outter layer of meat from drying out, but most people don't have the option of hanging their game in a controlled temp cooler...we usually rely on the cool temperatures due to the season which we hunt in to cool our meat

It is always better to hang meat for a period of time before butchering, especially when we are taking roasts and steaks...unfortunately the average temperatures associated with spring bear hunting don't allow us to do this

[MichelD]

Never heard of such a thing with bears. You gotta cool bear meat down as fast as possible.

I get the hide off right there in the field, throw the quarters into cotton bags and cool 'em with frozen water bottles and get the critter home ASAP and cut it up and freeze it.

My last one for example was shot at 9:00 a.m on a Friday and with the distance I was from home and everything, I didn't get home until noon Saturday, started cutting right way and it was done and in the freezer by 7:30 Saturday night.

[Nube]

Perfect. My dad used to butcher cows so we have a big cooler to hang the bear in. Thanks a lot

[willyqbc]

bears are just like pigs....they do not need to age. Get the hide off, get it cooled right off overnight and you can butcher the next day.

Chris

[Ride Red]

There are lots of snowmelt creeks around right now. Gut your bear, put it in the creek and it will cool in no time. Just don't forget to tie it off so it doesn't float away.

[~T-BONE~]

Skin and quarter it while it's warm it's alot easier... Make sure you have a tarp and bags too!

[Darksith]

bears are just like pigs....they do not need to age. Get the hide off, get it cooled right off overnight and you can butcher the next day.

Chris
Really, thats interesting, any info behind this?

[Bow Walker]

bears are just like pigs....they do not need to age. Get the hide off, get it cooled right off overnight and you can butcher the next day.

Chris


Really, thats interesting, any info behind this?

Just 35+ years of meat cutting. Chris is right. Bears do not improve with aging of the meat. As soon as it's good and cold/stiff you can process it. It won't taste any better if you hang it for a week - in fact the opposite will likely happen.

[SHAKER]

My experience with bears is to get the bark off ASAP! Big bears its benificial to spilt them open in the really thick spots, kind of how the neck on elk will spoil quick as well so let the cold get at them. Even my Grizz got deboned,tarped and buried in a snow bank to chill quickly.

If your going to leave the hide on I would love to sit back and watch when you get to skin'n, I could probably do 2 or 3 by the time your done gett'n the cloths off the cold one.

[mrak]

bears are just like pigs....they do not need to age. Get the hide off, get it cooled right off overnight and you can butcher the next day.

Chris

yes.. this is what i do .. lay them on there belly and skin the back out and bone it out no gutting just the meat in old pillow cases and home then remove all fat and muscle and into the freezer for the mix later