I just came back from my canadian bear hunt, and shot a medium-sized black bear with the 450 Marlin.

This was my first bear hunt, and the first bear trophy. She will make a fine rug!

We brought back the meat, and I now have a freezer full of bear meat. I am not much of a cook to start (cooking eggs is sometimes a challenge), but I would like some advise on how to properly enjoy the meat!

Thank you as always,

Marianne

Hi Marianne,

My "Indian name" is No Bears, so I'm afraid I won't be of much help in the bear cooking department, but I do want to congratulate you on the bear. Where did you go?

Thing to consider is a possible trychines (sp?) infection. According to my food technolgist cousin, three weeks at -18 oC (in your freezer) should kill them off.

I'd love to try some bear, of a bear I shot. There's still some time left in the season, but I reckon it'll be fall at the earliest for me
:-(

Frans

Frans,

Are you Dutch orginally? Diepstraten is a real Dutch last name! I am from Holland also, and therefore do not know how to cook a bear either :-) Mom never taught me that!

Anyway, I shot her in Quebec, near the town of Roberval, which is on the lake Lac St. Jean, about 350 miles north of Montreal.

First bear ever, and thank you!

Marianne

Marianne, Do it up pretty much the same as you would pork, since they are related! And congrats on your successful removal of a Canuck Blackie! derf

quote:

Originally posted by Marianne:
Are you Dutch orginally? Diepstraten is a real Dutch last name!

Yes, Dutch originally and still. I came to Canada about 2 years and 3 months ago. The bears are eluding me, but I've had some great fun chasing them, and other critters!

No bear cooking in my background either. Let us know how it tastes!

Frans

Marianne,
Congratulations on your bear. Please give us some details, the shot distance bear reaction and how the 450 Marlin did. Were any bullets recovered?

As to cooking the bear meat.
Several months ago I cooked some game meat on the charcoal grill for my team while I was teaching a sniper rifle school for them at Thunder Ranch. I cooked deer, wild pig, eland, and black bear.
They all liked the black bear the best!!!
In fact two of them went bear hunting with me later in the year. Like all game meat that is very lean you cannot over cook it or it will be tuff.
I use a "spice" called Grub Rub http://www.grubrub.com
I use it on all meat even fish. My wife even sprinkles it on her chicken wings right before she takes them out of the skillet.

I usually bone out the rear hams making them into steaks for the grill.
The front shoulders I cook as a pot roast. This is great for wild pig shoulders too.
I season the meat with Grub Rub, place it in a "turkey" roast pan, fill the pan about halfway up on the roast with 50/50 beer and water. I slice up an onion, placing the slices on top of the roast. Cover. Cook in oven at 325/350 for one hour. Then add a can of tomato sauce [if you like that flavor] and your chopped up potaotes [I like red potatoes], onions celery and carrots.
Cook for about 2 more hours. I watch the fluid level and will add more water if necessary, depends on how good your lid seals.
I have cooked this roast many times in camp in my Lodge dutch oven. There is never any left over.
Also just "chicken fried" with flour and grub rub in olive oil it is very good. Just do not over cook.

If you are going to cook bare I would stay away from bacon, those splaters can really hurt

Because bear is lean and the possibility of trichynosis is real, the best answer I can come up with is braisning. Rub the cut very thoroughly with garlic, then salt and pepper. Brown it in olive oil or whatever oil you prefer on all sides then add enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Fit the pan with a tight lid and put it in the oven at low temp (160 C./325 F.) for a couple of hours, checking regularly to make sure that the liquid doesn't boil away. When it is falling apart tender, add enough roux to the remaining liquid to make a good gravy then pour it all over the meat and a mountain of mashed potatoes.
Urp!

Bear can be fatty meat like pork. In spring less so then in fall usually. If your bear had fat under the hide, the meat will be fat too.
Take roast and put in the roasting pan with your favourite herbs/seasoning.and a bit of olive oil to make the herbs stick.
Take diced/sliced onions, turnips and or sweet potatoes and roast low heat 250 Farenheit, until well done. Tastes very much like wild boar.

Oldsarge has it right, braise it. Bear stew properly made is nearly identical to beef. I hear a lot of people saying to treat it like pork but honestly I don't see the similarity. Bear is dark red meat but it has a particular lack of taste compared to many meats I think that might be what throws some people off about it. I've made steaks, and burgers both Godawful in my opinion, but in a nice rich red wine sauce --wow!!!

Enjoy your bear nice to see someone utilizing it.

the chef

I like stew from the tougher cuts like the shoulder meat. I cut it up into bit-size chunks, then pressure cook it until it is tender. Add flavorings and vegatables, and cook until vegatables are done.

It's just my way of doing it.

Our favorite way to eat it is by making toquitos. Trim fat and grind up several pounds, add diced onions, paprika, turemeric and garlic powder. Steam a package of corn tortillas, put a heaping tablespoon of the ground meat on one edge, spread into a small log and roll it up, then deep fry until golden. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

I love smoked bear with all the fat trimed off.It is about the best meat beside Lynx I ever tasted in alaska.

Marianna, Diepstraten,
More dutchmen and dutchgirls!!!
I came here in 1962. A tad bfore your time.
Two years ago I was in Holland on a duck shoot invite. Did you both hunt in Holland or is Canada your first hunting experience.
See my post for bear roast. I also have had smoked bear haunch. Outstanding! Hard to tell apart from pork ham. The only good way to smoke it is the sweet ham with cloves. Trouble is...........try to find a butcher who can do it. They all do the salt ham and it not very good in my experience. May be it is just the butcher. Frans, black bears are relative easy to hunt.
Critical is the timing in the spring when the grass along roads and trails are greening up and the poplar leaves are not out yet. Once the poplar leaves come out of bud, bears are all over in the bush in the trees eating the young green leaves, soo......you will suddenly see fewer bears. Also look on lease sites where the clover is about 3 inches tall. Drive the back roads in Swan Hills area do the spot and stalk method. Bring a spotting scope to judge the hide for rubs.
A 3 day hunt should give you enough sightings to choose from. Get that timing right when they feed on the lease sites and along the trails on young grass/clover. Later in May you will see bears too, but less often and the hides are getting lower quality due to rubbing.

Like mentioned best is slow cooked as it tends to dry out quickly, either in a roaster with ample juices or my preference is a smoker. For smoking a brine mixture then slow smoked over hickory is about as good as it gets. The most important thing like most game is removal of fat prior to cooking, but is essential on a bear.

If you plan to grind for burgers or sausage make sure to add pork or beef fat/trim. I would suggest a 50/50 of the fat/trim and then a 50/50 of pork/beef and bear for your final product. This will help combat the dry out when grilling, smoking or cooking.

Spring bear shortly after coming out of hibernation is lean indeed. By late May they are putting fat on again. Those that speak about dry and lean bear meat talk spring bear only. Spring bear just out of hibernation is not a meat I like to eat. I like to wait until end of May in Alberta when they are fattening up on young grasses and poplar leaves. It is better then.
Fall bear on the other hand is awsome table fare unless it has fed on a garbage dump.
Fall bear meat is fatty. Indeed the meat with all the fat trimmed off is still very fatty.
Bear grease of fall bears is one of the best baking greases when rendered for making pastry and pies. It tastes sweet.
The meat will roast like pork since it is as fatty in fall as pork.
Fall bear meat of bears who fed on berries and agricultural crops is one of the tastiest meats around with a flavour not unlike wild boar.
The meat should be cooked until well done to kill any trichinosis present.

Like Shrike said, spring bear meat is quite lean, so you usually need to add moisture. I like Mexican food, so for spicy shredded meat, I use the neck and forequarters. I remove any fat or connective tissue, then put the meat chunks in a crock pot. Cover the meat with water and add chili powder, maybe a few jalapenos, some cilantro, and cook it on high for 3 hours or so, then turn it to low. After another 3 hours or so, I turn it off and let it cool. I pull the meat out and give it a quick rub between my palms and it falls apart into shreds, just perfect for tacos, enchiladas, and suchlike.

For the hindquarters, I usually dice that into 1" cubes and use it for stew, the same way I would beef. Most folk can't tell black bear stew from beef stew.

I like to trim bear steal close, and barbecue it. Bear can have a very strong wild taste, and smell awful when cooking at times. The wild taste, is contained in the fat, and by barbecuing, I get no hassles from the wife.
Bear should be cooked to well done, but no more than that. If over cooked, it dries out fast.
A well prepared bear steak, can be used to fool friends that it's beef. (Done it!)
Excellent stuff.