Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Black Bear meat.......what's your opinion of it?

Have a small roast that I am making pastrami with right now. I use Mrs Mule Deer`s recipe. It is really good.

Yeah, we really like her bear pastrami too!

Got a N MN fall bear that lived on an oak ridge with some swampy area nearby and had also been hitting our bait site for ~10 days. Bait was pastries, oats, pelletized molasses, covered with logs that we then poured used restaurant fryer grease all over. I assume the bear lived on greens from the wet areas, snowball berries, high-bush cranberries, and acorns on the oak ridge.

Anyway, I sliced the backstraps into ~1/2" thick "steaks" rolled them in seasoned flour, browned them quickly, then dumped in just a splash of Jack Daniels and let them simmer covered for a bit until "done". Pretty much everything else got crock-potted like a beef roast and it was excellent.

I also got a SW MT spring bear. The meat was significantly lighter, much more similar to pork than a true "red" meat. All of that bear got mixed with some pork and made into sausage patties. They were very good, but with enough pork and spices mixed in, almost anything can be made palatable.

I've only heard of bad black bear, but never had a bad one myself, and that's generally multiple bears per year. One of the best meats I get, and that includes moose and Sitka blacktail. But I'm usually getting fall bears on berries in the mountains. In fact I just had black bear chili and a black bear burger for dinner. Noting added to the burger, just meat and fat from the bear. About the best burger I've had, period.

To this day, the only game that made me gag. I’m not likely to give it another chance

Only black bear I’ve eaten was jerky. Was very good.

I have never tried making pastrami with bear meet before, This would be some to try.

Gut it well,
clean it well and cook it well,
Bear meat are delicious.

Clean off all the fat you can see, and then boil the roast to get the intramuscular fat out. Drain it out and slow roast it in an oven at 250 till it is well done. I like the roast done with onions, carrots and taters in the pan. fall off the bone tender and tasty.

Cook beaver about the same.

As is the case with all animals with a singles stomach -as opposed to ruminants- it will depend on what tha bear has been feeding on recently. An interior spring bear that has been feeding on blueberries, or an autumn bear well fed on acorns has noting to do with one that has been feeding on dead fish along the shores of the ocean.

Here in Spain, dried pig's leg is very popular and considered a delicacy. We call it "jamon" and it is classified and sold at different prices depending on its feed.

I make it a point to try and get out early every Spring for a rolly-polly fat bear. Interior bears, black or grizzly, big or small are good eating.

Bacon, burger, chops, roasts, sausage, stew meat, or tenderloin, it's all good.

Ted

I love it. My wife and I go through one per year. I prefer then to venison for roasts.
Also great for bratwurst, jerky, ground, sausage, etc. Anything as long a you cook it properly.

Bear Pastrami a la Mrs. Mule Deer Eileen Clark:

Like anything else, treat it right and it's wonderful, treat it wrong and your dog won't eat it.

I prefer spring bear because it has less fat. I try to separate all the fat from the meat before processing/cooking. A beef roast might be good with a nice layer of fat, but a bear roast won't.

Black bear meat is my preference for making meat loaf.



I guess you avoid farm raised pigs as well?

Oh fuuck, here we go, “bear meat is delicious “!!! What do you “delicious “ folks rate pussy or a good ribeye??? I really wanna know..

That looks killer!

Just put one in the freezer this week. Having bear burgers for dinner tomorrow. It all starts with proper and prompt care of the meat from skinning to cutting and wrapping. I do agree with what several have said here get all the fat off that you can. The Amish in our area love to get the fat as they render it and use it on their bridle leather and as a water repellent on their shoes and gloves. Won't try to change anyone's opinion on palatibility but I will say if I haven't processed the meat from shot to pot, I won't eat it or feed it to my family. It definitely takes more care but yields a different tasting but good eating meat. Just one mans opinion. Good eating and good hunting.

The most important thing is did you use the 9X56 to get it?

Ted

I made "corned bear", like corned beef, and converted a bunch of folks that said they did not like eating bear.

Have only had black bear a few times, but I prefer it to deer.