Cookin, fryin, roastin, broilin, crock potin & eatin black bear...

[bearfat]

I cut up my own black bear this year and just thru it in gallon freezer bags. I'm looking for ideas for the crock pot or whatever.

One of my favorite is as follows:

Cut it in thin slices and roll in flour, than dip it in an egg/milk batter. Drop it in frying pan filled with about one half inch of hot oil. Fry it up hot and fast until it is just about cooked through all the way.

What do the rest of you do?

[huntmdown]

bearfat,
I'm not a bear hunter what does bear meat taste like? 

[bearfat]

Most of it tastes like beef. Particularly the roasts.

I have had friends over for supper and honestly forgot to mention it was bear roast. They gobbled it all done without a word. When I asked, "Oh how'd you like the bear roast?" they were shocked.

To me it is much less gamie (wild flavor) than venison. I've heard one should remove all the fat from bear meat. I don't. I do cut it off the meat after it's cooked because it has no flavor or very little compared to a beef steer. I readily eat beef steer fat because of the flavor!!! I'm not sure how or why "bear fat is no good" story got started and continues.

Bear meat greasy? I remember my buddies wife cooked up some really greasy bear chops one night but I'm wondering if it was just the way she prepared them? It seemed like a pork chop almost.

Bear are related to pigs. The meat should be cooked all the way through just like pork because of "triconosis' so regarding my post top of page and frying bear until it is "almost done" FRY BEAR MEAT UNTIL DONE. I do the almost done part with venison, and actually that I found out by accident, not cooking it quite all the way through gave it a little something extra in taste.

Bear meat does not taste like chicken.

[huntmdown]

bearfat,
Thanks for the taste clarification! I've heard so many debates it's hard to isolate fact from opinion this post is invaluable!   

[jro45]

My bear meat we soked in beer over night and used meat tender and it was delichious. Red in color. Had a sweet taste to it.

[oldsmokeyjeff]

Grill it!!!!  Long and slow with whatever rub or marinade.  The last time I had bear was a brown from Canada a friend had shot.  After an hour or more on the grill at low heat it was fantastic!  I had my doubts at the time but I was really suprised.  Tasted like well done sirloin.  GREAT!!!

[bearfat]

Above trick something I just learned couple weeks ago. Keeps the meat centered away from intense heat for nice slow cook.
We cooked up some really expensive meat (that I paid for) and I was certain they were burning it. It was perfect!!

I did crock pot a bear roast with tators and a big can of mushroom soup this week. Weren't to bad but needed something else in pot.

[Rev Buck]

Here are my favorite ways to cook bear so far:

1.  Put a bear roast in one of those plastic roasting bags with some taters, onions, celery, and carrots.  Add one package aus jus mix and one package brown gravy mix and some water.  Roast it slowly in the oven and serve with salad, wild rice, wheat rolls and a nice merlot.  Yummy 

2.  Smoke it on your smoker then chip it up and put in the crockpot with onions, green bell peppers, and your favorite barbeque sauce.  Serve with buns, French fries and beer.

3.  Grind it up and make BEAR CHILI using your favorite chili recipe.  Serve with saltine crackers and hot or cold tea.  Great for those cold winter days waitng for next bear season.

Rev

[Buckskin]

Bear is one of my favorite meats.  Especially the loins, so tender and flavorful.  The reason they tell you to take the fat off is for storage purposes.  Bear is of course related to hogs which have a fat that taints quickly.  So if you remove it, the meat will last longer in the freezer.  They say 6 months is all you should keep bear and pork for but I have eaten bear loin and pork for that matter after a year and it was still mouth watering.

[WoodMoose]

the meat from bears down here in NC is real good, tender and tasty.  I cook it most anyway I hanker (grilled steaks, roasts, stew, chili, etc ect ect) - just make sure to cook well done.

[bearfat]

Well done for sure WoodMoose...as you and Buckskin appear to be aware of the relationship bear have to pig and possible "trichinosis."

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/trichinosis/fact_sheet.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichinosis

[Buckskin]

Trichinosis is not any where near the threat it was in years past when it was common for people to feed their hogs garbage. Now days it is essentially eliminated in the hog industry.  The most common way bears get it is just that, Junkyard bears.  So if your out in the booneys, not that big of a risk.  Also freezing it kills the worm after 30 days.  I eat bear and pork on the rare side all the time.

[bearfat]

Sounds weird that it would take 30 days to freeze and kill a worm but we had ants move into our metal mailbox in the outhouse where we keep the toilet paper.

They frose up solid that winter and it got mighty cold down to -20 at times.

Come spring they all woke up and left.

Those worms are wimps compared to the ant 

But that's a good thing in this case.

I've heard there are certain things that can live on coroner’s instruments they use in autopsies, that they cannot kill them even by sterilizing the instruments. They need heat up to 1200 degrees before they die and they only take the heat up to about 700 to sterilize an instrument.

Sorry I forget what bug it was.   

[Buckskin]

Good thing their patients aren't that fussy.

[akchuck]

Chicken fry um and eat um with mashed 'tators and bear gravy. In my option it don't get no better, unless you got some homemade bread.

[bearfat]

Bear gravy....hmmmmm. And homemade bread with a little bear gravy poured over that...double hmmmmm.

Gravy does give that special  something to the meal. Making it is an art all by itself.

I've been a fool all my life. I've sat down at some tables over the years that womenfolk had spent hours preparing and although I gave them customary compliments I should have been taking notes.

Some of those old women (grandmothers, aunts, mothers) have gone to the grave now with their special recipes for gravies, meats, bread, etcetera...

Man...I can still remember sitting down at some of those tables. It just didn't get much better than that.     

[DoubleH]

If you want to try something different in your stews or pot roasts (bear or any other kind), in addition to the typical onion, carrots and potatoes throw in some quartered up turnip, rutabega (sp?) or even celery root.  It adds a great flavor to the sauce and tastes good as well.

Slap your mammy good!

[bearfat]

I'm going to try it DoubleH...the crockpot seems to have been lacking something and that might be it.