[brushbuster]

So if I get lucky to get a bear this spring I'm going to try a brine and smoked ham.
What are some of your favorite bear dishes?

 

[sureshot006]

Steak (cooked like beef)

Small chunks cooked in onions and mushrooms with a little garlic (quick and easy).

Stew

Chili (any variation)

Spaghetti

It substitutes the same way as venison for beef, IMO. Just a little less dry than venison (they're slightly greasy).

 

[Wild Thing]

Corned bear roast. Corn it in the fridge for 5 days before cooking cooking it either in a Dutch Oven or a Crock Pot - my wife has done it both ways. She has also corned Buffalo Roasts which are excellent as well.

The recipe is on the internet:

Alaskan Corned Black Bear Roast - The Alaska Lifewww.thealaskalife.com › blog › alaskan-corned-black-...

 

[jiggin is livin]

Corned bear roast. Corn it in the fridge for 5 days before cooking cooking it either in a Dutch Oven or a Crock Pot - my wife has done it both ways. She has also corned Buffalo Roasts which are excellent as well.

View attachment 630053

The recipe is on the internet:

Alaskan Corned Black Bear Roast - The Alaska Lifewww.thealaskalife.com › blog › alaskan-corned-black-...

Looks like the corned venison roasts I make. They are excellent. I would imagine you could even corn a possum and it would be great! Lol

 

[Wild Thing]

Center Cut Loin Roast. I do 2 of these roasts from every deer we shoot. Have also done them with bear and bison. It doesn't get any better.

One word of Caution with bear meat is that you should cook it to an internal temp of 160 degrees to ensure it will be free from the Trichinosis bacteria. Some people also claim that the Trich bacteria can be killed by freezing at very low temps for a few weeks.

This is a venison center cut loin roast on top and bear on the bottom.

I generally cook the venison loin roasts to 135 degrees and that is what I did here with both the venison and the bear. This bear roast had been frozen for several weeks and we had no issues but you really should cook it to 160 degrees.

This one was cooked closer to 160 degrees...

Center Cut Venison Loin Roast

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Montreal Steak
1 teaspoon Uncle Stans Secret Rub
Option – In lieu of the above 3 ingredients you may use a commercial rub of your choice
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 – 1 ¼ pound tenderloin roast cut from the center of the whole tenderloin (the middle 1/3 of a venison backstrap)

Directions
Combine kosher salt, Montreal Steak and Uncle Stans Rub, (or seasoning of your choice) in a shallow dish. Roll roast in seasonings, coating well.
Preheat Olive Oil in a frying or roasting pan (suitable for oven use) on high heat on the stove top.
When oil is hot, sear the roast on all sides - approximately 8-10 minutes total cooking time. Remove the roast to a plate and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Place the roast back onto the frying pan and place it in the oven (uncovered) and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 130 - 135 degrees F (medium rare) – about 15-20 minutes. Take Buffalo Loins to 140.
Remove from the oven, wrap in foil and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Au Jus (Optional):
12 oz of Beef Broth
1 Tablespoon Flour

Pour some of the beef broth into the pan along with all of the drippings from the roast and mix well. Add the rest of the broth and bring to a boil - then mix in the flour and serve.

 

[Wild Thing]

Bear Brats are excellent.

Mix your bear scraps/burger with some pork. 50:50 or 60:40 whatever you prefer...

Mix in your favorite Brat seasonings...

Break out the sausage stuffer...

Viola!! Bear Brats!

 

[jscheel]

I had a bunch of steaks from a bear that my son shot that were so tough you couldn't chew them so I had them made into a bunch of hunter sticks 75/25 bear to pork and they are amazing.

 

[brushbuster]

Bear Brats are excellent.

Mix your bear scraps/burger with some pork. 50:50 or 60:40 whatever you prefer...

View attachment 630065

View attachment 630071

Mix in your favorite Brat seasonings...

View attachment 630069

Break out the sausage stuffer...

View attachment 630073

Viola!! Bear Brats!

View attachment 630075

Yeah I had plans on making a bunch of sausage up with it.
I love corned vension, I would think the bear is a little more moist corned, ill have to try that.
the loins kinda turn me off due to having to cook them to 160, were they tender?

 

[brushbuster]

I once cooked a hind quarter in a bed coals smothered in onions and garlic wrapped in foil for several hours, that was delicious.

 

[sureshot006]

I didn't do any bear snack sticks but bear summer sausage turned out awesome.

 

[Wild Thing]

Yeah I had plans on making a bunch of sausage up with it.
I love corned vension, I would think the bear is a little more moist corned, ill have to try that.
the loins kinda turn me off due to having to cook them to 160, were they tender?

Yes - the more well done bear loin was still tender...just not quite as tender as the med-rare, which just melts in your mouth. Try one out for sure - you won't regret it.

 

[Michael Wagner]

First time I ever had bear and wanted simple so I could see what it tasted like, browned it in cast iron skillet and into a slow cooker with a little beef broth and onions. Tender and sweet, Fantastic!!!

 

[cotote wacker]

First time I ever had bear and wanted simple so I could see what it tasted like, browned it in cast iron skillet and into a slow cooker with a little beef broth and onions. Tender and sweet, Fantastic!!! View attachment 630261

My wife a girl raised in the north woods does it the same way....SIMPLE and so delicious....we had for News Years Eve dinner 1/6th of the neck meat from my 460 lb boar....

Trichinosis is not a bacteria its a parasitic disease caused by roundworms of the Trichinella type.
I had 3 friends that all got Trichinosis from bear meat that was frozen at -10 degrees for 3 months....they ate it grilled pink in side....one guy was blind for 2 weeks....treatment last over a year....it can be very painful....
Never ever make jerky from bear meat...temperatures are too low....
Sausage that doest reach a internal temperature of 160 degrees....

I like bear meat better than any whitetail....enjoy just cook it until its 160 degrees......

 

[Tilden Hunter]

I use it just like beef, except for the cooking temperatures as mentioned. The dish where I most prefer bear meat though is using the ground meat in burritos.

 

[HTC]

So if I get lucky to get a bear this spring I'm going to try a brine and smoked ham.
What are some of your favorite bear dishes?

Brined or cured? Not nitpicking, I realize some people use the terms interchangeably but they are two different things. These two bear hams have been cured and came out great. I would recommend deboning first then tie or net it.

You did ask what my favorite is though....canned bear. Great stuff and extremely versatile. Whether making stroganoff, enchiladas or a quick stew. Plus it lasts for years.

 

[brushbuster]

Brined or cured? Not nitpicking, I realize some people use the terms interchangeably but they are two different things. These two bear hams have been cured and came out great. I would recommend deboning first then tie or net it.

You did ask what my favorite is though....canned bear. Great stuff and extremely versatile. Whether making stroganoff, enchiladas or a quick stew. Plus it lasts for years.

The recipe I read said brined for 5 days

 

[brushbuster]

Brined or cured? Not nitpicking, I realize some people use the terms interchangeably but they are two different things. These two bear hams have been cured and came out great. I would recommend deboning first then tie or net it.

You did ask what my favorite is though....canned bear. Great stuff and extremely versatile. Whether making stroganoff, enchiladas or a quick stew. Plus it lasts for years.

Have you done the front shoulders that way?

 

[brushbuster]

Brined or cured? Not nitpicking, I realize some people use the terms interchangeably but they are two different things. These two bear hams have been cured and came out great. I would recommend deboning first then tie or net it.

You did ask what my favorite is though....canned bear. Great stuff and extremely versatile. Whether making stroganoff, enchiladas or a quick stew. Plus it lasts for years.

https://hunttoeat.com/blogs/recipes...old-by-hunt-to-eat-ambassador-michael-cravens
This is the recipe I'm going to follow

 

[Martin Looker]

The best way I've seen to cook a bear was to do a bear roast. Invite the whole neighborhood and tell them bring a dish to pass and your own drinks. They ate a 300lb bear in one day.

 

[HTC]

https://hunttoeat.com/blogs/recipes...old-by-hunt-to-eat-ambassador-michael-cravens
This is the recipe I'm going to follow

Perfect, so the Prague Powder (aka pink salt) is sodium nitrite which gives hams the pink color and completely changes the taste....think a pork roast versus a ham. The pink color of the salt is simply for easy identification, it does not cause the pink color of the meat, nitrite does that.

Anyways, I have done tons of of picnic hams from hogs but not from a bear, hey, I have to have something to can right? You easily could though. Same process. Normally you would inject the cure until the ham weighs 10% more than when you started. I put a bucket liner in a 5 gallon bucket, put the ham in then cover it with the remaining cure, (normally diluted somewhat). squeeze the air out and leave it in a fridge per your directions. There are cure accelerators that can knock this wait down to a day. Rinse, and smoke.