Bear - Worth it?

[YosemiteSam]

This is a serious question.  I've had a few different game animals over the years but never bear.  Wouldn't want to shoot one if it wasn't any good or if the family wouldn't eat it.  But I've been seeing a fair amount of sign these past couple years.  Any comparisons flavor-wise?  Is it good enough for steaks?  Or is this mostly sausage meat?

[Sixgun]

The Ontario bear I shot last Fall is excellent table fare.

The blueberry crop was exceptional! He has a slightly sweet flavor, kind of like venison that is very lightly marinaded in jelly.

My son compares it very favorably to regular beef steaks.

Hope that helps.

Ray

[Kromer]

It all depends on what their diet consists of. Like sixgun said, a berry bear is delicious. I love bear meat, but I don't think I could choke down a bear with a fish diet...

[YosemiteSam]

Originally posted by Kromer:
It all depends on what their diet consists of. Like sixgun said, a berry bear is delicious. I love bear meat, but I don't think I could choke down a bear with a fish diet...

Yea, I've heard the same about bears that stake out campsites & eat trash.

For better or worse, the salmon are basically extinct out here.  Shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks.  Might have to get a bear tag after all.

[YosemiteSam]

Just looked up the hunting regs for bear.  Looks like the season is a lot longer than I thought.  Looks like the coast is off-limits.  Too bad.  Saw a nice, fat one down there last month.

[nek4me]

Sam,
Check out the stew recipe I posted below in August. As noted, it was originally a venison recipe but I thought it was even better with  bear meat. Doesn't matter the cut either when used in a stew. Also made quite a bit of jerky with those two bears and everyone loved it. The texture of bear is a lot different than hooved game and difficult to cut into thin strips for jerky so I used shears which worked great.

Do a search on the Pow Wow. There was a thread not too long ago with lots of positive comments on bear meat.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I've had delicious bear meat over the years but I was not the cook.  My dad killed a large (very old) boar in Alaska and had it made into some sausage.  It was incredible.

[nek4me]

Here's a recipe for Bear steaks with enough added ingredients to disguise that it is bear meat if you have the need to. For all others it's just a good Bear steak recipe.

2-3 lbs boneless bear steak
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp finely chopped onion
brown sugar
catsup
dried basil leaves
1 tbsp butter cut into pieces - one per steak
1/4 cup beef broth

heat oven to 350 degrees
cut steaks into serving size and pound to 1/2" thick
mix flour, salt and pepper - coat steaks
in skillet melt 1 tbsp butter in 2 tbsp oil
brown both sides of steaks over medium heat
put steaks in 12 x 8 baking pan
sprinkle with onion
top with 1 tsp each brown sugar and catsup
sprinkle with basil
dot each steak with butter pieces
add broth to skillet drippings and add to baking pan
cover pan with foil and bake 45 min
remove foil - add a lttle water if dry
bake 15 min until brown on top

[madmaxthc]

Careful with jerky from wild game - especially with animals that might carry Trichinella species, such as bears. I suggest you have a look at this:

  http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/dont_be_a_jerk_when_making_wild_game_jerky

[nek4me]

This is good information for anyone thinking of making jerky from wild game. I applied the freezer protocol as well as temperature requirements by drying the very thin strips in an oven at 200 degrees. The bears were natural foragers and not being baited which also lessens the risk.