Black Bear Hunting Series
Re-Published with permission from
Virginia Chapter of American Bear Foundation
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https://www.facebook.com/VABearFoundation
https://www.americanbearfoundation.org/
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Black Bear Hunting Series
Re-Published with permission from
Virginia Chapter of American Bear Foundation
Follow them on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/VABearFoundation
https://www.americanbearfoundation.org/
These are a series originally done by Unbranded Outdoors and shared by Old Dominion Black Bears. It lays the basics for what the black bear is. The other parts of this series and the ones to follow are designed to help make you a better bear hunter by knowing the incredible animal we chase.
Part 8 of Series - Bear is out of the woods - This one is about after the bear is out of the woods and how we can use these amazing animals we take.
There are two questions that get asked of bear hunters more than just about any other: “What are you going to do with it?”, and “Do you really eat bear?”. The answer to the second one is the easiest: Yes, and it is absolutely delicious (or, it can be – more to follow). The answer to the first is often the most surprising: “it depends, there’s more to do with a bear than with a deer”.
Before we go any further into this, and this should have been included in the field dressing section as well – WEAR GLOVES when handling bear meat and processing a bear. Bears, as opportunistic omnivores, carry a lot of parasites and most of them are not friendly to humans. The most well-known is trichinella, a parasitic worm that causes trichinosis, but there are a lot of other worms, flukes, and similar nasties that you don’t want to get in you. So, wear gloves and make sure to clean up well after processing. When cooking, be sure to get the internal temperature of the meat, bones, or fat to at least 160 degrees F for about 3 minutes. This could be direct cook temp, or “resting” temperature after taken off the heat source. That temperature is adequate to kill trichinella. It is also quite advisable to freeze down to at least 0 degrees F for at least 60 and preferably 90 days any parts of the meat you intend to eat prior to cooking.
Let’s start with the “inedible” parts first and then finish up with the delicacy.
The taxidermy options for bear are numerous; from various standing, half-body, and shoulder mount options to rugs to simply a tanned, hair-on hide that can be used from a drape or projects (e.g., a traditional archery back quiver, or cold-weather mittens or muffs, or hats, etc.). The skull is an impressive display for a mantle, wall, or desk. Claws can be left in for taxidermy or removed for uses in jewelry or even as button-type clasps for bags, sheaths, or rolls. There really isn’t much reason not to use all of those parts or at least get them to someone else who will.
One of the most overlooked and under-utilized parts of a bear is the fat. Bears have a lot of fat, and it is all very useful, valuable stuff. Collecting it and saving it is easy; you have to cut it off of the meat and hide anyway, and simply stuff it into gallon or two-gallon freezer bags until ready to render it down. You can expect to obtain about one pint of lard or oil for every two pounds of fat rendered. Rendering is just the cooking down of fat until the water is boiled off and the fat itself changes consistency from a solid to an oily liquid. Bear fat renders very well, and whether it is taken to a lard (semi-solid, white saturated fat) or to oil (a liquid to semi-liquid, clear to yellow unsaturated fat), either is useful. We have found that one of the propane “turkey fryer” burners and large stock pots works very well. Simply chunk the fat up into small pieces, get water boiling hard in the pot, and start adding the fat. The water will bring the fat up to temperature quickly and keeping a layer of water in the pot will keep the fat from burning to the bottom of the pot (fat and oil float), help any sediment or solids settle out, and keep the overall temperature at a high level under the fat layer. Once the fat melts, keep it boiling for as long as you want; the longer the boil, the more oil-like the outcome. Note – rendering is a process that takes several hours and is best done outside; it doesn’t stink, but it certainly makes an odor that will permeate a living space and stay around for a very long time. Set aside a good, cold, clear day for this. It’s a perfect activity to do while running a smoker or grilling meat with hunting partners.
After you have rendered your batch of fat and taken it to the desired consistency point, let it cool just enough to handle the pot and be able to pour the liquid into a large container for refrigeration. Use a metal strainer to catch out any solids that remain. A series of large Pyrex bowls, the larger the better, is perfect for this set. Pour the liquid through the strainer and into the bowls until full, set aside to cool, and then refrigerate overnight to perhaps two or three days depending on the size and number of them. The fat/oil will rise to the top and congeal over the remaining water. Scoop this congealed layer off, boil it again in a pot on your stove (no worry now about odor), and save into mason jars as if you were canning; they will seal. These will keep for months to perhaps a year or more in a cabinet and indefinitely in a freezer.
What is it good for? Bear lard is renowned by pastry chefs for the light, flaky pie crusts and pastries that are made with it. Soaps made with bear fat are some of the best that can be found anywhere. The oil and lard itself is almost without peer for leather treatment or for mixing with beeswax and pine pitch for an even better combination. It also makes perfect patch-lube for roundballs in traditional muzzleloaders. It’s a great oil for refinishing rifle stocks to then be sealed with beeswax for a truly original finish. Historically, bear oil was even used as a fuel oil in lamps. Really anything that you can think of that an animal fat-based lard or oil can be used for, bear lard and oil is among the finest that can be had.
Much like deer, or any other vertebrate meat animal, the bones of a bear can be roasted and then cooked to make stock. Before discarding bones that are removed when butchering, or after cooking something like a bone-in-shank or ham, set them aside to make stock. It’s simple; roast the bones in the oven at about 350 degrees until golden brown. Break them open to expose the marrow; this makes the stock richer in flavor. Then, either in a large stock pot or in a crock pot set to timer cook overnight (or while away at work), add the bones, onions, celery, carrots, and herbs such as pepper, thyme, oregano, and parsley. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 4-8 hours. Let cool, strain the liquid from the solids, and refrigerate like the stock. Unlike with the rendered fat, take the congealed layer off and dispose of it. The remaining broth can be used in soups and stews and is a wonderful way to add in flavor.
If you handled the carcass properly in the field, the meat from your bear is likely to be extraordinary – with one possible caveat. Bear, perhaps more than any other game animal in North America, will have a flavor dictated by what they have been eating. A bear that was gorging in a cornfield will taste very similar to a grain-fed cow; rich, a little slick in the texture, and mild. Acorn fed bears will be darker in flavor and texture, but not gamey. A hickory-nut fed bear will be as mild as beef and with a slight nutty flavor to the back end. We’ve had beechnut fed bears that were indistinguishable from pork, berry fed bears that were almost as if the meat were marinated in a sweet, tangy sauce. But, if you happen to take a “garbage bear”, well… don’t expect top-shelf table fare. Perhaps consider it to be a LOT of heavily seasoned and smoked sausage.
What can you make with bear meat? We will not go into recipes right now, though we might save that for later. There are several fine wild game cookbooks, one particularly related to “rifles and recipes”, that offer a wide range of ideas about sausages, smoking, and meals; and, at least one website on the net that gives some “honest-food” suggestions that are incredible. There might have been a couple hints. Realistically any dish that can be made with deer, or with beef, can be made with bear. The shanks of the lower legs are much larger and more heavily muscled than of a deer and braise beautifully. The shoulders are also much larger and more heavily muscled; they can be cooked whole, bone-in; or deboned for stews, kabobs, fajitas, and the like. The steaks and roasts from the hindquarters are perfect for any recipe that calls for them; they can also be salt cured as a ham or smoked. The ribs can be done as ribs, or deboned and added to the flank, side, and neck meat for sausage, and bear sausages are extremely good. If you like liver, you’ll love bear liver; it is large and very flavorful. The heart is larger, proportionally, than on a deer but just as delicious. The backstraps and tenderloins might be one of the very best of that cut from any game animal. Just remember the cooking temps, and you’ll be fine.
With so much of a bear that can be used in so many different ways, maybe the question shouldn’t be “what are you going to do with it”, but “what can’t you do with it” instead.
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