Bear Recipes

[Rob and Reel]

I harvested my first bear, now I would like to hear everyone's favorite recipes for cooking steaks, chops and roasts. I had some pepper sticks and jerky made already and that tastes great. Even my wife likes it. If I can find some other good recipes for the other meat, I might have another annual hunt. Help me out please!

Thanks

Rob

[kunk]

It's been over 20 years since I hunted bear, so I don't have any recipes for you, but I do have a tip. Get every ounce of fat off of the meat before you cook it. The fat on a bear will give a very tallowy taste to the meat. Other than that I always slow cooked it like a pot roast.

[redhooks]

A freind of mine had a local butcher process his bear into porketta roasts and they were awesome. I always figured I'd do that if I ever got one.

We also slow cooked a roast in a crockpot w/ sourkraut until tender dran and put in BBQ sauce.

[LABS4ME]

I've had the porketta bear roast... very good! Here's a porketta recipe:

1 (6-pound) boneless pork butt roast

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

12 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup fennel seeds

1/4 cup olive oil

8 new potatoes, quartered

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

4 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (optional)

2 onions, cut into 2-inch chunks

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, fennel seeds and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the seasoning mixture all over the pork (both sides), pressing the fennel seeds and garlic into the meat.

Place the meat in a roasting pan, cover and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Toward the last 40-50 minutes of cooking, scatter the potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions in the roasting pan around the meat, and continue to cook until pork is cooked through and falls apart when touched with a fork. Stir the vegetables now and then so they brown evenly.

Allow meat to sit for 5 minutes on a cutting board. To serve, pull the pork apart (instead of slicing), and serve with the roasted vegetables.

I did a bear roast for bear camp with Thirdeye's Pepperoncini recipe... darn good! Made som incredible shredded sandwiches. The 3 pound bear roast lassted about 15 minutes!

I make something I call Pepper Beef. It has pepperoncini in it. I use chuck roasts and brown them before going into the slow cooker. Here is the braising liquid:

1 jar of the pickled pepperoncini with the juice

1 can of beef broth

1 package Lipton onion soup mix

1 package of Good Seasons Italian salad dressing mix.

Add some water and beer until the level looks good, about 2/3 of the roast covered. Cook at 250° until the roast is fall-apart tender. Shread the beef and serve with the peppers on hard rolls. Use the de-fatted liquid for a dipping juice.

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~thirdeye~

Got this off the foodtv recipes... sounds good and I may make it myself. My Mom used to do a wine based roast and I thought I'd look one up.

1 (3 pound) pork loin, off the bone

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 to 3 large knobs butter

Olive oil

8 cloves garlic, skin left on

1 handful fresh rosemary, leaves picked

4 bay leaves

1 fennel bulb, sliced

1/2 (750 ml) bottle Chardonnay

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Season generously with salt and pepper, then roll the meat in the fennel seeds until covered.

In a casserole pan or roasting tray, fry the meat for a couple of minutes in half the butter and a little olive oil, until nice and golden.

Throw in the garlic, herbs, fennel, and wine, then cover the tray loosely and cook until well done and falling apart. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a plate. Then, without using any more heat, finish off your sauce in the pan, scraping any goodness off the bottom and adding the rest of the butter. Remove any large bits.

We also use bear in any stew recipe with good luck and I use it in my booya recipe.

Good Luck!

Ken

p.s. if you go bear hunting again, try a bear ham. Pretty tasty. Tastes like regular ham with more of a beef texture to it. Have your butcher take a back leg and make one up for you. It's fun to watch people's faces when they find out they are eating a bear ham.

[Rob and Reel]

Thanks Ken. I am going to give them a try.

[Kallista]

Bear Meat Loaf

2 lb ground meat

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. thyme

1/4 tsp. oregano

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1 cup onion, minced

1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped,

I also add 1 small can of mushrooms or fresh mushrooms.

Bake at 350 until done (about an hour).

When it looks close to being done, maybe 15 minutes,

I spread either BBQ sauce or ketchup over the top.

2

Bear Meat Loaf

3 lbs ground bear meat 1 lb ground beef (fatty)

3 cans Campbell's French onion soup

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of bread crumbs

1 can mushrooms 8 oz or larger

1/4 cup ketchup

garlic powder (to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

This recipe is very simple heck I invented it so how hard can it be.

First drain the broth out of 2 cans of the French onion soup and set aside. Next put the other ingredients (except 3rd can of soup) into a mixing bowl. Add the onions from the two cans of soup and mix well.

Put into roasting pan and pour broth and the third can of onion soup over top. Set oven at 350 degrees and cook for 2 1/2 hours or until done.

Make sure that the meat is thoroughly cooked.

The guys at the dinner loved it I hope it helps somebody out.

3.

Black Bear Marinade

1 cup dry red wine (cheapest)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 onion chopped

6 cloves garlic crushed

1 sliced carrot

1 tbs.. dried tarragon, may want to half this as tarragon is strong salt and pepper adjust to your own taste

Place meat in roaster, roast or steaks, in marinade

and cover and refrigerate overnight turning often prior bedtime.

Remove from marinade approx., 2 hrs. prior cooking to allow meat to come to room temp. Strain marinade and reserve liquid for gravy.

Pre-Heat oven to 350 Deg. turning the roast and or steaks halfway through cooking time, about 3 hours. for 4 1/2 lb. roast.

GRAVY; with broth in pan bring to medium boil on stove top and add marinade liquid, to thicken I use 1/2 cup flour mixed with 1 1/2 cups of water seasoned with celery salt, shake or stir well and gradually pour into pan keeping stirring constant.

Carve roast (boneless) into 1/4 inch slices and place on platter pouring gravy over meat, will serve 8, I think.

GAELIC STYLE-BLACK BEAR

Do not forget marinade, and discard after refrigeration period with this recipe.

You want a 6 lb. roast (boneless, as all bear meat should be).

Rub mixture of dry mustard and butter and flour over entire roast.

Place roast on rack in pan and roast 30 mins. at 425 Deg.

Then reduce heat to 325, and roast about 3 to 31/2 Hrs.

DO NOT BASTE.

Now for the Gaelic Part, my favorite.

SCOTCH WHISKEY GRAVY

Req'd 3 tbs. butter

1 bunch green onion 1/4 cup flour blended with 1 cup of water, pinch of celery salt 3 tsp soya sauce 1 lb. sliced mushrooms 1 quart of JOHNNY WALKER RED LABEL SCOTCH WHISKEY

Bring pan juices to medium boil on stove top, adding butter, green onions and soy sauce, whisking in flour mixture gradually until thickens thereby adding 1/3 cup of heavy cream and according to old timer 3 tbs. of scotch but nae i sae Ha! be a man, BOBO SAYS ADD A CUP, AND KEEP REMAINING SCOTCH CLOSE TO HAND. Guesstimate on measurements as at camp we cook by trial and error and I have tried with my knowledge of kitchen duties over a 20 year period. BON APPETIT

BLACK BEAR STEW

4 to 5 lbs. bear meat cut in 1 inch cubes

1/4 cup flour

1 tbs. italian seasoning

4 tbs. butter

2 tbs. vegetable or corn oil

1 large onion diced

1 8 oz. tin beef broth

4 bay leaves (do not eat)

2 lb. small. potatoes

1 lb. fresh mushrooms if button size do not slice

5 carrots sliced

1 turnip cubed (important ingred..)

5 parsnip sliced (optional)

Here's how Bobo does it Preheat oven to 325 Deg.. put flour with seasonings in plastic bag and shake until bear meat coated, combine oil and butter in skillet and brown meat and drain off grease from meat. In a large dutch oven add 2 or 3 qts. of water and all ingredients. Cook approx. 2 to 3 hrs. adding water if necessary checking every 30 mins.,

serve with fresh rolls or italian bread.

Bear Sausage

30 lbs. ground bear meat

6 tsp. red pepper

12 lbs. ground pork butt

15 tsp. garlic salt

3 lbs. slab bacon, ground

7 1/2 tsp. pepper

Mix all together. Fry in pan for breakfast sausage, good on pizza, and

makes great meatballs as well.

Bear Pastry

1 lb. bear lard

5 cups white flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 tbs.. white vinegar

water

To render bear fat, set fat in a 200-250 degree F oven in a large pan,

let set all day. Pour off into sealers. May be stored in freezer.

Mix bear lard, flour, baking powder and salt.

Beat egg in measuring cup.

To this egg add vinegar, then fill to 3/4 mark with cold water.

Put all together and mix well.

Shape in a roll and store in fridge.

This will make 3 large pie crusts.

Bear Recipe

1-2 lb of venison or bear steaks

1 qt of tomato juice

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 medium onion (diced)

Cook meat until thoroughly cooked in a slow cooker or crock pot.

Drain off fat and add ingredients above.

Let simmer for at least 4 hours.

I recommend serving with mashed potatoes as the gravy is excellent on them. This recipe is simple to prepare and doesn't take a lot of special ingredients. Everyone that I have served venison or bear with this recipe loves it and would swear that it was not wild game.

Bear Lasagna

Sauce:

1 can whole tomato

1 can crushed tomato

1 can tomato puree

2 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1 half small onion

1 tsp basil

Italian seasoning (thyme , oregano ,rosemary ) two table spoons

1 tsp. sugar to take acid out of sauce (optional) or baking soda

1/4 cup red wine (optional

mint leaves

pepper (optional)

Italian grated cheese (just a pinch)

Simmer on low heat for at least 6 hours

Bear:

1 lb package sweet Bear sausage ( this is made half pork and half Bear meat )

1 lb package hot Bear sausage

1 lb package hamburger meat (you can use Bear hamburger)

(Bear sausage is a blend of pork and Bear meat seasoned and stuffed in casings)

Take meat out of casings and fry over medium heat till browned

add chopped onion for flavoring with crushed garlic

Fry hamburger till browned

Set aside in a bowl

In a large bowl mix 2 lbs of ricotta cheese /or cottage cheese

2 tlb spoon parsley

4 large eggs

Blend well set aside

Use no bake lasagna noodles 2 boxes

In a large baking dish cover bottom of dish with sauce

then lay noodles then sprinkle the meat out over the noodles

then spoon ricotta cheese (about 4 large spoonfuls dropped indifferent areas)

sprinkle mozzarella shredded cheese (two packages of mozzarella )

continue to layer (I layer one vertical then horizontal just easier to dish out )

top off with noodles and cover with sauce ,cover with foil

Bake at 350 degree oven for 1 hour

Feeds 8 to 10 people

[Kallista]

I can't eat bear anymore, i eat some and got very sick from Toxoplasma gondii ( not sure on spelling )when i was living in Alaska and ate bear.. You have to be very careful its in most bears,,

I also got Beaver fever (Giardiasis ) at age 12.. lol so i don't eat beavers anymore either.

but i hope the recipes help.. i have about 50 more if you want them.. i am doing a game cook book, and i been collecting recipes for 20 years.

Most i have tried before i got sick but some are right off the internet and i haven't tried..

[89Bronco]

I cut up my bear meat into approx. 1.5" x 5" pieces and marinated them in Lawrey's Baja Chipotle marinade overnight. Put them on the grill until done (like boneless pork ribs). Very simple and very good if you like a little spice.

I use bear meat in any pork recipe that I like since both have to be cooked well.