Bear Meat

[Belsnickel]

It's currently archery bear season in my neck of the woods, and firearm season is in month. Black bear is one of my favorite animals, and also one of my favorite to hunt and eat. I was just wondering if there were any fellow believers in bear meat around here.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

(10-22-2020, 08:14 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: It's currently archery bear season in my neck of the woods, and firearm season is in month. Black bear is one of my favorite animals, and also one of my favorite to hunt and eat. I was just wondering if there were any fellow believers in bear meat around here.

I'm 100% a believer in any game meat; I love it all, though I've only had bear (black bear, to be exact, which I believe is the most-common bear species eaten) twice in my life: first time was minced, in a tomato sauce with pasta (Italians ruin things sometimes), the second was sliced from a roast done in the oven, with a reduced red-wine/bear juice (IE the natural juices from the bear) sauce (my dad made it; he makes most of his game sauces like this, it's a French Provencal/Northern-Italian style of cooking) and it was superb, not too fatty and not too lean.

Not sure of what cut it was though... still, delicious.

As my dad only owns shotguns and doesn't do anything big-game (Canada Goose, Ducks and wild Turkey are what he goes for), we only eat big-game from what we're given... but, as mentioned, we don't complain; we love it all.

[Belsnickel]

(10-22-2020, 10:44 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: I'm 100% a believer in any game meat; I love it all, though I've only had bear (black bear, to be exact, which I believe is the most-common bear species eaten) twice in my life: first time was minced, in a tomato sauce with pasta (Italians ruin things sometimes), the second was sliced from a roast done in the oven, with a reduced red-wine/bear juice (IE the natural juices from the bear) sauce (my dad made it; he makes most of his game sauces like this, it's a French Provencal/Northern-Italian style of cooking) and it was superb, not too fatty and not too lean.

Not sure of what cut it was though... still, delicious.

As my dad only owns shotguns and doesn't do anything big-game (Canada Goose, Ducks and wild Turkey are what he goes for), we only eat big-game from what we're given... but, as mentioned, we don't complain; we love it all.

There are a lot of people that won't eat bear, thinking it to be too fatty or too gristly. I find it to be delicious. Bear hams can be done just like a pork ham, even, and tastes a lot like domestic pork just with a tiny bit of wild flavor. The bear fat can be used for all sorts of applications and, while not the healthiest thing, is delicious to cook with.

But I am of the same mind where I don't turn up my nose at any meat. Usually, if someone says a meat tastes bad it is because it was either processed or prepared incorrectly, or the diet of the animal wasn't very good for some reason.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

(10-22-2020, 10:59 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: There are a lot of people that won't eat bear, thinking it to be too fatty or too gristly. I find it to be delicious. Bear hams can be done just like a pork ham, even, and tastes a lot like domestic pork just with a tiny bit of wild flavor. The bear fat can be used for all sorts of applications and, while not the healthiest thing, is delicious to cook with.

But I am of the same mind where I don't turn up my nose at any meat. Usually, if someone says a meat tastes bad it is because it was either processed or prepared incorrectly, or the diet of the animal wasn't very good for some reason.

Bingo; most people say no to a specific animal, not because the animal was bad, but because the prep was less-than stellar.

For the diet, also a bingo; a thing I used to say back in elementary school when people questioned why I ate Canada Goose and not Seagull: "you don't eat a or a Seagull because you just don't you idiot do you know what they eat?"

Which also brings up a funny story my dad has recounted for decades now:

When he worked in an office, in the late 80s, he had a woman co-worker that wasn't above him, but acted like it and she was a miserable punt (sub C for P) to everyone... but she knew the boss, so she could get away with things. Her husband was having his 35th birthday or something and knowing that my dad hunted ducks, asked him if he could get one for her, when he went hunting (she wanted to make Duck a L'Orange). Now, my dad is not a petty person, nor does he hold grudges, but this woman was apparently a major cause of stress on not just my dad, but the whole team and she also wasn't willing to pay for ammunition or for the bird itself (again, my dad isn't petty, but to not even offer is an, "actions louder than words," situation, that fit this woman to a T), so that further turned him off.

He goes to his spot on Lake Ontario with our boat (I was either just born or still in my mother's womb, so I can't give a first-hand account of where on the lake or how many), bags a couple of Mallards and a few Teals, then sees a bunch of Cormorants waiting for the sun to get high enough, before starting to feed. He shoots one, retrieves it and heads home for the day. He cleans all the birds and sets the Cormorant aside, for his next day at work (he said it reeked of fish the whole time he was cleaning it ).

He brings it to her and warns her, "It may be a bit gamey for most people's tastes," but she thanks him and puts it in the freezer; of course, he never told her it was a Cormorant . The weekend comes up, she makes the dish and comes back on the Monday to report, face dropped and with grief/sadness:

"Oh it was horrible! My whole house smelled of fish and it's been 2 days and I can't get the smell out! It ruined my husband's dinner and the 20 people we had over were all disappointed!"

It's one of the few times my father has ever shown a vindictive side to him and to this day (he swears and I believe him), it was the only non-eating gamebird he's ever shot at, let alone shot and killed. As the woman was a bit useless, it apparently took a couple of weeks for her house to not smell like fish, since she had no clue on how to clean/air out the place properly.

It's always a fun story to recount; I also don't condone the killing of animals (ESPECIALLY if they aren't edible), but for this story, I'll let it pass

[Belsnickel]

(10-22-2020, 12:36 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Bingo; most people say no to a specific animal, not because the animal was bad, but because the prep was less-than stellar.

For the diet, also a bingo; a thing I used to say back in elementary school when people questioned why I ate Canada Goose and not Seagull: "you don't eat a or a Seagull because you just don't you idiot do you know what they eat?"

Which also brings up a funny story my dad has recounted for decades now:

When he worked in an office, in the late 80s, he had a woman co-worker that wasn't above him, but acted like it and she was a miserable punt (sub C for P) to everyone... but she knew the boss, so she could get away with things. Her husband was having his 35th birthday or something and knowing that my dad hunted ducks, asked him if he could get one for her, when he went hunting (she wanted to make Duck a L'Orange). Now, my dad is not a petty person, nor does he hold grudges, but this woman was apparently a major cause of stress on not just my dad, but the whole team and she also wasn't willing to pay for ammunition or for the bird itself (again, my dad isn't petty, but to not even offer is an, "actions louder than words," situation, that fit this woman to a T), so that further turned him off.

He goes to his spot on Lake Ontario with our boat (I was either just born or still in my mother's womb, so I can't give a first-hand account of where on the lake or how many), bags a couple of Mallards and a few Teals, then sees a bunch of Cormorants waiting for the sun to get high enough, before starting to feed. He shoots one, retrieves it and heads home for the day. He cleans all the birds and sets the Cormorant aside, for his next day at work (he said it reeked of fish the whole time he was cleaning it ).

He brings it to her and warns her, "It may be a bit gamey for most people's tastes," but she thanks him and puts it in the freezer; of course, he never told her it was a Cormorant . The weekend comes up, she makes the dish and comes back on the Monday to report, face dropped and with grief/sadness:

"Oh it was horrible! My whole house smelled of fish and it's been 2 days and I can't get the smell out! It ruined my husband's dinner and the 20 people we had over were all disappointed!"

It's one of the few times my father has ever shown a vindictive side to him and to this day (he swears and I believe him), it was the only non-eating gamebird he's ever shot at, let alone shot and killed. As the woman was a bit useless, it apparently took a couple of weeks for her house to not smell like fish, since she had no clue on how to clean/air out the place properly.

It's always a fun story to recount; I also don't condone the killing of animals (ESPECIALLY if they aren't edible), but for this story, I'll let it pass

I've eaten cormorant; I've had worse.

I think one of my favorite stories my father tells about game that most people don't usually eat is when he was an officer for the Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Federation (this is before the NWTF really took off, and it was the first chapter in PA). They had an annual game dinner and he was responsible for getting donations. So he goes to one guy he knows and asks if he would provide some and he tells him "sure! Come by the day before and I'll have a mess of fish for you."

So my dad swings by and picks up this big bowl full of fried fish. He asks the guy what it is and he says "don't ask me that. I'll tell you afterwards, but just put a sign on it that says 'fried fish.'" So that was what my dad did and it was the first item to go during the dinner. Everyone ate the hell out of it.

So, returning the bowl, my dad naturally asks what it was. The guy tells him it was carp. But if he'd put that on the card, no one would've eaten it because no one thinks carp is edible.

[Truck_1_0_1_]

(10-22-2020, 01:05 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've eaten cormorant; I've had worse.

I think one of my favorite stories my father tells about game that most people don't usually eat is when he was an officer for the Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Federation (this is before the NWTF really took off, and it was the first chapter in PA). They had an annual game dinner and he was responsible for getting donations. So he goes to one guy he knows and asks if he would provide some and he tells him "sure! Come by the day before and I'll have a mess of fish for you."

So my dad swings by and picks up this big bowl full of fried fish. He asks the guy what it is and he says "don't ask me that. I'll tell you afterwards, but just put a sign on it that says 'fried fish.'" So that was what my dad did and it was the first item to go during the dinner. Everyone ate the hell out of it.

So, returning the bowl, my dad naturally asks what it was. The guy tells him it was carp. But if he'd put that on the card, no one would've eaten it because no one thinks carp is edible.

I know what you mean!

But it absolutely is edible; my grandparents lived (grandmother still lives) about a 20 minute walk to the Humber River (the main, "tributary," if you can call it that lol, of Lake Ontario) and he made crowns, impressions for dentures, fillings, etc., for dentists and the like, who were all Jewish. Jews (apparently) love to make carp heads for soups, stews and to eat afterwards, so my grandfather would catch some whenever he could and sold them to the Jews he worked for and they'd go nuts lol (not sure if the story is 100% factual lol).

[fredtoast]

(10-22-2020, 01:05 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: I've eaten cormorant; I've had worse.

I think one of my favorite stories my father tells about game that most people don't usually eat is when he was an officer for the Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Federation (this is before the NWTF really took off, and it was the first chapter in PA). They had an annual game dinner and he was responsible for getting donations. So he goes to one guy he knows and asks if he would provide some and he tells him "sure! Come by the day before and I'll have a mess of fish for you."

So my dad swings by and picks up this big bowl full of fried fish. He asks the guy what it is and he says "don't ask me that. I'll tell you afterwards, but just put a sign on it that says 'fried fish.'" So that was what my dad did and it was the first item to go during the dinner. Everyone ate the hell out of it.

So, returning the bowl, my dad naturally asks what it was. The guy tells him it was carp. But if he'd put that on the card, no one would've eaten it because no one thinks carp is edible.

Anyone who ate it would have known it was carp because carp is full of bones.  The meat may be edible but you have to deal with a mouthful of fishbones with every bite.

[fredtoast]

I have never tried bear meat, but I have eaten groundhog. It was good. Baked tender.

I have had fried squirrel and rabbit. Both were pretty tough, but I just think they had been fried too tough. I have never had farm raised rabbit, but I understand it is much more tender. Makes sense since it never uses its muscles to run around.

[Belsnickel]

(10-22-2020, 07:40 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Anyone who ate it would have known it was carp because carp is full of bones.  The meat may be edible but you have to deal with a mouthful of fishbones with every bite.

It can be prepared in a way to avoid that. I've had carp a handful of times. Once or twice I ended up with tons of bones, and then another couple times I had a German friend prepare it who knew what he was doing. No problems at all. I wish I knew his tricks.

(10-22-2020, 07:49 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I have never tried bear meat, but I have eaten groundhog. It was good. Baked tender.

I have had fried squirrel and rabbit. Both were pretty tough, but I just think they had been fried too tough. I have never had farm raised rabbit, but I understand it is much more tender. Makes sense since it never uses its muscles to run around.

Whistlepig is definitely some delicious meat. I know lots of people that have had fried squirrel and rabbit, but my squirrel and rabbit experience is usually braised, in Brunswick stew, or just done over an open fire. I've had fried squirrel brains, but that's it on the fried front for those. I know a lot of people like to fry things like that, but that just takes away from the flavor of the meat and I have found often results in making the meat tougher than it could be otherwise. I like fried chicken and fried fish, but beyond that I usually won't eat anything fried.

[fredtoast]

(10-23-2020, 07:47 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: It can be prepared in a way to avoid that. I've had carp a handful of times. Once or twice I ended up with tons of bones, and then another couple times I had a German friend prepare it who knew what he was doing. No problems at all. I wish I knew his tricks.

My mom was raised in extreme poverty.  They raised or hunted for their food.  They would catch carp by throwing wash tubs over them when they spawned in shallow water.  They would "can" (preserve in mason jars) the meat and cook it so long that the bones would become soft or even dissolve.  

When I was growing up my mom would make "salmon patties" using canned mackerel.  She said that was the way they would eat carp.  By the time you add bread and spices I am sure it did not taste much different.