TobPark

I haven't hunted bear yet, but I'm considering starting within the next couple of years. Just some questions...

What does bear taste like?
Does NY have a bear meat donation program like it has for deer, or does bear fall into that category?

I'm not certain I'll like the taste, but even if I do, I can't see using an entire bear myself, and I'm not sure I can find enough people that would want it. What do you bear hunters do?

Also, I read several times in these forums that hunters bait their bears in. I understand that baiting is illegal in NY. Is the typical approach then similar to deer hunting? What sort of strategies do you use?


Thanks

TerryM

When you bag your first bear you will be surprised to see that the average bear does not weigh much more than the average whitetail buck. It has a different taste than venison and must be cooked more like pork. Some people prefer it to venison. I tend to make sausage and pepperetes when I shoot a bear. You can have the hams smoked and I find the burger makes great chili and spaghetti sauces also.

Syd1981

Make pepperettes and sausages and you cant beat it! I was shocked when I got my bear last year how good it tasted. Somthing else you can do is mix it with you deer, if you mix pork in your deer for sausage or in your burger gives it that extra fat. Its great

cherokee_outfitters

Bear meat is an aquired taste. Some like alot, some hate it. I like mine made into jerky. But as far as throwing a big bear steak on the grill, it just don't make my mouth water.

James B

I really like Black Bear Meat. I make steaks and the Roasts are great. I usually have the rear Hams somoked. The last One I got was well over 550 lbs. I took that one in Northern Sask. We hunted over bait there. There are a lot of Bears in that area. The meat is really more like beef than it is like pork or deer. I like it better than Moose but its all good to me.

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bkkeys

i like bear meat myself,, my wife makes it into finger steaks, got my first one last year ,, and to be honest it was almost as good as my elk. i think all of it has to do with the manner you harvest it in. i was elk hunting and useing a primos hyper singal cow call, in the area i hunt that call seems to bring them in as well as the elk. my uncles run theirs with dogs , and it always seems like the meat is nasty, so i figure if you can bait them or call them ,, it might taste better , than to run them. just my two cents thrown in

handloader1

I like bear; just remember to remove all the fat from your steaks, and grill, so the fat you can't get to drops out. Good luck.

jonthebod

My wife and I love bear meat, prefering it over any other wild meat we get. James B is right in that it is really very similar to beef, but it doesn't dry out as easily. One of our favorite ways to enjoy bear is to put a roast in the slow cooker all day with lots of water and she makes French Dip out of it. It literally falls into tender shredded pieces that my wife puts on toasted buns with cheese. Then you dip it into little bowls of the broth from the meat. It's great!

Duffy

I haven't shot one in a few years but my mouth is watering reading this post and I think I'll go bear hunting this afternoon.

Robin