anyone know how to properly cook bear steak/s?

[darcy]

got an e-mail from my mom today; ~ neighbor's son shot a bear; he brought my folks bear roast, ground bear meat, and bear steaks { had it butchered & wrapped by a butcher }.

my mom doesn't want to deal with the steaks, so asked if hubby wanted them { which he does }. she'll freeze them 'til we see them on Thanksgiving.

anyway,, no clue how to handle this sort of meat and i wonder if anyone here does?

[EvilHorace]

Lots of info via google search

[Err]

I've never had bear but for any wild meat, you just want to make sure it's done. You'll probably need to cook it with onions to get some of the gaminess out. I think bear is also really lean so you want to add a bit of fat. Bacon grease would work.

[darcy]

i did quite a bit of google research prior to posting, EH, ~ I was just wondering if anyone had personal experience dealing w/it and/or had a tried and true recipe,, : )

cheers, Err , ~ i did read that it was pretty lean, and my mom emailed me today that the bear stew she made last night was good, but did have that game-y taste { and they eat plenty of wild meat, so when she says it's game-y, it's game-y! : ) }.

i wonder if the steak/s should be marinated in buttermilk to tenderize it a bit,, my mom used to do that w/deer meat,,

[EvilHorace]

I was just wondering if anyone had personal experience dealing w/it and/or had a tried and true recipe,, : )

I understand but also had my doubts that any of us ~10ish people still here have ever shot of bear.

[normalicy]

I tend to prefer to make soups & stews from game meat.

[wvjohn]

There are some guys around here who have wild game meals every once in a while - the one thing I know they usually do is run the meat through a tenderizer b/c wild game has less fat and more muscle....not sure about marinating -

ok, we do have one cookbook with a recipe -

"Bear meat always needs. tenderizing. Parboiling seems the best bet. Season the water with salt and vinegar and boil until tender. In any case bear meat should be soaked thoroughly in heavily salted water for two days, changing the water several times.

There is also a recipe for bear roast marinade which I can scan for you - too long to type - lmk.

[darcy]

do you eat game meat frequently, normalicy?
{ i do not*, ~ but my hubby will eat/try anything; reckon i'm lucky that way : ) }

~~~

There are some guys around here who have wild game meals every once in a while - the one thing I know they usually do is run the meat through a tenderizer b/c wild game has less fat and more muscle....not sure about marinating -

ok, we do have one cookbook with a recipe -

"Bear meat always needs. tenderizing. Parboiling seems the best bet. Season the water with salt and vinegar and boil until tender. In any case bear meat should be soaked thoroughly in heavily salted water for two days, changing the water several times.

much obliged for that info, john

There is also a recipe for bear roast marinade which I can scan for you - too long to type - lmk.

that would be great, thank you!!

~~~

I understand but also had my doubts that any of us ~10ish people still here have ever shot of bear.

lol, ~ i hear ya, EH, ~ but you never know! : )

[normalicy]

I don't eat it frequently, but it always seems that I have somebody that throws a bit my way during hunting season. I unfortunately have no luck finding deer to get my own meat. But being in a larger city, I'm not too surprised.

[wvjohn]

Darcy - here ya go - tip of the hat to my wife for typing this up - scanner is on strike.

Bear Roast

From Game Cookbook, by Charles E. Stuart

My uncle Lynn Brugh was a self-styled world traveler and bon vivant. He used to take me along on some of his adventures. One good one was a black bear hunt near Buena Vista, Virginia. A retired forest warden, Price Beverly, took us out. He had a pack of bear dogs, a mixed crew but good. We killed a young bear and brought two 15-to-20-pound haunches of prime meat home.

Bears, especially black bears and older bears, forage and travel great distances, mostly in a wide circle. This contributes to the toughness of their meat; it always needs tenderizing. Parboiling seems the best bet. Season the water with salt and vinegar and boil until tender. Then you can roast it. In any case, bear meat should be soaked thoroughly in heavily salted water for two days. The water should be changed several times.

Since bear meat is difficult to cook, I have developed a faily detailed recipe for it's preparation:

Bear Roast Marinade

10 pound bear roast


1/8 pound butter

1 1/2 cups vinegar


8 cloves

3 cups water




2 cups red wine




1/2 cup olive oil


For a spicier marinade, add:

1/2 teaspoon sage


1 cup finely chopped onion

3 bay leaves


1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper


1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 cup finely chopped celery


1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon pepper


1 teaspoon dill seed

2 tablespoons salt


1 teaspoon paprika



Combine all ingredients except meat and cloves and simmer for 30 minutes. Before the marinade cools, add the meat and allow to marinate overnight.

Place the meat and marinade in a roaster and cook 30 minutes per pound in a slow oven (325 degrees).

Bear has the consistency of pork and should be served well done. About three minutes before the roast is done, pour off the marinade and use it for gravy.

Rub a little butter over the roast and stick in the cloves. Serve with sweet potatoes, sauerkraut, and good spicy coleslaw. For a less spicy marinade, you may omit the onions, garlic salt, allspice, nutmeg, dill seed, and paprika.

Bear is very rich, so this recipe will serve 14.

[darcy]

I don't eat it frequently, but it always seems that I have somebody that throws a bit my way during hunting season. I unfortunately have no luck finding deer to get my own meat. But being in a larger city, I'm not too surprised.

same w/my folks,, ~ neighbor's sons are always going hunting, all over the place, { meaning States besides NY,, }. they like the sport of it, but nobody in their family eats wild meat(!), ~ so they always give whatever it is they've hunted, ~ bear, pheasant, etc., to my folks.

~~~

wow,, thank u so much, john, ~ and pls give my thanks to your wife! .
after reading it, ~ i reckon u could use that marinade for a variety of meats, too.
cheers, again, ~ i've saved it to a WordDoc.

[darcy]

well,, i finally made that bear steak last night for hubby { and it looked like a nice cut o' meat, too }.
hubby raved about it, ~ said i got it nice and tender, and cooked it just right. *whew* .
{ i took pics, ~ will post when i get them off my digi }.

[wvjohn]

Yay! My wife has been making deer mincemeat for pies for the last couple of days. House smell like apples and spices.

[darcy]

wow,, your wife is a real cook master, doing all that work, John!

i wound up not using the marinade for the one steak, john { don't be mad!, ~ i saved the recipe because it seems to me to be a good one for large "roasts" }.

i called my mom and asked what she does to tenderize the meat, and this is what i got:
"oh,, i don't bother with marinades; just put it in water with some vinegar and let it sit in there for 3 days."
Q: how much vinegar, mom?
A: oh, i don't know,~ i don't measure anything."

so,,, armed w/that fount of detailed info { lol }, i put it in a tray, added water to cover, put in a splash of white vinegar; thought about it and then decided to add a splash of apple cider vinegar, too,~ and a wee bit o' lemon juice. also threw in some sliced onions just for the heck o' it. snapped on the lid and let it sit in the fridge for 3 days.

took it out, wiped it dry, and seasoned it like i do any regular/beef steak.

have absolutely no clue how long i cooked it { and still don't recall how long i pan-fried it }, but when it felt "right" to me when i depressed my finger into it, took it out o' the pan, let it sit for some minutes, served it to hubby and crossed my fingers. honest to goodness, i don't think i could manage it a second time, ~ lady luck must have been w/me that night : ).

i'm still curious as to what cut of meat it was; maybe from the pics someone will be able to tell me { once i transfer them off my digi }.

[BillyGoat]

Good job Darcy, you must have got some great lean cuts, and must be a hell of a cook. When my family survived of wild animals, we always made Bear stew or roast. We saved the good cuts of moose and elk for steaks