Smoked Black Bear Ham - is it safe?

[H4831]

The real facts of life are that store bought pork has not had trichinosis in it for a great many years, like probably at least 60 years.
It was only when hogs were raised on a very small, Ma and Pa type facility and fed the slop and garbage of the operation, that they developed trichinosis.

 

[Suther]

The real facts of life are that store bought pork has not had trichinosis in it for a great many years, like probably at least 60 years.
It was only when hogs were raised on a very small, Ma and Pa type facility and fed the slop and garbage of the operation, that they developed trichinosis.

Between 2008 and 2012, 10 cases of trichinosis in the USA were from commercial pork. Source :https://www.cdc.gov/mmWr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6401a1.htm

Clearly it's not a big risk, but the risk is there. (also, it should be noted that most people still think pork needs to be cooked well done, which would limit cases of trichinosis from pork)

 

[MiG25]

I have no interest in any meat that has to be brought up to a certain temperature, to be safe to eat.
In the boon docks of northerly Canada during the great depression, where most people lived on wild meat, they didn't eat bears.
Neither do north American native Indians.

Some groups ate bear some didn't. David Thompson recorded a whole bear being roasted with the hair being scraped off and lamented the waste of a good pelt.

 

[horseman2]

A few years ago we turned a "corn fed" black bear into sausage.

The butcher would not do Landjaeger Sausage as it is not cooked. Landjaeger Sausage is a special recipe using uncooked meats i.e. Venison.
All the other sausage was cooked and turned out great.

Once bear is turned into ham it would still be cooked before eating.

 

[H4831]

Reading these posts you'd think bear was the wild meat of choice in North America. Funny that pretty much everyone I've talked to Canada-wide say they can't even give it away.

I guess it's maybe the same as sandhill crane getting the internet name "ribeye of the sky".

I thought that title was reserved for shytpokes?

 

[medvedqc]

Bruce there is not a majority but some first nations are eating bears and that is including brown bears in Alaska.

now on the trichinosis thing despite what you ve heard pigs can still have it and you will not know before it is too late.

and i will stand my word bear meat can be a delicacy depending on their diet and the way you cook them and i ve ate bears in Europe and in Canada ...

but the best one are the one taken by a 9.3x62 ...

 

[genghis99]

Never shot a fall bear but the spring ones taste horrible........no fat I guess? Harold

Wow I find it exactly opposite! I've been eating bear meat for over 30 years and we find the key is proper care of the animal, and taking as much fat off as possible!

We typically skin the animal same day... and cut it the next day. But I prefer a spring bear over a fall because there's less fat to cut off and less marbling!

 

[medvedqc]

you have to avoid the skin to touch the meat ... we kept the last one with skin on for 4-5 days and it was a delicacy.

a fall bear feeding on berries just the thought of it ... mmmm...

 

[delta1]

Sweet Pickle brine recipe.
3 L water
3 Heaping tbsp pickle spice (take out some of the cloves if you want like)
1 tbsp pepper corns or ground pepper if you want a darker color.
5 whole red chillies
1/2 cup of good salt,(not table salt)1/3 of which is Morton tender quick
2/3 cup of sugar. (usually white but Demerara adds great flavor).
Gentle boil for 5 minutes, cool thoroughly. Inject large pieces of meat or soak jerky. Amazing quick marinate for chicken thighs. 2 hrs to overnight.
Bear, Venison & pork chops, I soak for 3 days, Pork loins , up to 10 days. Add the spices out of the brine to the fat cap and smoke. Makes amazing back bacon.

Enjoy

How long are you smoking the meat and at what temperature.
Thanks

 

[MD]

Never shot a fall bear but the spring ones taste horrible........no fat I guess? Harold

I've been shooting spring bears here in BC for years and they have been very good to eat.

 

[sfp]

Smoking at 175 until 155-160 internal. Time varies.
Cheers

 

[H4831]

Looks like no one knows what the AKA name for prairie shyte poke is.

 

[Mount Sweetness]

Recommend a Smoker?
What make/model are you guys using and where did you buy?
Do you prefer electric, propane etc?

 

[GMC403]

Recommend a Smoker?
What make/model are you guys using and where did you buy?
Do you prefer electric, propane etc?

Smoke Vault, propane.

May not be the best, but I find it works great.

I've seen propane smokers with a separate front door for the chip/burner section. I think that would work better than the single door model for regulating temperature.

 

[BeanKozi]

After reading through this thread I may just have to get myself a bear. Only ever ate it once, poorly prepared, and wrote it off. Time for a second chance, I think.

 

[GMC403]

After reading through this thread I may just have to get myself a bear. Only ever ate it once, poorly prepared, and wrote it off. Time for a second chance, I think.

Start off with pepperoni and sausage, it easy to do and will likely be the best you've tried.

 

[H4831]

Bruce there is not a majority but some first nations are eating bears and that is including brown bears in Alaska.

now on the trichinosis thing despite what you ve heard pigs can still have it and you will not know before it is too late.

and i will stand my word bear meat can be a delicacy depending on their diet and the way you cook them and i ve ate bears in Europe and in Canada ...

but the best one are the one taken by a 9.3x62 ...

It is very strange that I am even in this discussion, because I have only eaten bear meat once in my entire life! It was a roast from medium sized black bear, shot in early fall in a remote, clean bush area and well cared for. It had a sweet taste to it that I did not like.
I have often stated on these threads the great number of moose, elk and sometimes jumpers that have been shot during the great depression years, but I can't think of a single bear that I have known settlers to have shot for food.

 

[sfp]

Masterbuilt 40 " electric, Amazon. A must have is the add on cold smoker kit.(basspro or homedepot) Allows the use of sticks of wood and long unattended smoke times. No complaints. Shop around, prices vary a lot. Total with shipping was 449.00

 

[VanIsleCam]

The "eat bear?" question has been going around this forum and my group of friends for awhile now.

I have no point of reference as I have never eaten it. Having said that, to date (3 years with hunting license) I have about $60 bucks paid in tags without a black bear taken. Next opportunity in all likelihood will be this Spring up Island. I'm keen to try it so we will see.

 

[Diligence]

....we never ate the bears. My grandpa said “...we don’t eat bear.” So we didn’t. My dad had the same rule, but he told me it was because he didn’t like how a skinned bear looked. Said it was too human for him. He somehow asssociated a bear carcass with a human carcass, and it affected how he viewed them as game meat. I have given several bear (late spring shot) to First Nations folks in northern Saskatchewan (and the old grandmas loved me for it) and they were all smoked into pemmican. As an aside, she field dressed, skinned and butchered one of those bears with a 2” folder with a broken point....and fast!