Smoked Black Bear Ham - is it safe?

We have a few bears that destroyed our apple and plum trees this fall...I think they might make some pretty good tasting ham.

I have a buddy that regularly grills the back straps off the bears his clients kill...He claims the hunters are sometimes reluctant but always end up eating it all and wanting more...Bear hams gotta be even better I would think.
 
Cook to 160 degree's. Excellent.
I sweet pickle brine with very little cure and just enough salt to flavor.
Same brine for Pork but, 10 days.
Bear seems to take the brine much faster, so 3 days is good, any longer and the meat gets a liver like texture.
Brine my bear jerky also. Can't get enough.
If there is interest in the brine recipe ,I am happy to post it.
Cheers
 
sfp said:
Cook to 160 degree's. Excellent.
I sweet pickle brine with very little cure and just enough salt to flavor.
Same brine for Pork but, 10 days.
Bear seems to take the brine much faster, so 3 days is good, any longer and the meat gets a liver like texture.
Brine my bear jerky also. Can't get enough.
If there is interest in the brine recipe ,I am happy to post it.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Please post recipies
 
Bear hams from a good clean bear that hasn't been eating fish, carrion or garbage makes awesome ham and the best sausage of any game animal. Look for fruit, grain , clover or alfalfa fed bears if possible. Cook like pork, the ham was always a major hit at our wildlife banquet.
 
We have taken bear hams into the butcher and he smokes them for us. Get it home slice it thin and it is just like corned beef.
 
mbogo3 said:
Never shot a fall bear but the spring ones taste horrible........no fat I guess? Harold
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Best spring bear is later in the season once they have been into clover for a few weeks. Need to let them get their systems working, get rid of all the build up from hibernation.
 
GMC403 said:
My Spring Bear has been spectacular, I'm actually starting to prefer Bear meat over (most) venison cuts.
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My experience as well. I hear such varied opinions on black bear meat that I really wonder if 90% of the negative stuff I hear about bear meat is due to how the bear is handled/processed post kill.

My group of 5 hunters got 4 bears this spring, end of May. All 4 bears were butchered and packed together so when we split the meat between the 5 of us, we surely got a sampling from each of the 4 bears. My family and I have consumed about 30lbs of my share so far and all meals have been fantastic! I've grilled the steaks, used the ground, cooked the roasts, even made jerky out of some last week. All delicious!
 
sfp said:
Cook to 160 degree's. Excellent.
I sweet pickle brine with very little cure and just enough salt to flavor.
Same brine for Pork but, 10 days.
Bear seems to take the brine much faster, so 3 days is good, any longer and the meat gets a liver like texture.
Brine my bear jerky also. Can't get enough.
If there is interest in the brine recipe ,I am happy to post it.
Cheers
Click to expand...

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.
 
H4831 said:
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.
Click to expand...

So you don't eat bacon?
 
H4831 said:
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.
Click to expand...

They didn't eat cheeseburgers either but I loves me a cheeseburger! ;)

Eating any meat entails risk. Some meats are riskier than others but ALL entail risk. Sometimes this risk can be mitigated by heating to a certain temperature. Bear meat doesn't have to be brought up to a certain temperature. But if you want to eat meat, it is best to know what the relative risks are and act accordingly.
 
Superstition kept the natives from eating their brother the bear.I've been handling wild game meat over 45 years so that's not it. It smells like wet dirty coyote while cooking.Mine were always early spring bear likely the problem..........Harold
 
flashman2 said:
Or chicken?

Or ground beef?
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I sure get tired of you guys that quote a bunch of crap and say I said it.
I said I didn't eat bear meat and that is all I said.
You guys made up the stuff about having to cook bacon to a certain temperature. and ground beef, or ground chicken. None of these things will hurt you if eaten raw, but there is extreme danger in eating bear meat that hasn't been heated enough to kill the deadly parasite in a great amount of raw bear.
 
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