# First bear. Looking to smoke most. Need help



## rico13gt (Sep 5, 2013)

Finally shot my first bear. Weighed 270lbs dressed. Now the next fun part. Making sausage and bacon. 

I have never processed any bear meat and need to know how to prepare it?  I am going to use beef trimmings instead of pork since a bear is part of the pig family. Is there any difference from preparing bear meat for smoking from venison?
Thanks


----------



## themule69 (Sep 5, 2013)

Nice bear. I can't help you on fixing bear.

Happy smoken.

David


----------



## woodcutter (Sep 5, 2013)

Congratulations on your bear!! I have never made sausage with bear but have eaten bear steaks before and remember most of them were like fatty pork chops. You might want to find out what the fat to meat ratio is and doctor any sausage you make accordingly. I do know bear is carrier trichinae even more than pigs so getting cooked properly is very important.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/79857/bear-summer-sausage-w-mozzerella-cheese

I apologize, I really wasn't much help.


----------



## rico13gt (Sep 6, 2013)

Well I think I'm gonna treat it like venison. But I'm gonna use beer instead of pork. I am going to have a pile of meat so I should be able to do a few batches and find out what works best. Ill post when I do it. It may be a while but ill get it done.


----------



## woodcutter (Sep 6, 2013)

Looking forward to it!


----------



## daveomak (Sep 6, 2013)

rico, morning.... Nice bear....   congrats.... If you think there are parasites in the meat, freeze it for at least a month...  that's the recommendation with wild pigs anyway....  I've eaten bear a few times...  but have no idea on fat content etc...   Ham and bacon is supposed to be very good.... I would de-bone and cure whole muscles....  skip the bone in ham...  easier and safer as far as bone sour is concerned...   Check out snorkelinggirl's threads on making hams....    Wish I could be of more help....  We do have many members that can chime in here and give you some great advice.... 
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=bear+meat
There is a search for bear meat....  You'll have to sift through the threads a bit as Bearcarver shows up frequently as "bear".....  He's got good recipes too....   

Dave


----------



## hatebreed (Sep 9, 2013)

Nice bear. Hoping to get my first one in october


----------



## Bearcarver (Sep 9, 2013)

Nice Bear Rico!!!

I was going to get some Bear meat 2 years ago, but I backed out of it.

It was a 535 pound Black Bear, and I figured it took them much too long to get it in & cooled down, so I kinda backed out.

I wish I could help more, but if you're going to freeze it to avoid parasites, I would make that ZERO degrees for 30 days.

There are other formulas using lower temps for shorter times, but that's also the one I use for Salmon.

I'm betting if you can't get what you need here, a Google search of Bear sausage would help.

A lot more Bear hunters there.

Bear


----------



## rico13gt (Sep 9, 2013)

Well I got my at 7pm temp was around 70. He was field dressed within an hour and outta the woods packed in ice with a/c blowing on him with in two hours. I am not concerned about parasites in this bear. With that being said I took it to a professional meat processor bc that is a skill I lack in. I got 22lbs of steak, 46lbs of roasts and 62lbs to put to bacon and sausage. I smoked a roast last night and it was as expected. Fatty and some grisle. Next time I will treat it like a brisket and really slow cook it. I am happy with the overall taste since I've heard horror stories. In two weeks I'm hoping to be making a 50lb batch of bacon. Going to use a 60/40 mix with pork and ill be getting the seasoning from curleys. I will post pics and a link in this thread. Thanks for the compliments and advice guys.


----------



## Bearcarver (Sep 10, 2013)

rico13gt said:


> Well I got my at 7pm temp was around 70. He was field dressed within an hour and outta the woods packed in ice with a/c blowing on him with in two hours. I am not concerned about parasites in this bear. With that being said I took it to a professional meat processor bc that is a skill I lack in. I got 22lbs of steak, 46lbs of roasts and 62lbs to put to bacon and sausage. I smoked a roast last night and it was as expected. Fatty and some grisle. Next time I will treat it like a brisket and really slow cook it. I am happy with the overall taste since I've heard horror stories. In two weeks I'm hoping to be making a 50lb batch of bacon. Going to use a 60/40 mix with pork and ill be getting the seasoning from curleys. I will post pics and a link in this thread. Thanks for the compliments and advice guys.


Sounds Great, Rico!!!

Be sure & do some posts on your Bear Smokes, for next time somebody asks for help with smoking Bear meat !!!

I wish we had more help for you.

BTW: You did Great getting yours out & cooled----A 270 pound Bear is NO Lightweight !!!

I can't even imaging how they moved that 535 pounder from deep in a PA swamp.

Sometimes I near killed myself dragging a measly 120 to 190 LB Deer out.

Bear


----------



## rico13gt (Sep 21, 2013)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/149351/smoking-bear-bacon-q-view
Here is my thread on my bear bacon I am doing this weekend.


----------

