In the summer of 2022, a family gathered in South Dakota for a reunion that included a special meal—kabobs made with the meat of a black bear that one of the family members had "harvested" from northern Saskatchewan, Canada, that May. Lacking a meat thermometer, the family assessed the doneness of the dark-colored meat by eye. At first, they accidentally served it rare, which a few family members noticed before a decision was made to recook it. The rest of the reunion was unremarkable, and the family members departed to their homes in Arizona, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
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I had friends back in California that hunted bear and between Willie and Debbie, they got at least one bear every season.
They'd invite me over for dinner and serve bear. That shit was nasty and greasy, and I eventually started finding excuses to refuse their invitations, especially within 4-5 months after the season was done.
I couldn't blame it on Debbie because she was an outrageous cook with any other kind of meat whether it was domesticated or wild game.
The only way to eat bear meat is with a big pot of beans and cornbread.
ReplyDeleteWell, bears are in fact closely related to swine, so that figures, I guess.
DeleteHmmm- I dunno- a bud of mine gets a bear every couple of years, & the burger he makes is the best I’ve ever had.
ReplyDelete"...nasty and greasy..." about sums up bear meat. And never try to make Jerkey with it. Trichinosis ain't worth risking.
ReplyDeleteI've helped cut up two bear working for a butcher now deceased in return for burger. The secret is to remove every.last.piece. of fat. The burger is excellent.
DeleteThe article mentions it's also in wild boar meat. It's my understanding its also in domestic pigs. Always cook your pork thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteThis is also why pork was cooked to 165 degrees or more. It insures the trichinellosis worms are killed. Although, reading the wikipedia, there are a lot more animals infected than I had previously known. So wild animal, and cooked more than 165 degrees provides safety. It explains why my grandparents always wanted the meat cooked to death.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Grandparents loved bacon and pork chops, but they were always cooked till the chops were almost crispy.
DeleteNever liked it. To strong for me.
ReplyDeleteGee...too bad they didn't have easy access to that evil incarnate horse paste Ivermectin.
ReplyDeleteParasites,
ReplyDeleteHow grizzly
-lg
Parasites,
DeleteHow grizzly.
This bears repeating.
My dad was a Maine Guide, and we ate lots of game. Venison, partridge (ruffed grouse to those from 'away'), woodcock, and black bear. Mom cooked the meat in a pressure cooker, after trimming every ounce of fat off the joint; it was fantastic. I would put it against the best pork I ever had. Dad only hunted deep-woods bear, never the local ones that haunted the open dumps in town; those were indeed nasty.
ReplyDelete