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.
