Ever eaten bear meat? Taste? Texture? Is there a difference between black bear and brown bear meat?

Have eaten Black bear in stew as well as jerky. Taste same as whitetail.

Never had brown bear but black bear is excellent if done correctly. It is like mild venison with the texture of pork.

A few hints if you want to eat bear. Just like hogs (and most other game), smaller is better. For eating size I would look for a 125 to 150 lb black bear. If possible you also want a spring bear instead of a fall bear. The meat is extra tender after 5-7 months without exercise.

When cooking slower is better. Use a slow cooker for roasts. You also need to make sure all parts of the meat reach 160F in order to ensure all parasites are killed.

I've read that fall bear were preferred in the "old days" because of the high fat content. Plentiful fat is very rare in wild game and supposedly bear fat was highly regarded for baking, in the absence of domestic sources (pigs). Of course, none of that speaks to the meat quality of fall bears. I'm pretty sure that bears that have been eating grass and berries taste much better than bears that have been eating salmon, etc., but I've never eaten bear myself.

BIL shot a bear when we lived in Idaho. We may have prepared it wrong but the few recipes I remember him trying were not good!

I'd try it again but wasn't a fan of the stuff I've tried.

Yup. we outfit for black bear. For us fall is better. They have been feasting all summer on alfalfa, oats, canola, clover, usual wild feed and then the fall berry crop. Each to their own, but I have always found that animals on the gain are better eating than something that has been losing weight....... bodies under stress. Our sessions of trying spring bear meat always lead us back to fall bear when we want something to eat. Added bonus is all the fat. My wife renders it down for lard. Makes incredible pastry......... pie crusts are amazing.

The bear lard is also good for softening leather, dry skin salve. My wife gets dry skin patches in the winter when it is really cold and low humidity.......... swears by the "bear grease". Natives think it has medicinal properties and elders like to rub it on arthritic joints........ ya I know, just saying what they believe. Anyways, lots of uses............ did I mention pastry?

The meat is mild tasting and I have hunting clients who usually say it tastes like beef to them when we cook a roast for them or some backstrap. Young bear is good of course, but we have had clients shoot 600+ boars and the meat was just fine. Thing is that unless you live in bear country and can shoot them every year, guys going on a guided hunt don't usually want to shoot a "boo-boo" and the meat is a by-product to the trophy. Fear not, you can take a nice big bear and till have some good eating.

Two years ago I shot a very large late spring black bear in Manitoba. The meat was the worst game meat I have ever tried. It had a rancid odor when cooked. I know the meat was not rotten as we cleaned it fast and got it into a freezer pretty darn quick. I will try it again if I get another one but my first experience was not good. Someone speculated that the bear may have been eating a winter killed moose.

On a scale of 1 - 10 for me it would get a negative number. Killed a Black Bear in Alberta couple of years ago and never again. The meat was terrible. I'll pass!!

I have never shot a bear, but I am sure it taste good enough forme not to feel guilty if I get the chance to kill one.

I had a buddy that was a big bear hunter. He swore the meat was good.

I tried bear jerky 1 time and couldn't even finish the first piece. It was horrible.

It is some great meat, I have had 2 so far and it is the first to go out of the freezer. I have only had spring bear, I heard the winter meat is more greasy and tasty though.

I'd love to try it. Cancer got my buddy before I could beg a taste.

Sounds like bear meat is a lot like white bass and fresh water drum (goo). Many different opinions on taste. I like white bass, hate goo, and have never tried bear

I was not fond of it.

Scares me ...I smelled it one time and I can't get it out of my head

I wanna comment soooooooooo bad.

Before I was born my grandad shot one near Del Rio and brought it back to Dallas. He left it hanging in the garage and the grease pooled on the floor-grandma made him get rid of it.

Trichinosis. No thanks

People either love it or hate it. My dad shot one when I was a kid, back when you got a deer, turkey, and bear tag all in the general hunting license in New Mexico. I remember that it smelled bad and tasted worse. As my dad would say "the more you chew it the bigger it gets". We finally tried to feed it to the dog, and the dog would not eat it either. A buddy of mine has shot a couple out of an apple orchard and said they were excellent.

As for me I cannot forget it when I was a kid.... I will pass....

I didn't read all the posts but I have had bear roast. I was told that alot depends on what and where the bear eats. Also it was stressed that all the fat should be trimmed away and use beef suet. Like a lot of wile meat, lower heat longer. Delicious/

I tried it once and it was terrible. Couldn't physiologically get over the idea that bears are not something people should eat. Kinda felt like the feeling I would get if someone tried to get me to eat a dog. Just couldn't do it.

Dog can be very good is cooked right....

I killed two bears and ate them both. They were both taken in Arkansas and I thought they tasted like beef.

Skeeter,

I am from Montana we used to kill bear in the fall. We would just revisit elk or deer gut piles the day after we killed them. I have never tried spring bear but I liked the fall bear. As others have commented it is close to pork in its consistency and fat content, at least fall bear is. It has a distinct gamy taste if not seasoned and treated correctly. They carry trichinosis just like pigs so you need to cook them well.

We slow cooked roasts mainly for the bear but did make hamburgers out of the tougher lower leg meat. We also used the excess fat to add juice to our venison, both elk and deer when we made hamburger out of them. Bear's have a strong odor from the oil in their skin and hair, when you skin them. The meat does have a taint of that same odor if not properly seasoned.

When cooking my mother would remove all the excess fat (contains the strongest taint). Soak it in a marinade with salt, Worcestershire sauce, fresh rosemary sprigs, and minced garlic overnight in the fridge. Do not let the meat stand for longer than one hour at room temp. Then cook in slow cooker submerged in marinade on high for six hours. My Aunt cooked hers longer 10 hours on low, I could not tell the difference. I am sure you could find some recipes on line, if not for bear then wild boar from Europe I had some while I was stationed there and they tasted similar. Good luck