What do you do with bear meat?

[ksberry209]

I have never wanted to bear hunt but have been told countless times by DFG guys in the field that if I value deer hunting I need to start harvesting bears. I’m a back country hunter so I’m not chasing trash / camp ground bears. I’m on the fence about getting a bear tag tomorrow before I head out for the D3-5 opener. I always see bears when hunting.

So if I do get a tag and I’m pretty confident I will see a bear where do I take it to process it around the Sacramento or Placerville area? I figure a lot of sausage and maybe a roast or 2. I know cook it well done!!! How do CA black bears taste?

 

[Planetcat]

Do it! First of all, harvesting a bear is an adrenaline rush and they are amazing animals. But overpopulated in some areas of the state due to use of dogs being prohibited a few years back, so they need to be thinned.
Secondly, there are a lot of recipes available on the internet. Like most critters, size, gender, and diet dictate how the meat tastes. I’m in El Dorado County and there are a couple butchers I’d talk to about meat cuts and sausage blends. I’ve eaten a lot of black bear sausage from upper northern California from different butchers with different recipes. All tasty and very high in protein. Give it a try. If it’s not for you, then you’ll know.

 

[ksberry209]

Thanks. The other part of this is I will be walking back at least 5 miles and not sure I want to deal with carrying out 200 pound bear (yea I know wishful thinking and all) compared to maybe a 70# deer on my back.

 

[JPHunt44]

The beats I hunt are usually on berries or acorns and taste great. I process myself and usually do ground for tacos and roast in the slow cooker. I treat it like beef but just cook it to higher internal temp.