{"id":5406,"date":"2022-01-28T15:24:55","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T15:24:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromfieldtotable.com\/?post_type=less_then_tender&p=5406"},"modified":"2022-02-23T13:51:09","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T21:51:09","slug":"black-bear-ham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromfieldtotable.com\/black-bear-ham\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Bear Ham"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0Of all the wild game animals that go into the frying pan (or any other method of cooking) black bear probably receives most of the bad rap about being edible. The OS FFTT team is here to offer you suggestions that will change your mind on eating black bear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Our own Margie Nelson (The Wyld Gourmet) shares her story and experience with Black Bear.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Montana people aren\u2019t much for bear meat, even though our regulations require the harvest of the whole animal.\u00a0\u00a0 Having said that, I had an opportunity to hunt bear in Idaho.\u00a0 You are not required to harvest the meat in Idaho, but I was determined to prove black bear was an outstanding choice for dinner fare.\u00a0\u00a0 I got a nice Black sow.\u00a0 Game on!\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So\u00a0I hatched a plan to turn the hind quarters into ham.\u00a0 I made sausage and bear shank stew and I was satisfied that bear was OK, if you were willing to spend the extra time making it that way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Since then I have found that fall bear is\u00a0actually quite\u00a0yummy.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The small black bear I was gifted\u00a0last fall really secured my idea that black bear is an excellent choice for the dinner table.\u00a0 This bear\u00a0had some of the tastiest back strap meat I have ever tried.\u00a0 I sliced it thin and fried it in butter with garlic, being careful to cook it well to not get trichinosis.\u00a0\u00a0Some say it can be cooked to a lower temperature, but I am sticking with at least 155F internally.\u00a0\u00a0Nobody wants the Trich!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This bear\u00a0was quite delicious, I wished I had more.\u00a0 I treated the hunters at the camp I was cooking for to some thin sliced bear with a drizzle of a smokey balsamic reduction I had worked up.\u00a0 Very\u00a0delicious\u00a0 I\u00a0also made Red curry bear with rice. Oh my, that is a winner also.\u00a0(Recipe coming soon)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Here is how you can make your own ham from the hind quarters of your bear.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We use RecTec <\/a>pellet smokers\/grills for all of our outdoor cooking and all of our wild game is processed using Made With Meat<\/a> equipment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Recipe by Margie Nelson<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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