Is bear fat worth rendering?

[Rob]

Good deal!  Thanks

[jamesfromseattle]

Does anyone use it to mix with their venison burger?

[jrebel]

Does anyone use it to mix with their venison burger?

I don’t mix it with my burger, will absolutely use it in the cast iron to cook my burger (ground or patty) in.  I use it as a cooking oil, like I would any other oil.   

[MeepDog]

Does anyone use it to mix with their venison burger?

I've heard it doesn't freeze well unrendered and will spoil. If you render it will keep forever but I wouldn't put rendered fat into sausage either. I stick to pork back fat.

That being said the only experience I've had with bear fat going sour was on a back ham in a freezer. The properties don't seem that dissimilar to pork I'm just going off what I've been told. If you test it please report back in a year.

[jamesfromseattle]

Does anyone use it to mix with their venison burger?

I've heard it doesn't freeze well unrendered and will spoil. If you render it will keep forever but I wouldn't put rendered fat into sausage either. I stick to pork back fat.

That being said the only experience I've had with bear fat going sour was on a back ham in a freezer. The properties don't seem that dissimilar to pork I'm just going off what I've been told. If you test it please report back in a year.

Awesome, thanks. That reasoning makes sense. I’m still looking for my first bear (and I’m running out of daylight this season), but a guy can dream.

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

Exactly, shooting a trash bear is extremely predictable to taste like trash.

That's what a native friend told me years ago. He was offering for me to come try it out. I respectfully declined.

.
Late 70's and early 80's we used to shoot rats at the Darrington dump.
.
Saw lots of bear..
Honestly, wouldn't want to eat one, and it was usually not season...
But they sure had nice coats .
.
Honestly, they are so much thicker in the winter..,
.
And, yes.. I'm saying we saw bear in the winter.
They were not "sluggish" at all..

[Rob]

Bears are not true hibernators as I think we all know.  I have seen them walking around on frozen lakes in the middle of January. 

[lokidog]

It is absolutely worth it! Makes amazing soap, waterproofing, pastry, etc.

And, my dogs love the "chitlins" left over as treats.

[Rob]

Is it supposed to reach a simmer when it is done?  I had a few bubbles showing, but kept the temp at 200 or lower during the 7 hours.

Mine is pretty much half liquid at room temp and I am expecting it to be more like warm butter at room temp.

Perhaps I need to re heat it and get it to a simmer (but not a boil)

[jrebel]

Mine is definitely at a simmer with small bubbles for the last hour or two.   After cooling it is white as snow. 

Have you put it in the fridge or freezer to solidify it?   I bet if you did that it would be fine.  You don’t want to leave it at room temp or it will go rancid.  Store in the fridge or freezer. 

How much water did you add to the pot when you started the process???  I would think after 7 hours it was all evaporated off.  I only add 1/4 ish inch to the bottom of the stock pot. 

[dreadi]

It is absolutely worth it! Makes amazing soap, waterproofing, pastry, etc.

And, my dogs love the "chitlins" left over as treats.

How do you get pig intestines from bear fat?


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[Rob]

Mine is definitely at a simmer with small bubbles for the last hour or two.   After cooling it is white as snow. 

Have you put it in the fridge or freezer to solidify it?   I bet if you did that it would be fine.  You don’t want to leave it at room temp or it will go rancid.  Store in the fridge or freezer. 

How much water did you add to the pot when you started the process???  I would think after 7 hours it was all evaporated off.  I only add 1/4 ish inch to the bottom of the stock pot.

It solidifies up in the fridge.  I took one out for the night and the top 1/3 was back to clear liquid, with the bottom 2/3's white and somewhat solid, but not solid.

I actually did not add any water - I just ran the fat thru a fine grinder and put the resulting mush into the pot - it liquified pretty fast and I kept it well stirred so it would not burn into the bottom of the pot.

I am wondering if only letting it get to 195ish degrees somehow did not allow it to finish the rendering process.

[tvandy45]

My buddy shot an oregon coastal black bear in 2022 that had been eating nothing but blackberries all september - we probably got 30 pounds worth of fat and rendered all of it. I'm not much of a baker so I cant speak to pastries but I love searing my steaks with it as well as making soups. You can even get the smallest hint of blackberry if you get the right bite. If I pressure can my deer/elk meat ill throw rendered fat in each jar to give it some additional moisture as well

[jrebel]

Mine is definitely at a simmer with small bubbles for the last hour or two.   After cooling it is white as snow. 

Have you put it in the fridge or freezer to solidify it?   I bet if you did that it would be fine.  You don’t want to leave it at room temp or it will go rancid.  Store in the fridge or freezer. 

How much water did you add to the pot when you started the process???  I would think after 7 hours it was all evaporated off.  I only add 1/4 ish inch to the bottom of the stock pot.

It solidifies up in the fridge.  I took one out for the night and the top 1/3 was back to clear liquid, with the bottom 2/3's white and somewhat solid, but not solid.

I actually did not add any water - I just ran the fat thru a fine grinder and put the resulting mush into the pot - it liquified pretty fast and I kept it well stirred so it would not burn into the bottom of the pot.

I am wondering if only letting it get to 195ish degrees somehow did not allow it to finish the rendering process.

I’m gonna leave some set out and bring it to room temp and see what it does.   I can’t say I ever leave mine out of the fridge long enough to know.   I’ll run the experiment and get back to you.   It may be normal. 

[Rob]

Mine is definitely at a simmer with small bubbles for the last hour or two.   After cooling it is white as snow. 

Have you put it in the fridge or freezer to solidify it?   I bet if you did that it would be fine.  You don’t want to leave it at room temp or it will go rancid.  Store in the fridge or freezer. 

How much water did you add to the pot when you started the process???  I would think after 7 hours it was all evaporated off.  I only add 1/4 ish inch to the bottom of the stock pot.

It solidifies up in the fridge.  I took one out for the night and the top 1/3 was back to clear liquid, with the bottom 2/3's white and somewhat solid, but not solid.

I actually did not add any water - I just ran the fat thru a fine grinder and put the resulting mush into the pot - it liquified pretty fast and I kept it well stirred so it would not burn into the bottom of the pot.

I am wondering if only letting it get to 195ish degrees somehow did not allow it to finish the rendering process.

I’m gonna leave some set out and bring it to room temp and see what it does.   I can’t say I ever leave mine out of the fridge long enough to know.   I’ll run the experiment and get back to you.   It may be normal.

Thanks!  Greatly appreciated