How to cook bear steaks?

[shedcrazy]

In the oven

[JackOfAllTrades]

Roasts and smoke cured hams. Chops thin fried with seasonings- Especially garlic.  Ground, mixed with ground beef.

-Steve

[runamuk]

There have only been six recorded cases of Trichnosis in the last 27 years with the most recent being in 2007 when a hunter got thricnosis from eating raw cougar meat. People rarely get trichnosis from pig meat since it became illegal to feed pigs garbage. They can only be fed "pig food."

trichinosis is a parasite that they get from eating meat so it is only in carnivores and omnivores not herbivores.  Pigs dont get trichinosis since they outlawed feeding them carcasses and yes pigs will happily gobble up carcasses and offal and get nice and plump doing it, when I was a kid "dairy calf" day we werent allowed at the neighbors, mom didnt really want us seeing the hogs eating dead calves

[bearpaw]

There have only been six recorded cases of Trichnosis in the last 27 years with the most recent being in 2007 when a hunter got thricnosis from eating raw cougar meat. People rarely get trichnosis from pig meat since it became illegal to feed pigs garbage. They can only be fed "pig food."

I don't know if it's recorded or not. But the local story was more than that many people caught it from the one guys jerky.

Cook your meat well done and you don't have any worries....


See the info below, 88 cases annually.   http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000671.htm

Editorial Note: Although the incidence of trichinosis has decreased markedly from 300 to 400 cases reported annually in the late 1940s (1) to a mean of 88 cases reported annually over the past 5 years, trichinosis remains a public health problem in the United States. The outbreaks presented here highlight interesting aspects of the epidemiology and control of trichinosis. A large number of the cases reported each year occur in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, a finding that has been associated with the high concentration of ethnic groups in those regions whose culinary preferences include raw pork (1). In addition, recent studies suggest that swine from these regions may be more highly infected than those of other regions. Surveys of selected slaughterhouses in the New England and Middle Atlantic states found infection rates of 0.73% and 0.58%, respectively (2,3), surpassing the estimated national average rate of 0.1% (4). These findings were attributed to certain swine-management practices (garbage feeding, rat infestation ((5)), and cannibalism) by small and/or part-time hog producers common to these regions. In light of the culinary preferences of the resident ethnic groups of these areas, the relative importance of these findings needs further investigation.


Everything you may ever want to know about Trichinosis: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5206a1.htm

(Part of the story)

During 1997--2001, a total of 18 states reported 72 cases of trichinellosis to CDC, including nine outbreaks involving >2 persons. States in the Midwest and Mountain West accounted for 63 (88%) cases, of which 50 (69%) were reported from five states: California (21), Ohio (nine), Illinois (seven), Montana (seven), and Alaska (six) (Table 1). The nine common-source outbreaks occurred in these five states and accounted for 33 (46%) cases (Table 2). Of the 72 cases, 52 (72%) occurred among males. The median age of patients was 45 years (range: 3--81 years) (Figure 1).

During 1997--2001, a total of 55 (76%) of the 72 patients had at least one common sign or symptom of trichinellosis; 46 (64%) had myalgia, 39 (54%) had eosinophilia, 33 (46%) had fever, and 22 (31%) had periorbital edema. A total of 40 (56%) patients reported more than one sign or symptom. Of the 17 patients who did not report signs or symptoms, one was a girl aged 3 years with a positive Trichinella antibody titre but no eosinophilia, fever, or periorbital edema; myalgia could not be assessed. The signs and symptoms of the remaining 16 patients were unknown. For the 24 patients for whom the dates of consumption of the implicated meat and the onset of symptoms were available, the median incubation period was 13 days (range: 1--50 days).

Of the 72 patients, 54 (75%) had serologic testing performed; 50 (93%) were seropositive for Trichinella antibodies. Muscle biopsies were performed on four (6%) patients; all were positive.

The source of infection was known or suspected for 57 (79%) patients. Pork products were associated with 22 (39%) cases: 12 with commercial pork, nine with home-raised or direct-from-farm swine, and one with a wild boar. Of the 12 cases associated with commercial pork, eight were linked to U.S. commercial pork, and four were linked to pork obtained in Egypt, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia. Nonpork products were associated with 30 (53%) cases: 29 with bear meat and one with cougar meat. The source of infection was unknown for 20 (35%) cases; these included five cases that were associated with both pork and nonpork products. Because a single type of meat could not be implicated, each patient was classified as having an unknown source of infection. None of the meats consumed by these five patients were examined for larvae (Table 3).

During 1997--2001, implicated meat was examined for Trichinella larvae in 34 cases, which included cases from seven of the nine common-source outbreaks. Larvae were present in meat associated with 32 of the 34 cases, including all seven of the outbreaks for which meat was examined. These outbreaks accounted for 29 of the 32 cases. Five outbreaks were linked to larvae-positive bear meat (Montana 1997, five cases; Ohio 1998, eight cases; Alaska 2000, four cases; California 2001, two cases; and California 2001, two cases). Two outbreaks were linked to larvae-positive meat from home-raised swine (California 2001, six cases; California 2001, two cases). Three isolated cases also were associated with larvae-positive meat: two with bear and one with cougar.

The method of cooking the meat was identified in 38 (53%) of 72 cases: uncooked, 20 cases; open fire roasted or barbequed, 14 cases; fried, 13 cases; stewed, six cases; baked, two cases; and microwaved, one case. Certain cases were associated with multiple cooking methods.

The source of the meat was identified in 55 (76%) of 72 cases. Meat was purchased commercially in 12 cases: supermarket, nine cases; butcher shop, one case; restaurant, one case; and a county fair, one case. Meat was obtained noncommercially in 41 cases: directly from a farm or from a home-raised animal, nine cases (all pork); and hunted or trapped, 32 cases (29 bear meat, one cougar meat, one wild boar meat, and one moose/quail/pheasant meat). The meat was consumed in another country in four cases: two in Yugoslavia (pork) and one each in Egypt (pork) and Vietnam (pork).

Of the nine trichinellosis outbreaks, five were associated with bear meat, two with home-raised swine, and two with commercial pork. In December 1997, an outbreak of five cases in Montana was associated with bear jerky. In October--December 1998, an outbreak of eight cases in Ohio was associated with meat from a bear killed in northern Ontario, Canada, in March 1998 and transported back to the United States. The meat was prepared as a roast, a spaghetti dish, and hamburgers and eaten on October 13, 1998, at a church barbeque. The hunter tested positive for Trichinella by muscle biopsy. Another member of the outbreak tested positive by enzyme immunoassay and bentonite flocculation antibody tests. The remaining six cases were linked epidemiologically through the church barbeque. In August--September 2000, an outbreak of four cases in Alaska was associated with steaks from a bear killed in Alaska in August 2000 and fried on a camp stove. In August 2001, an outbreak of two cases in California was associated with "medium-rare" barbequed meat from a bear killed in Alaska in June 2001. In November 2001, an outbreak of two cases in California was associated with uncooked bear meat. Of the two outbreaks associated with home-raised swine, one was associated with uncooked pork (California, May 2001, two cases), and the other was associated with a combination of fried, barbequed, stewed, and uncooked pork (California, May--June 2001, six cases). Of the two outbreaks associated with commercial pork, one was associated with homemade pork sausage and jerky (Illinois, March--May 1999, two cases), and the other was associated with sausage and smoked pork consumed in Yugoslavia (Illinois, January 2000, two cases).

In previous years, seasonal peaks in trichinellosis in the United States were observed in December and January, corresponding to consumption of homemade pork sausage during the Christmas holidays (6). However, during 1997--2001, no such pattern was observed for patients with known dates of illness onset in which commercial pork products were the only implicated meats (Figure 2). For cases in which noncommercial pork products were the only implicated meats, seasonal peaks occurred in May and June and were associated with home-raised swine (Figure 3). For cases in which nonpork products were the only implicated meats, seasonal peaks occurred during August--September and November--December and were associated with bear meat (Figure 4).

[lewy]

I just cubed some of mine up the other day and threw it in a crock pot, it was probably the best stew ive ever had. (I used backstrap meat)

[quadrafire]

Everything you may ever want to know about Trichinosis: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5206a1.htm

Thanks for posting that ----Interesting reading--- If I ever kill a bear it will be cooked to at least 160. I had heard about an incident with cougar jerky infecting a bunch of folks.
Looks like in pork freezing kills the larvae, but may not in bear.

[HuntNFish]

Thanks for the cooking tips and advise.  Either way I prepare it, I am going to be  some good tasting bear.

[billythekidrock]

How do you guys feel about bear burger? Or ground in butchers terms?

My wife and 18 month old daughter love ground venison, in the form of meatballs, hamburger helper, and chili meat.  But they wont touch the chops. 

I'm confident i'm gonna get my first bear this year and was debating on how to have my meat done up. I'm leaning towards gettting the majority back in ground and only a few choice chops back since it seems to best fit my families needs. But i've never had ground bear ...  Thoughts???

I throw bear meat in my deer/elk burger all the time.

[bearhunter99]

Make sure you use a meat thermometer when you cook it.  Bear meat remains a dark red color even when well done.  The first bear steaks I ever cooked I turned into slabs of concrete wating for them to turn "light pink"

[dirty24d]

Make sure you use a meat thermometer when you cook it.  Bear meat remains a dark red color even when well done.  The first bear steaks I ever cooked I turned into slabs of concrete wating for them to turn "light pink"

lol  good call.!!   

[CementFinisher]

Sorry to jack the tread but i had some of my bear made up into summer sausage and after i take a roll out of the freezer it will turn slimy or mold within 5-6 days, never experienced this with deer, is it normal?

[ICEMAN]

Sorry to jack the tread but i had some of my bear made up into summer sausage and after i take a roll out of the freezer it will turn slimy or mold within 5-6 days, never experienced this with deer, is it normal?

Not normal in my opinion....  Moldy in the fridge? Yuck.

[Ray]

I like to bake them. Several good ideas on this topic.