iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

Black Bear Chili

Started by Jeff, August 25, 2020, 10:16:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Jeff

A month or 2 ago one of Jeremy 's buds hit a young bear with a pickup. I got gifted a package of burger, so tonight I made a pot of Black Bear Chili. I must be good, because I figured I'd have to fight just to make it edible. Instead, it's really great!



 
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

Southside

My own experience with bear meat, from one I shot many moons back, is that it's either the best, most amazing meat you have ever had, or it's - "how much of this do I have left" bad... and from the same animal.  Ate it all, and some was better than T bone steak, but some of it....
Franklin buncher and skidder
JD Processor
Woodmizer LT Super 70 and LT35 sawmill, KD250 kiln, BMS 250 sharpener and setter
Riehl Edger
Woodmaster 725 and 4000 planner and moulder
Enough cows to ensure there is no spare time.
White Oak Meadows

Jeff

The first time I ever had bear, I thought it tasted just like roast beef.

Boiled in motoroil.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

K-Guy



Years ago, a friend of mine used to hunt for bear in the fall, trying to get a young one(2-3 years old) because they weren't as gamy or tough. Then it is very good meat. Also in that area, they had been eating corn for a while and were far enough from town that they weren't garbage dump bears.
Nyle Service Dept.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- D. Adams

Jeff

Yea, my expectations were not high, although I'd been told this was the best tasting bear any of the guys had ever had. I looked at the burger and could see it was well trimmed and processed like I would have done it.  My venison chili recipe calls for a mix of pork sausage, so  i did that here to. It was really good. Leftovers today!
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

doc henderson

chili for two days in a row... do not stand so close to the fire for a few days... be safe! :)  looks great!
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

K-Guy


Another guy I knew like to get a bear and a deer at about the same weight to make pepperoni with. The deer is lean and the bear fatty, mixed together they made great sausage and yes this was a pepperoni addict. I think he put in or on everything.
Nyle Service Dept.
A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- D. Adams

gspren

I believe I remember reading that bear meat is more like pork than beef, what I had was good.
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

Chuck White

Yes, much like pork!

You can even get triconosis from it, as in pork!

Cook it well!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

sawguy21

I am not a big fan of game, my parents grew up on it during the Great Depression and wouldn't have it in the house so I never got used to it. I like venison or elk on occasion but could never get past bear.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

SwampDonkey

My grandpa used to render the bear fat for the grease to make a home made liniment for arthritic knees. Only thing I seen that cured that was fishing or hunting season. ;D  
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

mike_belben

Quote from: Jeff on August 25, 2020, 10:51:59 PM
... tasted just like roast beef.

Boiled in motoroil.
:D :D
Praise The Lord

mike_belben

Being pretty poor weve had a lot of church folk drop off deer parts (seems theyre always in walmart bags) over the years and of course the toughest bits make up the bulk of it.  Lotta necks, shoulders and forearms that are riddle with connective tissue that cant be reasonably sorted from the muscle.  I didnt have a grinder until last year either.  It proved too stringy for jerky.  


What evolved was my strategy for the "gamey stuff."  First, age it in the fridge until the red is gone and its going brown.  Smell check, make it dinner JUST before it starts to smell like its turned.  Bacteria breaks down tissue and youll smell it.  Well rigor mortis is a lot of your gameyness and bacteria will decompose that for you.  

Next soak in a bowl of water to leach out all the blood.  Change it out repeatedly until its mostly clear with just a touch of orange.   Your half way there with aging and washing.  

Now, these silver skin parts dont work for baking, grilling or frying.  They are much better for liquid submerged simmering.  You can use water, chicken or beef broth or stock, or a few cans of soup.  I use whatever i got, including the liquids from cans of corn or green beans or whatever else i dump in.  I also include a splash of vinegar and some form of booze, usually a glug of whiskey.  Acid and alcohol both help dissolve muscle and tendon.  Butter, garlic, onions, squash, maters, whatever seasoning.

I put that pot over a lazy oak, hickory, maple fire half the day on simmer until i can fish the forearms or spine out clean, and try not to eat it until tomorrow. Because its twice as good the next day.  

Liquified tendon is incredibly flavorful.  It almost tastes like butter.  People who eat a bowl of this stuff usually think its some sort of pork tender loin.  Meat that cuts by spoon.  


Ive never cooked bear but by you guys description, this is how id approach it. Age, wash, alcohol, acid and simmer.
Praise The Lord

WV Sawmiller

Jeff,

   I am glad your bear chili turned out swell. I am glad your friends salvaged it rather than wasting it even though it was not an intentional kill. My experience with bear has been very limited and nothing to write home about. I won't shoot the ones on my place (Well I did shoot one in the butt with a slingshot a few years back when she was getting into my deer feeder but no real harm done. :D)

    I guess I am different than many on the deer aging question. I never age mine. We eat a lot and even had Corned tenderloin for dinner last night. I hang my deer overnight on my skinning rack when the weather is just above freezing or in the barn if below freezing just so they chill but don't freeze. They cut up easier when chilled. I soak any blood shot pieces and pour off the water several times if there is any - I am usually pretty close and shoot them in the head or sometimes the neck so not a lot of that to contend with. The next day I go out and de-bone them right off the skinning rack. I make the backstrap, tenderloin and brisket into corned deer. I leave the bone in the neck and shoulders and cook them for roasts. When cooked the meat falls right off the bone and the tendons slip right out - I find it is much easier to de-bone those cuts after cooked. I cut the hams into steaks and cube them. The trimmings I make into bulk sausage and mix about 4:1 with cheap fatty sausage and season to taste. I take an ice cream scoop and make little meatballs out of them and my wife puts them in vacuum bags and presses them into patties before sealing. When frozen we can break them apart to cook only as many as we need. If I already have enough sausage I pack the trimmings into pint jars and can them in the pressure cooker and use it for BBQ, hash, etc. On rare occasions I will make burger and grind up the trimmings with fat pork Boston butt or add ground pork and make bigger meatballs and flatten them in the vacuum bags. That is a very easy and clean way to make patties.

   I'm still trying to figure a way to make corned deer right in the jar in the pressure cooker. I think just just add spices and can it and it seasons during the process. i have not found a recipe or process I like yet for that.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Jeff

No aging of venison here. It can age in the freezer, but it won't age there long!  The secret to good venison is simply to trim all the connective tissue and silver, don't get a any hair in it and DONT USE A BONE SAW! Bone everything out and cut with a knife. and don't put shot up or bloody meat in the burger.  People that don't like venison are the people that had poorly processed venison. No way in heck would I take my deer to a meat processor that processes like they would beef.  We hang by the neck long enough to get the hide off and quarter the meat.  It takes Tammy and I about 3hrs to process a deer from hanging to vacuum packed in the freezer.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

SwampDonkey

Moose off these old farms is a lot like beef, not gamey like deer. Now moose out in the back country may taste different.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

WV Sawmiller

   When I hear people talk about a gamey taste I immediately figure it was poor processing. I bet you could take a prime, fat yearling beef, throw it on the hood of your car or back of your truck and drive it around a couple of days, hang it up a couple of days and finally get around to skinning and processing and get hair and dirt all over the meat and people would claim it tasted gamey too.

   I generally hunt a quarter mile or so up the mountain above our house so when I shoot a deer I immediately drag it to a spot I can throw it on the ATV then drive it to my skinning rack and skin it. I never field dress one because I can have it hanging in a few minutes and they are much easier and cleaner to skin intact than after they have been field dressed.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

TroyC

I eat lots of venison and I've been complimented several times on the lack of the gamey flavor people expect.

A good trick is to neck shoot. That way nothing inside is opened up or allowed to taint anything.

Deer go from harvest immediately to skinning rack. No field dressing required. Loaded on a trailer for clean transport. Within the first hour it is skinned, opened and cleaned, washed, and if it is cool enough outside I let it hang long enough to dry off, couple hours or so. I've been known to quarter then soak in cool water to quickly cool meat.

Then carcass goes in walk in cooler set at 36 degrees. Last year I let hang for 10 days, this year I'm gonna try 14.

Debone, cut into steaks, burger meat, whatever, Run a bunch thru the cuber as I like fried cube steak along with mashed taters and beans, biscuits (of course), and gravy. Vacuum seal, label, and done.

My two bucks last year were harvested peak of rut, full swell. No gamey taste after processing.

I've found in the past that a dog run deer will be gamey. Also, one that takes several hours to find will be gamey.

mike_belben

Quote from: Jeff on August 29, 2020, 11:30:30 AM
  The secret to good venison is simply to trim all the connective tissue and silver, don't get a any hair in it and DONT USE A BONE SAW! Bone everything out and cut with a knife. and don't put shot up or bloody meat in the burger.  
Im doing all that with the backstraps, loins and bigger steaks.  What do you guys do with necks and forearms... Just grind it?
Praise The Lord

Jeff

Separate, trim off all connective tissue. Stew meat or burger.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

WDH

I clean off all the silver skin and connective tissue as I trim the meat for either grinding or cubing. 

I take a freshly harvested deer that has been skinned and quartered, and along with the other parts like the backstraps and tenderloins, put it all in a good cooler and completely fill with ice.  Leave cooler drain open.  Leave it outside under a shed or some place where it can drain.  This lets all the blood flow out. Check every day or so and add more ice as needed.  Leave in the cooler for 7 to 9 day, then de-bone, grind, cube, etc, and freeze.  Easy to do and my deer never taste gamey. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

WV Sawmiller

Mike,

   As I mentioned above I just leave the bone in the neck and shoulders and cook them as a roast. I may cut the hocks off the front shoulder and package the pair as a small roast for me and my wife. If I need more trimmings for sausage I may debone a shoulder. 

   Take a shoulder or neck (Bone in), brown it on both sides in a big cast iron Dutch oven or oval roaster (I have both) add about a pint sized can of cream of mushroom soup, add a big onion, fill all remaining space with peeled carrots, potatoes (White and/or sweet), season with salt and pepper, fill the rest of the space with water and put the lid on and cook at about 300 degrees F and by time the taters and carrots are done the meat will be falling off the bone. Makes a good entree as is, pull  leftovers off the bone for terrific sandwiches, add BBQ sauce for good BBQ, or take 1-2 cups of left over meat, dice or shred it, peel and dice 5-6 taters and a big onion, fry them brown, add the meat and worchestire  and hot sauce for great hash.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Walnut Beast

A quick clean kill on your deer is where it all starts. Then gutting it as soon as you can to cool. If not done properly you will taint the meat. If it's gut shot or stomach is cut into. You better get it cleaned out right away. Only spray with water or wash if you have to. It helps enter bacteria into the meat. Hang your deer to age it if the temperature doesn't get to warm, debone the whole deer while hanging. In one container scraps for grind and another steaks and roasts. Cut your steaks up, grind your burger and vacuum seal. 

mike_belben

Praise The Lord

thecfarm

Come on!! Can't one of you guys invite me over for dinner!!!  :D :D
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Thank You Sponsors!