doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Had bear for 1st time the other night.

Barbecued black bear brisket was on the menu at a little game dinner the wife & I attended on Saturday. The other game food options that night were elk, goose, pheasant, duck, and Minnesota walleye (which was our contribution). While I had some mild reservations about eating an omnivorous scavenger, I certainly tried it. This was reportedly not a "garbage bear" in any way (killed far-away from any humanity) and was fairly small (about 250lbs.)

I then went back for seconds (& I believe 3rds). I even tried what they were calling bear "chitlins" as appetizers (I believe they meant "cracklins" if I remember my Appalachian upbringing correctly) which... after some discussions about what chitlens really are (intestines), they then called them "chicharrones" which is a bit-more accurate. Most folks here would know them as "pork rinds". Dessert was a pretty-fair Banana's Foster made with a locally distilled rum (on hand to try as a drink as well) and I had a very good time, but...I fear that I was a bit frightful the next day (which is no fault of the bear).

Another interesting dish we tried was roasted elk shanks, which was shockingly-good as well (elk shanks are normally on my last-thing to do list when I'm processing an animal, need to re-evaluate that one).

I'm likely going to negotiate a swap for some of the rendered bear lard/oil for use with my coming (bespoke) Pennsylvania long rifle. I also hear that bear lard makes for some pretty tasty pie crusts?

Lloyd, I think you got the part about omnivorous scavenger right when it comes to black bear. Many of them do fatten up by visiting garbage dumps, etc., and I think that must affect the taste of the meat. I've eaten some bear that was tough, stringy, and not very tasty. But one of the absolute most delicious pieces of meat I've ever eaten was tenderloin from a small sow taken in big woods near Kinzua Dam.

I've noticed that diet definitely affects other game too. I concentrate my deer hunting to areas that are within a mile or so of corn and white oak acorns. The deer will browse on dozens of other foods, but they will eat a lot of those deer magnets when they are available, and it makes a big difference in the taste of the meat. The last thing I do after gutting is to make a quick slice on the forward stomach to see what they've been eating.

My now deceased m/l mentor was also a machinist/tool and die maker. He told me more than once that lard oil is the finest cutting oil known to man. Said he once was with Hacker Martin, in Hacker's shop in Gray, TN, watching him bore a m/l barrel with a brace and bit. He said he hit a spot where the bit stopped cutting as well as he wanted it to, and Hacker stopped, got some lard oil, put it down bore, and resumed boring.

SRH

That's interesting Stan. When I was plumbing the gas lines in my house, I was having trouble getting clean threads on the 3/4" and 1" black pipe. I tried using some old 1950's-60's vintage Ridgid Sulfur Lard cutting oil that came out of my grandfather's garage, and the same threading dies cut perfect smooth-as-glass threads on the same pipe.

Lard was used as a muzzleloader patch lubricant until petroleum lubes became cheap after Drake struck oil in 1856. And that is when shooters began having a lot more problems with corrosion causing rusting and pitting of bores. I now use the Thompson Center Natural Lube, and no longer have any problems with after rust.

I had it several times as a kid. It was always greasy, and tasted like it. I just crossed it off my list. I am pretty certain it was the only game meat I ever found objectionable.

I had black bear for the first time about three years ago and it was about as fine a meat as I have ever eaten. Beautiful almost sweet flavor and quite a lot more tender than I was expecting, and not greasy at all. Must have been a yearling but I'll never know... it was given to me by a local hunter who dropped into deer camp one night just to socialize and have a sip.

Lard Oil is a pretty good cutting oil, it does have to be kept fresh as it will turn rancid in a rather short time. "Best" thing I ever used for difficult cutting in over 35 years as a machinist has been "Illegal" since about the time I started my apprenticeship in 1964. Several of the "Old Timers" in the shop had supplies of it & when someone encountered a really tough situation they would bring it out. That was "Red Lead", which is not a liquid but more of a soft paste. It was way ahead of Lard Oil. "IF" Hacker Martin had some of it that bit would have gone through the barrel like a warm knife through butter.

What was in Red Lead, Miller?

SRH

[quote=Lloyd3

I'm likely going to negotiate a swap for some of the rendered bear lard/oil for use with my coming (bespoke) Pennsylvania long rifle. I also hear that bear lard makes for some pretty tasty pie crusts? [/quote]

I was once told by some Ontario friends that rendered bear lard is excellent for all types of pastry but we never tried it for pastry making. I can tell you that bear lard makes the absolute best fried potatoes I've ever had.

Brittany Man: I think I just mentally upped my offer of more birds (pheasants in this case) for more lard.

Does anybody here have a sense of the shelf-life and storage needs of such a substance?