Need A Recipe For Bear?

Well, it's the second day of black bear hunting in New Jersey. Yesterday the first hunters were out in foggy weather and all in order to bag the first bear of the "season". Townsquare reporter Stacy Proebstle was out with the hunters braving the cold foggy weather and managed to snap some impressive pictures of the animals.

Hunting is always an incredibly derisive issues, and the six day black bear hunt wasn't without it's detractors.

While both side's make valid arguments as their reasons for being for or against the hunt, as a non huntsman I do find bear hunting specifically peculiar. I've have several acquaintances who are avid hunters however it's mostly for fowl, not anything nearly as large as a bear or even a deer. They've invited me to go along but waking up at an unreasonable time in the morning is difficult enough when I do it for work, the prospect of suiting up and shuffling off into the cold woods doesn't seem appealing at all.

Frankly, the question I've always wondered about bear (or any large animal) hunting is "why would you want do it?" Now don't misunderstand me, this isn't a moral or ethical question. This is a question of pragmatics.

From the view of an un-informed non hunter, it seems the biggest trouble wouldn't be killing the bear (after all we have guns and opposable thumbs). No, my concern is what can I do with the carcass of an animal that weighs as much as a moped.

I suppose the skin could be used for it's fur to make a rug or coat. However as a guy who prefers hardwood floors (easier to clean) and a pea coat, those factor's never appealed to me. In fact, it's not what to do with the pelt that's always perplexed me. It's what do I do with the hundreds of pounds of meat.

Yes, I am a carnivore. I love meat, and I especially love exotic game so I have eaten my fair share of bear, boar, offal, and reptile. However while the occasional boar salami, goat stew, or rattlesnake chili isn't too bad; the prospect of having 100 pounds of bear meat in my fridge seems mind boggling.

Furthermore, how would one go about preparing so much bear?

Well I decided to hit the internet and found some interesting bear recipes for anyone out there with a whole lot of bear in their walk in freezer and not much idea how to cook it.

Bear Paw Pumpkin Soup

Big Bear Stew

Bear with Rice

Marinated Bear Roast

Bon Appetite!