Bear Meat

[P6smSKC]

Question for all of you experienced with bear meat…

How long does it stay good for? I have heard the fat goes rancid fairly quickly.

I was given a front shoulder of a nice black bear taken a year ago. Unfortunately I got busy and never had time to cook it the way I wanted to. So it has sat in the freezer vacuum sealed for a year. I trimmed as much of the fat off as I could before vacuum sealing it but there was some marbled in and could not be removed. You think it’s still good to eat or you think at this point it won’t taste good anymore?

Thanks for any info/advice/opinions.

 

[1eyefishing]

Watching...

How fast do I need to get thru this?

 

[kayaksteve]

Id thaw it out, give it a good visual/sniff test. If it passes that I would have at it. That’s the test I use for most meat regardless of dates or species.

 

[1eyefishing]

Ya, usually when meat turns, it obvious upon opening and thawing.
I'd just like to know to hurry thru it if I need to...

 

[jbogg]

If the vacuum seal has held, you should be good to go. If there’s a little freezer burn on an edge, just trim it first, and then enjoy.

 

[kayaksteve]

In general I try to eat up meat in a years time give or take a few months occasionally. That seems to keep it from becoming an issue and keeps space available for this years meat. I know it could last much longer if it’s packaged right but at some point the quality will go down and I try to get it gone before that.

 

[NCHillbilly]

If it's vac-sealed, you should be good. It's best to trim it good before freezing. I have eaten refugee vac-bags of deer meat many times that were 3-4 years old and still just like they were when they went in the freezer. The fat on the bear is different than deer, but it'll still keep a good long while in a vac pack.

 

[ddd-shooter]

If it's vac-sealed, you should be good. It's best to trim it good before freezing. I have eaten refugee vac-bags of deer meat many times that were 3-4 years old and still just like they were when they went in the freezer. The fat on the bear is different than deer, but it'll still keep a good long while in a vac pack.

Yeah, I may or may not have eaten a pack of deer from 2015 the other day….
Totally fine. We are meticulous with our processing and obviously I don’t recommend eating from that far back. But it happens. We try not to ever let it go for more than a year but it got lost in the freezer rotation shuffle.

With a bear (vacuum sealed) you’ve got a year or two at least.
Obviously give it the old sniff test.

We just smoked a whole bear shoulder and made bear b que Saturday. It’s my favorite way to eat and share bear meat. Ask the guys that work with me how good it is…we all had sandwiches yesterday for lunch with the leftovers.

 

[ddd-shooter]

Watching...

How fast do I need to get thru this?

View attachment 1270931

You’ll never get through it.

Better share with us to be sure it doesn’t go bad

 

[P6smSKC]

Ok thanks everyone I appreciate it. I’ll test it with the sniffer then enjoy.

 

[splatek]

That meat ain’t worth a thing. I’ll dispose of it for ya…

 

[1eyefishing]

You’ll never get through it.

Better share with us to be sure it doesn’t go bad

Today's north georgia black bruin chili...
Heck, I think it's better than beef. Except I added one third ground beef for some extra grease content while cooking. Subsequently well drained...